Trauma, Pain and Chronic Health

Tracing the steps of the mind and body – from past to present – to open up the possibilities of your future.

Tracing the steps of the mind and body - from past to present - to open up the possibilities of your future.

We provide evidence-based therapy to patiently and kindly unpack the past, hold space for your pain, and connect you confidently into the present. We can provide medical oversight for chronic pain and health conditions through the services of our GP, as well as individual and group therapy options to address trauma, pain, and psychological impacts of living with chronic health conditions.

Trauma therapies

Trauma can take many forms. This includes terms like PTSD, CPTSD, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, emotional neglect, relational trauma and attachment trauma. Whether it is one big event that is having lasting effects on your wellbeing and functioning, or perhaps you are struggling from the trauma of a long-term relationship, we are here to work with you.

The types of trauma-focussed therapy we provide include:

Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)
Trauma-focussed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-ACT and TF-CBT)
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Internal Family Systems (IFP)
Schema Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy

Pain and Chronic Pain

Chronic pain Is considered to be pain that lasts longer than 3 months. It can be anywhere in your body, there all the time, or come and go.

Our psychologists are trained in evidence based treatments of chronic pain to work with you to change your relationship with and responses to pain. You will learn how to reduce the impact of pain on your life and your psychological wellbeing, and therefore be able to re engage with the things you care most deeply about.

Our GP has a special interest in chronic pain, chronic illness management, and end-stage disease management, as well as psychological medicine. With this intersection of expertise, he considers the physical, psychological, and social well-being of each person to determine a treatment plan. He can provide services in English or Farsi.

Chronic health and terminal illness

A chronic condition is a long term condition that may not have a cure. In Australia, common chronic health conditions include arthritis, back pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic mental health conditions.

Living with a chronic condition can affect your mood, relationships, work, and self-confidence. It can be lonely, sometimes it is difficult for people to understand what daily life is like for you.

Our psychologists are trained in evidence-based treatments of chronic conditions to support you in being able to develop coping strategies to manage the challenges, as well as to support you in reaching your goals. We can reconnect you to meaningful action, while keeping the impact of the chronic condition in mind and working with it rather than letting it stop you from leading a purposeful life.

We can also help you with end of life considerations – including the practical, emotional, and social aspects of living meaningfully in your end stages of life. Our GP and psychologists are trained to work with you to patiently and carefully consider your preferences, values, and wishes.

Why psychology?

Medicare recognises the important role of psychologists when managing chronic health conditions.

Medicare states:

“Psychologists are experts in human behaviour. This means that they are able to assist not only those people who have mental health problems, but also people who need help in adjusting to a chronic or complex illness.

Often chronic or complex illnesses require a number of lifestyle changes such as changes to diet, exercise, smoking and alcohol intake, changes in time management strategies to help with scheduling regular appointments, changes to medication, as well as changes to work, family and living arrangements.

Psychologists can often assist with making some of these changes and adapting to the challenges of having a chronic or complex illness. Being confronted with a long-term or complex illness can also be a very emotional time, and people may feel anxious or depressed, angry, helpless or confused. Psychologists can provide support and assistance at these times to help with the emotional adjustment that occurs when confronted with an illness.”