Psychologist Fitzroy

We all experience and make sense of life in our own unique way. The challenges that life presents may negatively affect a person's mental health in a variety of ways.

It may be helpful to see a psychologist if you are:

• Finding it difficult to cope or feeling overwhelmed
• Struggling with the impact of a traumatic experience
• Struggling with low mood
• Worrying excessively or experiencing panic attacks
• Having difficulty sleeping
• Frequently irritable or angry
• Withdrawing from social activities and feeling isolated
• Struggling with parenting and relationships

Many people are unclear about the role of a clinical psychologist and how it differs from other mental health professionals.

Clinical psychologists are university-trained professionals registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, and their training spans a minimum of eight years.

Their training includes four years of undergraduate university study, a minimum of two years of postgraduate training, and a further two years of supervised practice through a registrar program.

Yes, as part of their professional obligations, clinical psychologists must adhere to strict confidentiality policies in accordance with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency's (AHPRA) Code of Conduct and the Australian Privacy Guidelines. What is discussed in therapy sessions, along with any related correspondence, remains confidential unless you consent to it being shared.

On rare occasions, a psychologist may be obligated to disclose information to a third party if someone's safety is at risk, they may seek the opinion of a supervisor to assist with treatment planning or if a document is subpoenaed. These details are outlined in the Centre for Clinical Psychology Consent Form.

We maintain strict data security protocols across our practice. If you would like further information, please request a copy of our Privacy Policy.

When required, our clinical psychologists can prepare psychological reports for clients undergoing treatment related to TAC, WorkCover, and court proceedings. Please be aware that such reports are charged separately from our psychological consultations.

In your first session, your psychologist will aim to develop an understanding of your difficulties and explore how they may work with you to address them. This process will involve an assessment, during which your psychologist will ask a series of questions and you will have the opportunity to reflect on your experience.

Your responses will assist your clinical psychologist gain an understanding of your current situation. Similarly, you may be asked to fill out psychometric questionnaires.

Following the assessment, your clinical psychologist will discuss treatment options with you, including evidence-based therapeutic approaches that may be appropriate for the concerns you have described. Subsequent sessions are usually held on a regular basis and tend to become less frequent as your difficulties are addressed.

You retain the choice at all times regarding how many sessions you attend, and there is no obligation to attend a minimum number. You are also free to determine the frequency of your sessions; however, it is advisable to make these decisions together with your clinical psychologist, who can offer recommendations informed by their experience and the available evidence.

If you hold a Mental Health Care Plan from your GP, you will be entitled to Medicare rebates for up to 10 sessions. Should you utilise all 10 sessions, you may continue to see your psychologist at private fee rates.

We understand that attending appointments during standard business hours is not always possible. For this reason, our psychologists offer a number of 6pm appointments, and our clinic is also open on Saturdays from 9am to 5pm.

We also offer telehealth services for those who are working from home and have some flexibility to attend a session within their working hours.

A full outline of our fees is available on our fees page. Click here to find out more.

You are free to stop seeing your therapist at any time, just as you are free to start seeing your therapist again at any time.

As a trained professional, your clinical psychologist will welcome your feedback and discuss with you any reasons you may have for wishing to end therapy. They may also share their perspective and explain why they may recommend continuing.

In many cases, this kind of feedback can become a valuable part of the therapeutic process and may lead to meaningful progress. We encourage you to raise these concerns with your psychologist, rather than discontinuing therapy without discussion.

The team at the Centre for Clinical Psychology understands the importance of finding the right fit between you and your psychologist. We are willing to support you in this, whether that involves a transfer to another psychologist within our practice or an external referral. Your well-being is our priority.

How frequently someone works with their psychologist varies from person to person and may change over the course of treatment. Some clients attend twice per week, some once per week, some fortnightly, and some monthly.

Frequency will depend on each person's unique needs and circumstances, but it is also worth considering what the evidence indicates is most likely to support the best possible outcomes.

