Psychologists help people learn to cope with life issues and mental health problems. Psychologists use a variety of techniques (modalities) to help people through counselling based on their client’s characteristics, goals and circumstances.

Psychologists can help people with a variety of problems. Some people may talk to a Psychologist because they are experiencing feelings of depression, anger or anxiety. Others will have chronic conditions which are affecting their ability to function, hold down a job, or maintain a relationship. At times people will benefit from counselling for short-term challenges such as feeling overwhelmed, adapting to change in their lives, or in dealing with workplace challenges.

At Aware Psychology and Coaching our highly qualified and experienced Psychologists use techniques such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness, Positive Psychology and Solution Focused Therapy (SFT). Please see our “How we work” to learn how each of these can be applied.

Your Psychologist is not there to give you advice, tell you what to do or judge you in any way. The aim of the counselling that you receive from your Psychologist is to help you come to your own decision(s) as only you know how you feel in any given situation. The Psychologist might sum up what they understand you have been saying so that they can help you to form a plan of action.

Listening carefully is the largest part of what all psychologists and counsellors do. They make sure clients have clarified the problem areas in their own terms and help them decide what steps they want to take next. They will always let the work proceed at the client’s pace. A Psychologist can teach you coping techniques during your counselling sessions.

Generally, the first session is used in order to get to know you. We seek to understand your objectives and the reason that you came to us. We also use this session to devise a treatment plan and recommend the best basis to proceed going forward. Sometimes a single session can be effective, however, it will take a number of sessions to get to know you and advise you as to the best coping strategies to help you achieve lasting sustainable outcomes.

Online counselling sessions are generally appropriate for the same issues as face to face counselling. During your first meeting, we will assess if this is the right approach for you, and advise accordingly. Online counselling can also be a used if you travel frequently, live overseas, have difficulty leaving home/work for various reasons. Online and face to face sessions can be used together to ensure a consistent therapy program at your convenience.

Typically online counselling can be suitable for:

• anxiety
• behaviour management
• coping with change
• couples counselling
• depression
• divorce
• life adjustment
• obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
• parenting issues
• relationship issues
• relocation adjustment
• stress management
• work life balance

Very little. We go through the same process, offer the same levels of care and offer the same standards of care and confidentiality. However, some people may be more comfortable face to face meetings, especially initially. Once we get to know each other you’ll probably find little difference between the types of session, and likely will find online counselling more convenient.

Anyone that wants to meet with us face to face has the option to do so. It is your decision, or you can let us advise you.

Yes, it can be. However, for a small number of people, it may be preferable to meet face to face to get the best outcomes. We can advise you on this. Or just tell us how you feel after your first session and we’ll listen to your feedback and suggestions.

You can either make a booking online, or you can call our office and speak to our trained staff who can guide you on the best approach for you.  Our contact details are shown in the footer of this page, or you can use our “Contact” page

Prior to you are booking Aware Psychology and Coaching for the first time we will require you to complete both a Client Questionnaire and acknowledge our Confidentiality and Cancellation Policy. We will also email the links to these documents prior to your first appointment.

No, however, we will ask you to download a small secure app/piece of software to your device. We will send you the link that helps you do this.  We use a specialist Online Video tool called Zoom to support our online work.

We ask you to do this for your privacy and protection. That is very important to us. We offer our service through Zoom , https://www.zoom.us/ which is a US HIPAA standard video conference compliant teleheath app that is particularly suited to usage in a medial/psychology setting.  HIPAA is the American telehealth standard, which is currently the toughest in the world currently. We also conform to prevailing Australian guidelines and regulations.