Therapy Options
Therapy Options
Practitioners at Mental Health Spot Pty Ltd use flexible therapeutic approaches for our clients and focus on the latest, evidenced based treatments. We preference interventions and assessment with objective results and indicators to provide our client maximum confidence and avoid where possible typical placebo (short term) effects or costly and unhelpful misdiagnosis.
We do not simply rely on traditional ‘talking’ therapies to ensure our clients reach their goals quickly and minimise distress during the process.
CBT
Many clients have little insight into their feelings and thoughts and the patterns causing problems or conflicts to repeat. For these client Cognitive Behaviour Therapy can help clarify their needs, change their thinking and facilitate lasting changes in relationships, behaviour and mood.
ACT
Some clients are all in their minds, having difficulty getting out of there long enough to take stock and rebalance. For these clients an aspect of CBT called Acceptance Commitment therapy works to allow the mind to let things come and go. This often allows a person to ‘get on with life!’ and gain more meaningful connections with others
Neurofeedback
For adults, with anger, trauma, PTSD, ADHD or chronic depression, anxiety, poor self esteem and low motivation Neurofeedback may provide the results you need. It’s a non medication option that can be used in conjunction with other psychotherapies, to assist nature to take it’s healing course through the wonders of neuroplasticity.
If it’s difficult to sit still, divulge personal or traumatic details or you have ‘tried everything but nothing works!” Neurofeedback is a non-confronting intervention that’s easy to fit into your life.
Neurofeedback reports success in assisting with emotional self-regulation, a critical goal for anyone experiencing emotional or attentional difficulties and may assist your success in other treatments. The effects of behaviour changes in Neurofeedback have been demonstrated 5-9 years down the track and it’s a drug free treatment option, when other treatments may not have been effective.
Neurofeedback has been used strongly in the fields of Trauma, ADHD, PTSD, ASD, depression and anxiety and for regulating behavioural problems.
Sandtray/ Play / Art / Narrative and Other
Play therapy and other modalities may be used for (and is not restricted to young people!) where dialogue with a clinician is too confronting or not possible.
We also offer family and couples therapy if we feel that relational dynamics are perpetuating or creating the difficulties you are facing.
Types of problems we treat
- Complex, chronic presentations
- Autistic Spectrum (formerly including Aspergers)
- ADHD, attentional difficulty
- Eating and body disorders
- Drug and alcohol abuse
- Depression, Anxiety
- PTSD, OCD & Phobias
- Self Harm, Trauma, Grief
- Behavioural issues, ODD, CD
- Bipolar & Personality Disorders
- Parent / carer support & training
- Vocational support and planning
- High performance executive training
Make an initial appointment now.
Social Skills Training
Almost all psychological issues for both young people and adults affect social contact and relationships. In turn issues can be exacerbated by the failure or conflicts within these connections. Whilst everyone is different in their needs, the evidence is very clear on the innate need humans have for successful interactions with each other.
These skills can form the basis for our success in many fields of our lives, from friendships to parenting, social and work settings.
Social skills can be affected by culture, beliefs and attitudes and include both verbal and non-verbal behaviours, that we use in order to communicate with others.
People may end up with differences in social skills for a number reasons, including mental ill health, neuro-cognitive deficits, presentations such as ADD/ADHD and Autism Spectrum presentations (including formerly known as Asperger’s) or they may not have had the opportunity to model them effectively from parents or family in developmental periods.
Social skills at Mental Health Spot Pty Ltd is offered as a part of a complete mental health intervention and is not ideal as a stand alone therapy. Social anxiety and other presentations for example may mean helping people learn necessarily differential social skills and treating the underlying reasons why people are experiencing social difficulty with cognitive therapy, neurofeedback, more general psychological therapy, or even in some cases with medication.
And you don’t need a ‘deficit’ to benefit from social skills training, many companies offer these skills as executive/ sales or management training!
