FAQ

Couples and relationship therapy support better communication, conflict resolution, and emotional connection. It provides practical tools to rebuild trust and create stronger, healthier relationships.

• CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy): Focuses on identifying and changing negative thoughts and behaviours.
• DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy): Combines CBT with mindfulness, emotional regulation, and relationship skills.
• ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy): Helps you accept your thoughts and feelings while committing to meaningful actions.

If stress or anxiety is affecting your work, relationships, sleep, or daily life, it’s time to consider therapy. Signs include constant worry, panic attacks, or avoiding situations that trigger anxiety.

Yes, trauma-focused therapies like Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Prolonged Exposure (PE), and Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) are proven to help process traumatic experiences and reduce symptoms of PTSD and related distress.

The most effective treatments for depression typically include evidence-based therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which helps identify and change unhelpful thought patterns. Combining professional support, lifestyle changes, and social support usually produces the best outcomes.

Evidence shows that CBT, exposure therapy, and mindfulness-based approaches are the most recommended treatments for anxiety disorders. These therapies help reduce symptoms while building effective coping skills.

You may benefit from therapy if you’re experiencing ongoing anxiety, depression, stress, sleep issues, or difficulty coping with everyday life. Seeking support early can prevent these challenges from getting worse.

Yes, online therapy via video calls is just as effective as face-to-face sessions. It’s a convenient option for people in remote areas or those with busy schedules.

Many people start noticing improvements within 6 to 12 sessions, depending on their needs and therapy type. Regular attendance and practising strategies between sessions often lead to better results.

Psychologists provide talk therapy, counseling, and psychological assessments, while psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe medication.

Couples and family therapy is helpful for anyone experiencing relationship challenges, communication issues, parenting stress, or family conflicts. With guidance from an experienced psychologist, you can develop healthier ways to connect, resolve conflicts, and build stronger, more supportive relationships.

A psychologist can support you with concerns like anxiety, depression, trauma, insomnia, stress, or relationship issues. Using evidence-based therapies, including CBT, the most recommended treatment for anxiety and depression, psychologists teach practical skills to manage symptoms, build resilience, and enhance your quality of life.

In a therapy session at our psychology clinic in Australia, you’ll meet with a registered psychologist in a safe and confidential space. Together, you’ll explore your challenges, set goals, and work on evidence-based strategies, such as CBT, DBT, or mindfulness approaches, to improve your mental health and overall wellbeing.

Your first session includes an assessment, a discussion of your goals, and a tailored plan for
treatment. Your psychologist will explain how therapy works and answer any questions you
have.

Counsellors can come from a broad range of training and backgrounds. Currently in Australia the term “counsellor” is not protected. This means that anyone can refer to themselves as a counsellor. Having said this many counsellors have undertaken training and education in educational settings, ranging from a Diploma up to a Masters degree. An organisation called the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) has also been set up to protect the standards and ethical training of the counselling profession.

Psychological therapy is the name given to a wide range of treatment approaches that are aimed at improving the mental and emotional wellbeing of people who are experiencing difficulties in their life. Psychological therapy allows the person to focus on and discuss their concerns in a supportive, non-judgemental and confidential environment.

Psychological therapy is not about the psychologist telling the person what to do. Rather, the psychologist aims to assist their client in working through and resolving their difficulties autonomously. Psychological therapy also aims to equip a person with the skills to cope more effectively should similar problems arise in the future.

At the beginning of your first session your psychologist will briefly run through important paperwork with you. This will include completing a form with basic personal information and a consent form that cover issues such as confidentiality, fees and other important information about sessions. If you have been referred by a GP or psychiatrist, we will discuss the details of your Mental Health Treatment Plan at this point.

After completing paperwork the remainder of the session is usually spent discussing the issues that have brought you into therapy. As well as developing a thorough understanding of your concerns, your psychologist will explore relevant background history, for example, information about your family, social relationships, work history and any past counselling that you have done. Based on this information we will begin to help you to understand more about what might be triggering and maintaining your current issues. If time allows we will also work with you to develop a collaborative and flexible plan for future therapy sessions.

All sorts of individuals consult with psychologists over a range of different issues. Many individuals who see a psychologist at Sehat psychology are generally successful people who may be troubled by feelings, behaviours, thoughts or concerns that currently prevent them from functioning to their full capacity or from feeling happy and fulfilled in their lives.

Life changes, new events or circumstances, and changes in relationships or work often trigger difficulties that can be troubling. Alternatively, some individuals have been struggling with difficult feelings or behaviours over a long period of time, and decide that it is time to get some help. Sometimes people have an inexplicable feeling of sadness or pain that they cannot get through and need help to understand the source of these feelings in order to become unstuck.

You may have a brief conversation over the phone or email them to find out if your particular issue is something that would respond well to psychological treatment. In an initial consultation with the psychologist, these issues will be explored more fully.

A treating psychologist has a therapeutic role in which the focus of the service is on the client’s interests. This is different from the preparation of a report for a court which centres on the task of the court rather than the interests of the client. For this reason we recommend that court reports are obtained from psychologists that focus on report writing for court. A quick internet search will provide a list of organisations that offer this service.

I may provide reports for Department of Immigration and Citizenship and/or Centrelink. Written reports require the practitioner’s time to prepare and write. The cost of written reports is in addition to your consultation fees and is not rebatable from Medicare. If you believe your private health fund or insurer will pay for the report you need to confirm with them.

Sessions are approximately 50 minutes

You do not have to have a referral to access private health cover rebates for psychology, you just need to make an appointment. You should check the amount of your rebate with your fund.

Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is a specific type of cognitive behavioural therapy that has been effective in reducing post-traumatic symptoms related to a variety of traumatic events including child abuse, combat, rape and natural disasters. CPT is endorsed by the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defence, as well as the International Society of Traumatic Stress Studies, as a best practice for the treatment of PTSD.

CPT is generally delivered over 12 sessions and it focuses upon how the person’s understanding of the traumatic event and their experiences in the aftermath.  CPT is aimed at helping the individual develop more helpful and balanced beliefs about the trauma. In so doing, the patient creates a new understanding and conceptualisation of the traumatic event so that it reduces its ongoing negative effects on current life.

Schema therapy is most effective in the treatment of personality disorders, anxiety disorders, depression, relationship difficulties; and is used when people fail to respond or relapse after having been through other therapies.

Schema therapy was developed in an attempt to help those who had not seen any benefits with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and aims to change negative patterns or beliefs that people have lived with for a long time-also know as ‘Schemas’. These schemas typically begin early in our life, though sometimes, they can start from later on in adulthood, and can be reinforce by certain behaviours, patterns of thinking and the mind’s coping strategies. Therefore, schema therapy helps you to break these ways of thinking, feeling and behaving, and replacing them with healthier alternatives.

Schema therapy’s main focus is to identify core schemas and how they might have contributed to negative patterns that are present in your life and which prevent you from having a meaningful life and meaningful relationships. Some of the core schemas that this therapy focuses on are ones of abandonment, defectiveness, emotional deprivation, mistrust and social isolation.