Psychological therapy
What happened can sit with you more gently over time.
Therapy for trauma, grief and loss, for children, adolescents, adults and older adults, in Southport and across the Gold Coast, and by telehealth where that is suitable.
After something frightening or painful, or after a loss, the mind can keep returning to it. That is the mind trying to make sense of what happened, not a sign that something is wrong with you.
We work at a pace you set, build a sense of safety and steadiness first, and only then turn towards the harder material, together and never alone. 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
People come to us carrying very different events, and many of the same experiences afterwards. You might notice:
- Intrusive memories, images or moments that arrive unbidden, in the day or as dreams at night
- Feeling on edge, easily startled, watchful, or as though your body is braced for something to go wrong
- Numbness or a sense of distance, feeling cut off from people, or going flat where you used to feel
- Avoiding reminders, places, people or conversations, and finding life narrowing as a result
- Grief that will not lift, where the sharpness has not eased the way you expected it would
- Anniversary reactions, where a date, a season or a place brings the feeling rushing back
However you are coping right now, including ways that do not feel good to you, makes sense as a response to what you have been through. This page is not crisis support. If you are in immediate danger call 000. For support any time, Lifeline is on 13 11 14, and 1800RESPECT, for sexual assault, domestic and family violence, is on 1800 737 732.
How we help
How therapy helps with trauma and grief
The aim is not to erase what happened. It is to help it feel less present and less in charge, so it takes up less of your days. We move in a clear order, and you stay in control of the pace throughout.
Safety and steadiness first
Before we go near the difficult material, we build the ground to stand on: ways to settle the body when it is activated, to manage sleep and the day, and to feel more in control of the memories rather than swept along by them. For some people this stabilising work is the whole of it, and that is a good outcome.
Trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy
A structured, well-evidenced approach that helps you make sense of how the experience has shaped your thoughts and beliefs, and, when you are ready, work gradually and safely through the memory and the reminders you have been avoiding, sometimes called exposure-based work, so they hold less power over your days. You set the pace, and we never move faster than feels manageable.
Working with the feelings underneath (EFT-informed)
Emotion-focused work attends to the feelings that trauma and loss can leave knotted or held back, helping you turn towards grief, fear or anger at a pace you can manage, so they can move rather than stay stuck.
Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)
An emotion-focused, experiential therapy that gently works with the feelings and the protective patterns that build up around painful experience, including the avoidance and bracing that can keep distress going, often working briefly and deeply.
Which of these we draw on depends on you, what you are carrying, and what feels right as we go. We talk it through together, match the approach to you rather than the other way around, and are always honest if another service would suit you better.
What to expect
Paced, never forced
You do not have to tell the whole story before you are ready, and you never have to tell more than you choose to. A typical course of work moves like this:
- A first conversation. We talk about what brings you in and what you hope for, at a level of detail that feels manageable. You set how much to say and when.
- Building safety and steadiness. Together we put practical tools in place for the moments that overwhelm, so you feel more settled and more in charge before any deeper work begins.
- Turning towards the difficult material. When you are ready, and only then, we work with the memories, the feelings or the loss, in a way you can pause or slow at any point.
- Reviewing together. We check how things are landing and adjust the approach with you. The number of sessions varies with the person and the goal, and we will be honest with you about that.
Grief and trauma do not run to a timetable, and there is no schedule you are meant to keep to. If the past sits alongside a neurological diagnosis or a change in thinking, you can also read about adjustment and the rest of our therapy.
“You will not be asked to go anywhere you are not ready to go, and you will not go there on your own.”
What changes
Room to live alongside it
For many people, the memories lose some of their grip, the body settles more often, and the days are less ruled by avoidance. Grief usually does not disappear, but it can change shape, leaving more room for the rest of your life and for the people in it. What we are working towards is decided with you, and we keep checking that the work is going somewhere that matters to you.
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.
When you are ready, we are here
Request an appointment, or call 0452 452 262. There is no rush, and you can ask us anything first. GPs and other professionals can refer through our referrer page. You do not need a referral for a private appointment.
Request an appointmentSources: Phoenix Australia, Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health, Australian Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Acute Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Complex PTSD, 2021. Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, Better Access to Mental Health Care (Medicare). Crisis and support lines: Lifeline 13 11 14; 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732.