What is therapy?
Therapy is the name for systematic evidenced based strategies which are used to help address emotional or behavioural problems. Counselling is the name for supportive interventions designed to help you get a direction in life. While counselling can make you feel good, to make sustained changes, psychological therapy is necessary. Some of the treatment approaches which make up psychological therapy are detailed below.
What is a psychologist?
Psychologists are university-trained professionals, specialising in the scientific study of human behaviour, mental processes, and emotional problems. They have completed clinical supervision as well as their theoretical studies. Clinical psychologists are required to complete additional specialist training in the form of a master’s degree and additional supervised practice to be registered with the Psychology Board of Australia. The Mindstate Psychology team are qualified clinical psychologists and registered psychologists.
Psychologists should not be confused with psychiatrists. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who have completed specialist training in mental illness. They can prescribe medications and usually work with people with more severe mental illnesses. We may recommend the support of a psychiatrist in the case of complex mental health issues or suicidal risk.
How does therapy work?
Therapy, as discussed briefly above, uses evidenced based strategies to help address emotional or behavioural problems. Generally, it has two main stages: exploring the issue, and understanding dysfunctional thoughts and behaviour.
Exploring the issue
To understand how to effectively treat an issue, you must first gain a good understanding of the issues you are facing and the possible causes. Together, with your psychologist you will be able to determine the most effective treatment strategies. Sometimes we may conduct psychological tests (usually questionnaires or puzzles) to help us understanding the issues affecting you.
Often, issues are caused by unresolved emotional trauma from past experiences. These may need to be resolved before the current behaviour will change. Once we understand your issue and its possible causes, the change process can begin. Therapeutic change will involve:
- Identifying patterns of dysfunctional thoughts or behaviour.
- Understanding the consequences of the dysfunctional thoughts or behaviour.
- Implementing treatments and techniques to change the dysfunctional thoughts or behaviour.
Treatment stratergies
Mindstate Psychology’s clinical psychologists can implement a variety of treatments to help you change dysfunctional thoughts or behaviour including:
- Supportive Counselling - Talking about things that are worrying you can bring a great sense of relief. Our clinical psychologists can listen and offer support, insight, and new perspectives on your issues. They can also suggest steps you can take to help you make progress.
- Psycho-education and skills training - Learning about how mental health conditions operate can help you understand and manage symptoms. Science based understanding is helpful. Through this you can learn new skills to help your functioning.
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and relate treatments (schema therapy, DBT etc) - CBT and related techniques helps change unhelpful thoughts, beliefs and attitudes. You will also learn strategies to help you cope.
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) - EMDR helps you reprocess emotions associated with traumatic incidents.
- Hypnotherapy - Therapeutic hypnosis uses relaxation and imagery to change the emotions or reactions that are associated with certain experiences.
- Neurofeedback therapy - Neurofeedback uses real-time displays of brain activity to help you learn to regulate your brain function.
It is important that you understand and are comfortable with any treatment you try. We will explain recommended treatments and address any questions you may have before treatment begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some frequently asked questions that clients often ask about Psychological Thearpy.
Are there side effects from therapy?
Psychologists are university-trained professionals, specialising in the scientific study of human behaviour, mental processes, and emotional problems. They have completed clinical supervision as well as their theoretical studies. Clinical psychologists are required to complete additional specialist training in the form of a master’s degree and additional supervised practice to be registered with the Psychology Board of Australia. The Mindstate Psychology team are qualified clinical psychologists and registered psychologists.
What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychatrist?
Psychologists should not be confused with psychiatrists. Psychiatrists are medical doctors who have completed specialist training in mental illness. They can prescribe medications and usually work with people with more severe mental illnesses. We may recommend the support of a psychiatrist in the case of complex mental health issues or suicidal risk.
How long does treatment typically take?
It is hard to predict how long psychological therapy treatment might take as everyone is different. The length of treatment will depend on the complexity of your situation, your current coping mechanisms and personal situation. At Mindstate Psychology, we are committed to fully support your healing journey.
