Adolescents & Adults
Individual Counselling
Our psychologists are trained and experienced in helping adolescents and adults for a range of problems and psychological disorder. They can help with any of the following areas:
- Stress management and problem solving
- Low self-esteem and confidence
- Handling unpleasant emotions (e.g. low mood, anxiety, anger, frustration, guilt)
- Adjustment to life stressors (e.g. unemployment, injury, divorce)
- Communication and assertiveness skills
- Generalized Anxiety (worry) Disorder
- Health (Illness) Anxiety
- Panic and Agoraphobia
- Social Anxiety
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- Depression and mood disorders:
- Major (Clinical) Depression
- Post and Antenatal Depression
- Time management and organization skills
- Managing difficulties from workplace injuries and road accidents
- Self-harm
- Grief and loss
- Substance use secondary to other mental health problems
- Chronic Depression
- Bipolar Disorder
- Body image disturbance and eating disorders:
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Bulimia Nervosa
- Binge-Eating Disorder
- Borderline Personality Disorder
- Psychosis
- Schizophrenia
- Schizoaffective Disorder
Treatments provided:
Our psychologists are trained and experienced in providing the highest quality and most effective treatments available. These include:
- Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectic Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Emotionally-Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT)
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Family Behaviour Therapy for Anorexia in Adolescents (FBT)
- Enhanced Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
Couples Counselling
Lakeside Psychology provides couples counselling using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) – the “gold standard” model for healing relationships in distress. Using EFT, our therapists help couples to make sense of the conflict or distance they feel in their relationship. We will help you to see the patterns that you get stuck in and how these patterns maintain your struggles and eat away at your connection. Once we are all clear on these patterns, we can begin to look more deeply at what lies beneath them for each person in the relationship. This help us to understand why we do what we do in relationships especially when we are hurting. From this deep and compassionate understanding of each other a more accessible, responsive and engaged pattern emerges and often couples leave with a greater connection than they have ever experienced before.
For more information on EFT head to ICEFT https://iceeft.com/ or give us a call to discuss.
The cost of each couple’s counselling appointment is $190 (50 minute consultation). Medicare rebates are not available for couples counselling.
Eating Disorder Services
Eating Disorders are complex and at times life threatening conditions. We recommend seeing an experienced clinician who understands the nature of eating disorders and is committed to providing care through a multidisciplinary team including GP’s, dietitians and psychiatrists where appropriate.
The therapy offered for those with eating disorders will vary depending on the age of the individual, their supports and the nature of their condition. In most cases for children and adolescents, Family Based Therapy (FBT) is recommended. We provide this treatment because it has a strong attachment focus which allows us to work and care for all members of the family, and it places high importance on the relationships among all family members. If you think your child may have an eating disorder, you may like to head to this website, complete the questionnaire and take it to you GP to discuss: https://feedyourinstinct.com.au/
Therapy for adults with eating disorders should be tailored to the specific needs of each individual, and not focus solely on the symptoms that are present. We understand that in most cases these symptoms (diet restriction, purging, excessive exercise etc.) are coping mechanisms or efforts to manage emotions or feel safe, and we will work with you to understand and move through these underlying difficulties. Many people struggle with eating disorders for a long time before seeking help. We want to encourage you to reach out if this is you. You don’t have to do this alone.
Community Events & Presentations
Our psychologists can provide presentations at your workplace on a range of topics such as stress management, mental health strategies, or resilience. We have presented at the Pakenham Library, to the Pakenham Rotary Club and at the Pakenham Diabetes Awarness Group. Please call us on 5941 3575 for more details.