The evidence shows that clients who attend more regularly (particularly at the beginning of treatment) have the greatest improvements (Bruijniks et al., 2020; Tiemens et al., 2019). We initially recommend booking two sessions per week for the best therapeutic outcomes.

For clients attending for depression, available research suggests that twice-weekly sessions may be associated with more favourable outcomes than weekly sessions for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Interpersonal Therapy (IPT; Bruijniks et al., 2015).

Erekson et al. (2015) found that among university students attending therapy for adjustment, anxiety, or depression-related concerns, those who attended weekly sessions achieved clinically significant gains more quickly than those attending fortnightly.

For those receiving Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for trauma or PTSD, attending twice per week is strongly recommended. Research has found that attending CPT sessions more frequently, with fewer gaps between appointments, may be associated with significantly greater PTSD symptom reduction (Gutner et al., 2016).

Attending twice per week also allows you to complete the entire 12 sessions of treatment in less than two months. If you cannot attend twice a week, CPT requires at least once a week attendance for the best outcomes.

For clients attending for personality disorders, twice-weekly sessions have been associated with positive improvement (Giesen-Bloo, 2006).

Evidence-based therapy differs from counselling in that it draws upon specific techniques, strategies, and processes designed to assist people in addressing issues and concerns that may be affecting them emotionally or mentally. These techniques and strategies have been scientifically evaluated.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental health problem that may develop following traumatic experiences (such as threatened or actual death, a serious accident, or serious sexual violation).

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Perinatal mental health encompasses the health and emotional well-being of parents with infants up to one or three years of age, and also includes the emotional well-being of infants. The emotional health and well-being of fathers is increasingly receiving the recognition and attention it deserves.

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Infant mental health is concerned with the well-being of infants from birth through to three years of age. Those working in infant mental health are interested in understanding the social and emotional worlds of infants, including their ability to form close and secure relationships and their capacity to experience, express, and regulate their emotions.

Those working in infant mental health are also interested in the infant's ability to engage with the world with a sense of curiosity, enabling them to explore and learn.

Relationships are fundamental to infant mental health, as infants and children are deeply reliant on the support of their caregivers. The quality of these relationships and the experience of receiving care may have a lasting influence on the infant's capacity for relating, learning, behaviour, and emotional health throughout their life.

Infants are born with the capacity to communicate their internal states and seek responses from their environment. Rather than being passive recipients of care, infants are active agents with the capacity to adapt to their environment and influence both their surroundings and their caregivers.

From birth, they are active participants in relationships. The caregiving environment includes family, but also community and culture.

Infant mental health matters because the window of opportunity is both significant and finite. The first 1,000 days of a child's life represent the most rapid period of brain growth across a person's lifetime.

When infant mental health is nurtured, children are more likely to develop resilience, empathy, and the capacity to form healthy relationships. When it is disrupted by trauma, neglect, parental stress, or inconsistent caregiving, the effects can be long-lasting, increasing the risk of anxiety, developmental delays, and difficulties in school and relationships.

Secure attachment may set infants upon a path towards good mental health in adolescence and into adulthood.

An understanding of infant mental health may help parents appreciate the unique communicative capacities of their babies and infants. This knowledge may enable parents to respond with greater confidence, potentially strengthening the relationship between parents and their baby.

At the Centre for Clinical Psychology, we aim to support families with young children, whether through evidence-based mental health treatment, support with early parenting concerns, or assistance with parental relationships. We recognise that this support may benefit everyone involved, but particularly the baby.

We serve residents across Melbourne suburbs including:

• Clinical Psychologist Abbotsford
• Clinical Psychologist Brunswick
• Clinical Psychologist Clifton Hill
• Clinical Psychologist Collingwood
• Clinical Psychologist Docklands
• Clinical Psychologist Flemington
• Clinical Psychologist Kensington
• Clinical Psychologist Kew
• Clinical Psychologist North Melbourne
• Clinical Psychologist Northcote
• Clinical Psychologist Parkville
• Clinical Psychologist Princes Hill
• Clinical Psychologist Richmond
• Clinical Psychologist Southbank

And more!