Social skills are often just a set of neurotypically normed behaviours (i.e. ‘most’ people do them). At MHS we focus on assisting neuroAtypical to identity and navigate differences – and this may include choices to invest when necessary in the additional resources required for this neurotypical behaviour OR simply understanding why communications can awry due to factors that are simply majority versus minority differences in what should BOTH be considered effective communication strategies. “Social” skills in families can include teaching each family member to respect and understand the differences – and navigate successfully to greater understanding and higher levels of communication effectiveness
- Eye contact – in this example multiple approaches may include teaching partners, parents or extended family to understand why this neurotypical behaviour is not helpful for NeuroA individuals and may actually be a harmful expectation
- Different use of facial expressions (e.g. smiling at others when greeting them) for developing context in conversation and how these might lead to misunderstandings for both NeuroA and NeuroT people
- Social gestures (e.g. shaking hands when meeting someone)
- Using the right tone and volume of voice
- Sustaining conversations
- Assertiveness e.g. expressing opinions without being too domineering or passive
- Correctly reading others body language and emotions
- Responding appropriately to others
- Using the correct type of language in certain situations and with certain people (e.g. manners and more formal language with superiors)
- Knowing how to navigate social media correctly
- Understanding humour and subtleties of language such as sarcasm
- Sharing & reciprocal behaviour.
- Empathy
- Training in theory of mind (understanding things from others points of view)
What does social skill training involve?
Identifying the problem underlying the social issues (2) Setting goals for therapy (3) Modelling of certain behaviours & role playing (4) Practice and feedback (5) Homework challenges
Make an initial appointment now.
Parent Skills
A family system can be a challenge at the best of times and self regulating a mind that is specifically designed to be growing outways in every direction (adolescence) is no charm either sometimes.
Mental Health Spot Pty Ltd’s work with parents and young people to strategise for behavioural success. Through the work of accomplished researchers such as Dr Mark Dadds and his team, we know that difficult behaviour in adolescents and childhood needs a fully functioning ANCHOR parental response. The goal at Mental Health Spot is to assist a young person to regain control of their own lives and come to believe in themselves, in a safe, consistent and supportive parenting environment.
Negative and disruptive behaviours can be isolating – for both parents and young people. Social withdrawal to punishments across the many domains in which a child is raised; society, school and home.
Young people may develop deficits in behaviour management for a number reasons, including mental ill health, cognitive deficits, presentations such as ADHD and ASD, or they may not have had the opportunity to model them effectively from parents or family in critical developmental periods.
To really support them, Mental Health Spot recommends Neurofeedback as a compliment to parenting strategies. Often the first goal is to minimise over-arousal of the nervous system, to a point where we can work effectively with emotional regulation and communication strategies.
The key to child management and development is however, parenting. At Mental Health Spot we have developed a style that embraces how difficult it can be for parents when young people present with such challenging behaviours.
They say there is no “rule book” however there are some very good, evidenced based interventions for parents. Usually a combination of all three angles of interventions provides the best chance of success.
Make an initial appointment now.
Employee Assistance Programs
Mental Health Spot Pty Ltd can provide support at home or in the workplace and from resultant workplace trauma or stress through your EAP. Contact you Human Resources department to learn more about EAP.
Make an initial appointment now.
Mediation, Divorce and Family Dispute Resolution
Our specialist clinician provides support to couples or individuals in the early or later stages of separation, divorce and those developing parenting plans. Mental Health Spot Pty Ltd fosters a pragmatic, down to earth and realistic approach to increase the likelihood of speedy resolutions and workable outcomes for all parties.
Make an initial appointment now.
Vocational Support
Assistance with job search: Resume development/Application letters
Vocational Counselling – employment choice guidance and investigation. These services are ideal for clients changing careers, seeking new opportunities or wanting to develop a more satisfying daily work life. The counselling process includes time with your psychologist and assessing personality, learning and career/ task interest factors.
Person-Job Fit program- for those registered with an Australian Government approved Employment Services provider and holding a current Mental Health Care Plan – Medicare eligible clients are bulk billed up to 10 sessions (no gap).
Make an initial appointment now.
Skype or Telephone Therapy
For those who do not live near Sydney yet need a psychologist, we offer therapy through both telephone or Zoom. There is a protocol we follow to help make certain this is the best form of therapy for you and to ensure confidentiality. We particularly tend to help those who are home bound for any number of reasons or live too far from our practices. We have worked with Australians whose lives are just more conveniently serviced by Zooming in or in rural areas, ex-patriots living overseas and others who wish to access our services specifically.