
A good leader chooses to be vulnerable
With our national election this Saturday, the nation is thinking about leadership. However, leaders aren't just politicians or CEOs. You're a leader - and a good leader - if you see potential in others and try to develop it. Many of us may be leaders without realising it. So how does a leader lead...
Not all mothers celebrate Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day and Realistic expectations. Out loud. It is not uncommon after Mother's Day each year for psychologists to hear from women heartbroken about their experience. Seemingly the entire country takes their mother out for a champagne brunch or serves her breakfast in bed. Or delivers sweet...
Making sense of a changed world – responding to shared grief and loss
The last few years has brought many difficulties – the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, wars – but these global events have flow on effects into our daily lives. There is increasing discussion on the ‘collective grief’ within community, for the loss of life or of what could have...
POST-NATAL DEPRESSION OR ANXIETY
The ‘Baby Blues’ is a common experience for most women for a few days after having a baby. New motherhood is a daunting transition and at times can feel overwhelming. Some ups and downs are expected and appropriate. A new mother’s body is recovering from birth, there are significant hormonal...
What happens when our actions disagree with our beliefs?
Leon Festinger plays an important role in your life, even if you’re not aware of it. Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance refers to the internal discomfort we feel in moments of conflict between our attitudes, beliefs or behaviours. This dissonance is particularly powerful when a behaviour...
Procrastination
April. Well into the full swing of another year, and the daily grind resumes. It is common for people to not feel particularly motivated, and procrastination could easily set in at this point. There may be many reasons behind procrastination, but in this article we focus on the management of...
What happens when you ‘flip the lid’
“I cannot believe he did that,” would have possibly been the first thought to cross our minds as we watched the unfolding of events at the Oscars this week. As we try to wrap our heads around what happened, it might help to know that when we are under immense stress, we either ‘get a grip’ or...
Values Mind Map
I have found that most of my clients struggle to name the values that they think are important in their everyday lives. They also struggle to know how to make those values part of their goal-setting and decision-making. It is helpful to know what values we consider important because value-based...
Being A Confident Woman
Did you know that compared to men, women generally tend to underestimate their abilities, experience more self-doubt, and hesitate before making a decision, irrespective of their ability levels? In therapy, I’ve noticed that one of the most common goals women have for themselves is to grow in...
Keeping calm and safe during times of chaos
Lately it may feel as if unprecedented is the new precedent. Pandemics, floods and war are large-scale catastrophes, bringing the knowledge and experience of human suffering into our hearts and homes. Perhaps you have noticed a shift in your level of alertness (hyper-arousal), which is a normal...
Challenging Your Negative Thinking Principles…
"I definitely have negative thoughts, but I don't know what to do about them!" Perhaps this is something you've told yourself recently or identified after reading our blog on Identifying Faulty Thinking. Here is a helpful document with starter questions to challenge or reframe your thinking....
Why do I feel like an imposter?
“I attribute my achievements to luck and external factors. I fear I might not live up to my expectations. I get stuck in spirals of self-doubt. I always write off my success. I have thoughts such as, ‘My accomplishments and ideas aren’t worthy of others’attention.’ ‘What gives me the right to be...
Why Do I Keep Procrastinating Even Though I Know It’s Unhelpful?
Procrastination is the act of choosing to delay a task, despite it leading to negative consequences. Usually, procrastination occurs with tasks that we experience as unpleasant or uncomfortable in some way, and procrastination functions as a way to dodge this discomfort. Procrastination is a...
How to identify faulty thinking
We very often automatically believe our thoughts and take them as fact. However, we all sometimes get stuck in the habit of unhelpful thinking patterns, or taking mental short cuts, that aren’t actually based on reality. These cognitive distortions tend to confirm our negative beliefs about...
Uncomfortable Emotions: Why we need to move from avoidance to acceptance
Horror films. We stream them knowing the jump scares are coming; that we’ll lose half our fingernails and our hearts will race a million miles an hour. But we accept it and make space for it knowing there will be something valuable to come out of it. Entertainment. Yet often we’re not willing to...
Lockdowns, Freedoms and the brain: Finding answers in the midst of tiredness.
Why am I so lazy? I feel like a bad friend. I just don’t have it in me today. How are they seeing this many people? I use to do this every weekend. Why is it so hard now? In general, us humans are fairly predictable. Our schedules might change between school and uni, full time work to full-time...
The Holiday Survival Guide
You step into your local supermarket, and notice that you are surrounded by millions of chocolates wrapped in green and red. Yes, it’s that time of the year again. This time of the year could bring great joy, as well as great stress, sometimes. Here are a few guides for keeping a good mental...
Why Perfectionism is Not Really Perfect
Perfectionism is an interesting idea. Many consider this term a compliment, some pride themselves of being a perfectionist, whilst some would even say that they wish they are a bit more of a perfectionist. However, as a psychologist, I have to say that a huge chunk of my time is actually spent...
How to be OK with NOT being perfect
In my previous career, I spent many years focussing on error; of technique, resonance, intonation or phrasing. It was possible to rehearse endlessly, and difficult to decide when to stop. When was I finished? Sometimes all that attention to error made it difficult to enjoy music-making at all. And...
Rediscovering yourself in the midst of Depression
Those experiencing depression often express a sense of hopelessness or helplessness. Like no matter what direction they walk, whether they go under, over, around, or through different obstacles, nothing changes. Sometimes it can feel even worse! So what can we do when we’re stuck there? There is...
Is Acceptance the Key to Treating Sleep Problem?
What happens when you find yourself having difficulty falling asleep, let’s say, by 2am in the morning? You’ve been trying to fall asleep for a few hours by this point. You can hear the clock ticking away, you can hear the dog snoring, your eyes wide open, perhaps your brain feels too active, and...
Take a mindfulness moment for your senses
The re-entry into the post-lockdown world can be a daunting and exhausting task for some. I have noticed several clients speaking of their uncertainty about how to adjust to the outside world again. I certainly have noticed that my own social stamina is not what it used to be! Being mindful of our...
Sleep Hygiene Handout
Many of our clients have asked how they can be preparing for lockdown ending. When we get to bed and when we get up is something we can control, and getting enough sleep has far-reaching benefits for our health and increases our capacity to face new challenges and experiences. Need a refresher on...
Re-entry anxiety post lockdown
As we embrace the date for more freedoms in NSW, you may be detecting levels of apprehension about moving back out into the world. A phenomenon known as re-entry anxiety, or reverse culture shock, it is the experience of re-engaging in a formerly known existence after having a different experience...