Psychological therapy
Finding your way back to nights that rest you, and steadier ground when life shifts.
Therapy for sleep difficulties and for adjusting to change, for children, adolescents, adults and older adults, in Southport and across the Gold Coast, and by telehealth where that is suitable.
When sleep stops coming, or when a diagnosis or a big change has unsettled the way you think about your life, the nights can feel long and the days can feel heavy.
We work with the worry, the habits and the sense of upheaval that keep good sleep and steady footing out of reach, building practical ways to settle the night-time mind and to take in change at a pace you can manage. We see people in Southport and across the Gold Coast, and by telehealth where that is suitable.
Does this sound like you?
What you might be living with
Sleep and change often arrive together: a new diagnosis, a different role, or a change in thinking can be exactly what keeps you awake. You might recognise some of this.
- You cannot fall asleep, lying awake long after you go to bed
- You wake in the night or far too early and cannot get back to sleep
- Your mind races the moment your head hits the pillow, replaying the day or rehearsing tomorrow
- You are exhausted and worn down, and the tiredness is starting to colour your mood, your focus and how you cope
- You are trying to take in a diagnosis, your own or someone close to you, and it keeps you up at night
- A change in role, such as retirement, a new job, becoming a carer or stepping back from work, has left you off balance
- A change in your thinking, such as memory or concentration after a health event, has unsettled how you see yourself and the path ahead
Persistent sleep problems can have medical causes, including sleep apnoea, pain, thyroid and other conditions, and some medications affect sleep. We are not a sleep-medicine service and we do not diagnose or treat those causes. If your sleep has been disturbed for a while, or you snore heavily, stop breathing in your sleep or feel very sleepy through the day, please see your GP, who can arrange a sleep service or study where one is needed. We are glad to work alongside that care.
This is a planned therapy service, not a crisis line. If you are not safe right now, or sleeplessness has left you unable to cope, please reach out straight away: call 000 in an emergency, or Lifeline on 13 11 14 at any hour.
How therapy helps
How therapy helps with sleep and adjustment to change
We start by understanding your sleep, your routine and what has changed in your life, then draw on the approach that fits. Here is what each one means.
CBT for the habits and thoughts around sleep
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) works with the links between thoughts, feelings and behaviour. For sleep, that means looking at the routines, the time spent awake in bed, and the worried thinking about sleep itself that can quietly keep insomnia going, and building steadier habits and a calmer relationship with the night.
ACT, for the night-time mind
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) builds psychological flexibility: making room for the thoughts and feelings we cannot switch off, and choosing actions that line up with your values. It can ease the struggle with a racing mind at night, and help you keep moving towards what matters while you adjust to change.
Mindfulness-based strategies
Mindfulness trains attention and reduces rumination, the looping over-and-over thinking that fuels both poor sleep and the unsettled feeling that comes with a big change. We practise ways to settle the body and let the mind quieten rather than fighting to force sleep.
Adjustment-focused support
When a diagnosis, a role change or a change in your thinking has shifted the ground under you, we make space to take it in, grieve what has changed, and rebuild a sense of direction. This is often where sleep and adjustment meet, and where working on both together helps most.
We also offer cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), a structured, sleep-specific program with set components, where it suits you. It is the approach Australian and international guidelines recommend first for ongoing insomnia, ahead of sleeping medication.
What to expect
How we begin
Sessions are usually 50 minutes, scheduled weekly or fortnightly. A typical course of work looks like this.
- Understanding the picture. A first conversation about your sleep, your daily routine, your health and what has been changing in your life, including how long it has been going on and what you have already tried.
- Checking the medical side is covered. We talk through whether a medical cause for your sleep should be looked at, and, with your consent, coordinate with your GP so nothing important is missed.
- A shared plan. Together we set a focus that matters to you, whether that is settling the nights, taking in a diagnosis, or finding your feet after a change, and choose the approach to suit it.
- Building the skills. We work on practical steps for sleep and for adjustment, trying them out between sessions and adjusting as we learn what helps.
- Reviewing as we go. We check progress together. The number of sessions varies with the approach and the goal, and we will be honest with you about that.
It often helps to keep a simple note of your sleep for a week or two before we start, and to bring a list of any medications. There is nothing to prepare beyond coming as you are.
“Rest is not something you can force, but it is something we can make room for again.”
What changes
What you can hope for
Most people come wanting two things: easier nights, and a steadier sense of themselves while life is changing. Work on sleep aims to loosen the grip of the worried, wakeful patterns, so that going to bed feels less like a battle and rest comes more readily. Work on adjustment makes room to take in what has changed, at your pace, and to find a direction that still fits you. We will be honest about what therapy can and cannot do, and where a medical opinion is the right next step we will say so and help you get it.
Funding and rebates
What you can claim
With a Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP, the Better Access initiative provides Medicare rebates for a number of individual sessions each calendar year, with a GP review part way through. Rebates differ for clinical and registered psychologists. We also work with the Department of Veterans' Affairs, WorkCover Queensland, icare (NSW) and transport-accident schemes.
A referral is not needed to see us privately. A referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan are needed to claim Medicare rebates. Current fees and the exact rebate figures are on our Fees and Policies page.
Would easier nights, or steadier ground, help right now?
Request an appointment, or call 0452 452 262. If you have a Mental Health Treatment Plan or referral, attach it and we will take care of the rest. GPs and other professionals can refer through our referrer page. You do not need a referral for a private appointment.
Request an appointmentSources: Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, Better Access initiative (Medicare-rebated mental health care). The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), guidance on the assessment and management of insomnia in general practice, which recognises cognitive and behavioural therapy for insomnia as a first-line treatment. Sleep Health Foundation (Australia), consumer information on insomnia and healthy sleep.