Do you have the same thought continually entering into your mind despite trying to ignore it? Or do you find that you can’t relax unless you’ve completed a specific behaviour or pattern? Sometimes, thoughts can become so intrusive that they start to take up a large part of our day, and affect other aspects of our lives. If this is the case, you may have some of the symptoms associated with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD.
OCD can be a very debilitating if left to develop without treatment, and can start take over almost every aspect of a person’s life. It involves two key aspects – obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions are intrusive thoughts, images, urges or beliefs that continually occupy the mind despite trying to resist or remove them. Compulsions are the resulting behaviour or act, and often provide relief from the intrusive obsessive thoughts, but at the same time, impair the person’s ability to function.
Some common obsessions include:
Fear of contamination
Fear of losing control of your behaviour
Uncontrollable sexually explicit or violent thoughts
You are using alcohol or drugs to manage your anger
However, there’s no limit to what these thoughts and behaviours can include. If you have any sort of belief or behaviour that is negatively impacting your life, or the lives of those close to you, don’t cope with it alone any longer.
There are a number of ways that a psychologist can educate you on OCD, and work through the symptoms – at your own pace. Some of the ways we can assist include, but are not limited to:
Helping to identify where these thoughts stem from and challenging them in a way that reduces their effect
Testing out your beliefs in small incremental steps to reduce the anxiety that you feel about them
Relaxation training
Building up your social support and recreational activities to help you overcome these concerns outside of the allocated sessions as well
Meet the someone.health psychologists currently available to see new clients for obsessive compulsive disorder counselling.
Wendy will work with you to develop the skills necessary to effectively manage challenges and enhance your emotional wellbeing. Wendy has developed methods that assist clients to empower themselves and restore their quality of life. She has seen first hand how patients become empowered with improved emotional intelligence and psycho-education.
Kate has extensive experience working with young people and also has experience with adults requiring support through transition periods and unemployment. Kate is trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Solution Focused Therapy and Brief Interventions, Motivational Interviewing and Mindfulness techniques.
Louise has extensive experience with children and adolescents but is very comfortable working with all age groups. Clients with issues in the areas of self esteem, stress, anxiety and depression, substance use issues and body/weight related issues would be assisted by Louise’s experience in these fields.
Gail believes therapy is a collaborative process where you select the style that you feel most comfortable. Gail is trained to use a number of evidence based approaches including, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT).
James’ approach to mental health is about mind-body integration and looking at the “whole person”. Mental health influences how we feel, think and move, how we communicate and relate to the world, and can seriously impact our physical health. James will hep make sense of how this all fits together, to explore unhelpful thoughts and behaviour, and identify different options.
Fin believes that understanding how we think and what experiences led us to these cognitions is the only way to get to know ourselves fully and lead a more balanced life. Fin is trained in several evidence based approaches, including CBT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Schema Therapy and EMDR for the treatment of trauma.
Chris has experience working with a diverse range of clients. This includes working with people with anxiety and depression, PTSD and trauma related recovery, relationship issues, family dysfunction, grief and loss, low self esteem and interpersonal difficulties and much more.
Nathan hopes to leave you with a range of skills that will not only help you now, but also make you better prepare to manage whatever other challenges life will throw your way in the future. He is interested in working with individuals suffering from depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders and trauma based psychiatric conditions.
Rosemary welcomes clients concerned with personal issues such as anger, stress, anxiety, and depression, self-esteem, phobias, adjustment, behavioural change, eating disorders, smoking cessation, grief and loss, and relationships. She also welcomes clients with workplace issues such as career development, motivation, performance, and interpersonal conflict.
Jade has more than 20 years experience in working with people of all ages, across both private and government settings. She has a special interest in weight management psychology, as well as mood disorders (anxiety and depression), stress management and health psychology.
Pinar is a supportive, empathetic psychologist with 9 years of clinical experience. Her approach primarily focuses on ‘here and now’, bringing mindfulness, and cognitive behaviour therapy into the sessions to enable exploration and growth. Goal-setting, psycho-education, and supportive counselling are all embedded into her sessions.
Marina is warm and empathic. She enjoys working collaboratively with people to help them better understand the factors that are contributing to and maintaining their difficulties. She is skilled at matching practical strategies to the individual needs of the people she works with to help them create long-lasting change.
Eyleia has worked with a broad range of people presenting with different life experiences and problems. Eyleia has worked with children who suffer from internal problems such as anxiety and depression, as well as external issues such as ADHD and ODD.
Trisha has experience working with a diverse range of clients including children, community from different cultural backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, and LGBT+ community.
Ari doesn’t just rely on “talk therapy” but also works with the subconscious and body. He utilises a variety of techniques including guided meditation, visualizations, somatic experiencing, brainspotting, and emotion-focused release to let go of trapped negative energy keeping you “blocked” in an unwanted state of consciousness as a result of past trauma.
Michelle is experienced working with clients presenting for depression and anxiety in addition to those experiencing issues relating to substance use, emotional regulation and relationship challenges.
Justine believes the most important factor to effective therapy is the collaborative relationship between psychologist and client. Justine will never tell you what to do – instead she’ll listen to you and together will work out the best way to help you move forward with achieving your personal therapy goals.
Nick has experience working with a diverse range of clients, including children, adolescents and adults. He also has extensive experience working with people with post -traumatic stress and anxiety disorder, including survivors of natural disaster s who may be recovering from bushfires cyclones and floods.
Nick has a keen interest in working with people experiencing anxiety, perfectionism, procrastination, low self -esteem and interpersonal difficulties.
Mary is very keen to equip you with the life skills, social and behavioural skills, cognitive skills using acceptance and mindfulness techniques. This will build your repertoire of tools to better manage life on a day to day basis so that you are leading a more fulfilling and functional lifestyle with confidence.
Madaline has experience in working with a diverse range of clients across the lifespan. She has a keen interest in working with people who are experiencing anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and experiencing the effects of trauma. As well as supporting Children and Families. She has extensive experiencing in working with people with Autism and Intellectual Disability.