Parkville Psychologists

We all navigate and make sense of life differently. The challenges that life presents may have a negative impact on a person's mental health in a number of ways.

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

• Finding it difficult to cope or feeling overwhelmed
• Troubled by a traumatic experience
• Experiencing persistent low mood
• Troubled by excessive worry or panic attacks
• Experiencing difficulty sleeping
• Frequently irritable or angry
• Withdrawing from social activities and feeling isolated
• Struggling with parenting and relationships

Many people are uncertain about what a clinical psychologist does and how their role differs from other mental health professionals.

A clinical psychologist is a university-educated professional who is registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency and is required to complete eight years of training.

This training consists of four years of undergraduate university education, a minimum of two years of postgraduate study, and a further two years of supervised practice completed through a registrar program.

Yes, clinical psychologists are required to adhere to strict confidentiality policies in accordance with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency's (AHPRA) Code of Conduct and the Australian Privacy Guidelines. All information disclosed in therapy sessions, as well as any correspondence relating to your sessions, remains confidential unless you provide consent for it to be shared.

In rare circumstances, a psychologist may be obligated to disclose information to a third party, such as when someone's safety is at risk, when seeking a supervisor's opinion 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.

Should it be required, we can write psychological reports if you are a client undergoing treatment for instances such as TAC, WorkCover, and court proceedings. These reports are charged separately, in addition to our psychological consultations.

During your first session, your psychologist will focus on gaining an understanding of your difficulties and how they may work with you to address them. This will involve an assessment process in which your psychologist will ask a series of questions, and you will have the opportunity to reflect upon your experience.

The information you share will assist your clinical psychologist in gaining a thorough understanding of your current situation. You may also be asked to complete psychometric questionnaires as part of this process.

Your clinical psychologist will then discuss appropriate treatment options with you, including the types of evidence-based therapy that may be suited to the concerns you have described. Subsequent sessions are generally scheduled on a regular basis and typically become less frequent as your difficulties are resolved.

The number of sessions you attend is always your choice, and you are not required to commit to a minimum number. You are also free to decide how frequently you attend; however, it is recommended that these decisions be made in consultation with your clinical psychologist, who can offer guidance based on 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.

You can find an outline of our fees on our fees page. Click here.

You are under no obligation to continue seeing your therapist, and you are always welcome to return to therapy at any time.

As a professional, your clinical psychologist will be open to your feedback and discuss with you why you may wish to end the therapy. They may discuss ideas with you and discuss why they recommend you continue.

In the best of circumstances, such feedback can become a constructive part of the therapeutic work and may contribute to meaningful progress. We encourage you to discuss these concerns openly with your psychologist, rather than discontinuing therapy without notice.

At the Centre for Clinical Psychology, we are also aware of the need for a good fit between you and the psychologist you are seeing. We are willing to assist you with this, even if it means transferring to another psychologist or even an external referral. Your care is our priority.

How often someone sees their psychologist varies considerably from person to person and may change as treatment progresses. Some clients attend twice per week, while others attend once per week, fortnightly, or 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).

According to Erekson et al. (2015), university students attending therapy for adjustment, anxiety, or depression-related difficulties achieved clinically significant gains at a faster rate when attending weekly sessions compared with fortnightly sessions.

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 means you may be able to complete all 12 sessions of treatment in under two months. If twice-weekly attendance is not possible, CPT requires a minimum of once-weekly attendance to support the best possible 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 condition that may develop as a result of traumatic experiences, such as threatened or actual death, a serious accident, or serious sexual violation.

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Perinatal mental health covers the health and emotional well-being of parents with infants up to one or three years of age, as well as the emotional well-being of infants. There is also a growing recognition of the importance of fathers' emotional health and well-being, which is increasingly receiving the attention it deserves.

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Infant mental health focuses on the well-being of infants from birth to three years of age. Practitioners in this area are interested in understanding the social and emotional worlds of infants, particularly their ability to form close and secure relationships, as well as 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 sit at the heart of infant mental health, given that infants and young children are heavily dependent upon the support of their caregivers. The quality of these relationships and the care received may shape the infant's capacity for relating, learning, behaviour, and emotional well-being across a lifetime.

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 the moment of birth, infants are active participants in their relationships. The caregiving environment includes not only family, but also the broader community and culture.

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

When infant mental health is supported and 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 may be long-lasting, potentially increasing the risk of anxiety, developmental delays, and difficulties in school and relationships.

Secure attachment in infancy may set children on a path towards positive mental health in adolescence and into adulthood.

Insights drawn from infant mental health research may assist parents in better understanding the unique ways their babies and infants communicate. Such understanding may enable parents to respond with greater confidence, which may in turn help to strengthen the bond between parents and their baby.

At the Centre for Clinical Psychology, we are dedicated to supporting families with young children, offering assistance with mental health concerns, early parenting challenges, and parental relationships. We recognise that this support may be of benefit to everyone in the family, and most importantly, to the baby.

We serve residents across Melbourne suburbs including:

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

And more!