Professional

Depression, Anxiety, Stress

Couples' Counseling

Can you remember the last time you lay in bed wrestling with your thoughts? You desperately wanted your mind to become calm, to just be quiet, so that you could get some sleep. But whatever you tried seemed to fail. Every time you forced yourself not to think, your thoughts exploded into life with renewed force. You told yourself not to worry, but suddenly discovered countless new things to worry about. As the night ground ever onwards, your strength progressively drained away, leaving you feeling fragile and broken. By the time the alarm went off, you were exhausted, bad tempered and thoroughly miserable.

Throughout the next day you had the opposite problem - you wanted to be wide awake but could hardly stop yawning. You stumbled into work, but weren't really present. You couldn't concentrate. Your whole body ached and your mind felt empty. You'd stare at the pile of papers on your desk for ages, hoping something, anything, would turn up so that you could gather enough momentum to do a day's work. It seemed as though your life had begun to slip through your fingers . . . you felt ever-more anxious, stressed and exhausted.

When you feel trapped by such troubled and frantic times as these, it can seem impossible to escape. And yet it is possible to rediscover peace and contentment once again.

Our therapists are trained and highly skilled in the delivery of gold standard, evidenced based treatments for these conditions including cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, solution focussed therapy and general supportive counselling.  Call today 07 5576 2633 to make an appointment.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a particular set of reactions that can develop in people who have been through a traumatic event that threatened their life or safety, or that of others around them. This could be a car or other serious accident, physical or sexual assault, childhood trauma and neglect, war or torture, or disasters such as bushfires or floods. As a result, the person experiences feelings of intense fear, helplessness or horror.

People with PTSD often experience feelings of panic or extreme fear, similar to the fear they felt during the traumatic event. A person with PTSD experiences four main types of difficulties.

• Re-living the traumatic event – The person relives the event through unwanted and recurring memories, often in the form of vivid images and nightmares. There may be intense emotional or physical reactions, such as sweating, heart palpitations or panic when reminded of the event.
• Being overly alert or wound up – The person experiences sleeping difficulties, irritability and lack of concentration, becoming easily startled and constantly on the lookout for signs of danger.
• Avoiding reminders of the event – The person deliberately avoids activities, places, people, thoughts or feelings associated with the event because they bring back painful memories.
• Feeling emotionally numb – The person loses interest in day-to-day activities, feels cut off and detached from friends and family, or feels emotionally flat and numb.

Anyone can develop PTSD following a traumatic event, but people are at greater risk if the event involved deliberate harm such as physical or sexual assault or they have had repeated traumatic experiences such as childhood sexual abuse or living in a war zone. Apart from the event itself, risk factors for developing PTSD include a past history of trauma or previous mental health problems, as well as ongoing stressful life events after the trauma and an absence of social supports.

Around 12 per cent of Australians will experience PTSD in their lifetime. Serious accidents are one of the leading causes of PTSD in Australia.

If you feel very distressed at any time after a traumatic event, talking to your doctor or other health professional is a good first step. If you experience symptoms of PTSD that persist beyond two weeks, a doctor or a mental health professional may recommend starting treatment for PTSD.

What treatments are available for PTSD?

Our therapists have engaged in trauma specific training for evidenced based treatment of the symptoms of trauma including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Trauma and Cognitive Processing Therapy.  Both these approaches have demonstrated good outcomes for recovery and symptom management.

For more information call us today on 07 5576 2633

If you are part of a couple in distress, you may feel that there is no way out of your troubled relationship.  

Evidence-based approaches are key to understanding effective therapy, whether for individuals or for couples.  This means that the therapy you are receiving was tested against alternative methods, preferably in randomized controlled trials.  Psychologists who provide evidence-based treatment don't stick to one particularly theoretical orientation just because they learned it in graduate school. Instead, they adapt their approach to ensure that they are following the best evidence - both clinical and research.

Being a couples therapist does requires special skills but that is what the training is about. Individuals who go into marriage and family counseling or therapy take years of rigorous coursework and supervision, go through an arduous credentialing and licensing process, and continue to receive education throughout their careers to learn about the field's newest developments.  There inevitably is self-selection involved in who decides to become a couples' therapist and, even more so, who stays in the profession. The chances are excellent that the couples therapist you see is someone who is providing this treatment because they are committed to helping couples enact positive changes in their lives.

Our couples therapists have all undertaken training in two of the world's best approaches to couples therapy - Gottman Marital Therapy and Emotion Focused Therapy for Couples.  Our couples are amongst the very few therapists in Australia who are fully certified as Gottman Marital Therapists - please see their individual profiles on our About page for more information.