Thinking of seeing a Psychologist?

First, we explore why individuals start to look for a psychologist that is best suited for their needs.

Studies suggest that one out of every five Australians experience some symptoms of mental illnesses within their lifetime. While some individuals may benefit from pharmacological treatment prescribed by their General Practitioner or a Psychiatrist, some prefer to explore talk therapy as the first point of call. 

Research has also found for severe levels of depression and anxiety, talk therapy is the most effective adjunct to pharmacological treatment. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) in particular, has been found as a level-one treatment for depression and anxiety adjunct to prescribed medication. The medication at times can work to increase the individual’s level of engagement within a session, as well as to maintain necessary activities and strategies outside session activities. 

It is normal to feel overwhelmed at times and need help dealing with life stressors. If you too are considering talking to a Psychologists, you may find this article useful as we explore how you can find the best Psychologist for your individual needs within the Inner-Eastern suburbs of Melbourne.  

How to start to process of seeing a Psychologist? 

It can be useful to make an appointment with your GP as the first point of call to discuss how you have been feeling lately. 

What to expect in my initial consultation with a Psychologist?

In your initial session, you can usually expect a warm and caring psychologist to:

• Start off by introducing yourself as well as help settle any nerves you may be experiencing.
• Introduce therapy as a confidential and safe place to unpack any thoughts, feelings, behaviours that are causing distress in your life.
• Explain the two exceptions to confidentiality; (1) risk of harm to yourself or someone else; or (2) court-mandated requests. You will be asked if there are any legal issues pending and questions answered.
• Allow you time to share your concerns and discuss what brings you into therapy.
• Enquire about relevant history and past treatments and concerns you may have.
• Explain how sessions with a psychologist will typically work and answer any questions you may have.
• Explore proven therapy approaches and techniques that may be useful and gathering any feedback using a collaborative approach.
• Collaboratively set goals, instill hope and explore what you may like to specifically work towards and achieve in sessions together.
• Recommendation on treatment plan and frequency of sessions subject to your individualised needs and preferences.
• Option to schedule up to six sessions to start with to create structure and routine in upcoming treatment.
• Wrapping up the session with discussing something nice you may do for yourself after your initial session.
• Read more tips via our website (click here).

Things to consider before making an initial consultation with a psychologist: 

Find a psychologist you click with. It is important to feel comfortable with your Psychologist, but also be challenged when required. 

You will work closely with your psychologists, which means that you should be feeling you are able to click with them usually within the first few sessions. Research has found that the client-therapist relationship is the largest predictor of positive clinical outcomes. This has been more important than the treatment modality used in therapy. 

This translates to finding a psychologist that is a good match and one you feel comfortable with. No matter how good a therapist appears on paper or the number of qualifications listed on their website bio, it really does come down to the level of the therapeutic alliance. Your level of comfort matters a lot.  

Read the Psychologists Credentials, Therapy Approach, and Special Interests:  

Mental health is just as important as physical health. At times it may be overwhelming to find a Psychologist that is a good match to your goals and needs. Often it appears that Psychologists use a lot of abbreviations behind their names thereby making it difficult for you to choose one. These abbreviations often translate to the Psychologists credentials, university degrees, registrations, and memberships to specific organizations such as APS or AAPi. You can often find google useful to use when looking up their meanings online before you contact the practice to make an initial appointment. At Positive Wellbeing Psychology, we make sure we do not use abbreviations to limit confusion to all clients.  

Read the Practice Website:

Often by reading up on the psychology practice’s areas of interest and specific training assists to understand if the Psychologist will be a good match. The websites often provide information that helps you to choose the best Melbourne psychologist for your specific needs and therapy goals.  

Information the websites usually include: 

• If the Psychologists are registered under a professional body 
• How long each of the Psychologists has been practicing. 
• Presenting problems and mental health diagnoses that the Psychologists are trained to treat such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, eating disorders, bipolar disorder.
• The age range of clients that the Psychologists are familiar and experienced in supporting such as families, children, youth.  
• The methods of therapy the Psychologists are trained in and when these therapy approaches are found to be most effective. 
• The referral process and rebates with private health or Medicare Mental Health Treatment Plan; as well as how much these rebates are per session. 
• The time duration of each session. 

You may find it useful to read up on more useful tips to getting started.  

Remember things do not need to always work out between you and your Psychologist. You might have to put in some extra effort at times to feel a little more at ease with your Psychologist. If you do not see this happening even after attending a few sessions, we suggest you talk to your Psychologist. It can feel a little awkward to bring this up with your Psychologists, but this often helps both the individual and the Psychologist to establish more clear therapy goals and to understand what you are aiming to take with you from the sessions. 

If the issue can be addressed, they can try addressing it. If not, they can always refer you to another best Melbourne psychologist. 

 How can Positive Wellbeing Psychology help?

Our warm and compassionate psychologists work with individuals to find new behaviours and coping strategies to help them feel able to deal more effectively with the problem. In addition, our psychologists help the individual find a clearer understanding of the issue/s and processing the stressor. 

Our Melbourne Psychologist will explore a treatment plan best suited to your needs and therapy goals. This will include the Psychologist adopting a range of evidence-based therapies and techniques best suited to your needs and to help facilitate positive change and to improve overall life satisfaction, health, and wellbeing. 

Our Psychologists provide an individualised therapy approach for clients, which may include Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT and CBT-E for Eating Disorders), Brief Solution-Focused Therapy, Mindfulness, Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and The Gottman Method to Relationship Therapy. Our psychologists are also likely to explore social support in the individual’s life and explore relaxation training and techniques.

At Positive Wellbeing Psychology, we provide psychological matching of all clients to Psychologists and considering a number of factors. 

Learn more or make an online inquiry today: www.positivewellbeingpsychology.com.au/make-an-appointment/