PERSONAL SERVICES

The services of Corporate and Personal Consulting are available to anyone, you don’t have to be sent by an employer. We offer a wide range of services to individuals. A large proportion of our clients have referred themselves or been referred by friends or other health professionals.

We offer the following personal consultation services.

COACHING SERVICES

Executive Coaching,   Life Coaching,   Performance Enhancement

These services are offered for those who are tying to achieve the best in life and work. People who request coaching are often not suffering any psychological problems, rather they want to find ways to optimise their performance at work, the balance between work and personal life, or the way in which they manage their daily lives.

THERAPEUTIC SERVICES

We offer counselling for individuals, couples and families using techniques like:

• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
• Client Centered and Solution Oriented Therapy
• Marital and Relationship Therapy
• Family Mediation/ Dispute Resolution
• Mindfulness
• Hypnotherapy
• Biofeedback and Neurofeedback

INDIVIDUAL COUNSELLING

Many people face daily problems very effectively. However, some people face more prolonged or severe problems in their lives. These can lead to feelings of stress, depression and helplessness. They can also create other more severe psychological problems if they are not dealt with effectively. Through counselling you can learn new ways of dealing with problems more effectively, to relieve stress or depression, and to assist with more severe psychological problems.

FAMILY AND COUPLES COUNSELLING

There are many factors that place more strain on families and couples than ever before. The pressures of educating children and helping them make intelligent choices about their lives, the pressures of both parents (or partners) working and the pressure of managing separation, divorce and blended families can easily become too much to cope with. Counselling can provide you with insight into your family and relationships and help you find more effective and enjoyable ways of coping with these issues.

FAMILY MEDIATION/ DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Family dispute resolution (also called family mediation) is a pathway for separating couples to reach agreement on financial settlements and caring for their children. The process is aimed at minimizing conflict and the need for court proceedings. As a result mediated outcomes are faster, save money, and are more amicable.

Mediators are neutral, and will not take sides. They understand the complexities and emotional stress of separation, and can provide guidance about reasonable outcomes.

You and your partner will be required to consider all options for resolving financial and children’s matters.

ABOUT THE PROCESS
If you need more information about the process before proceeding with mediation, you can book an Information Session with a mediator.

When you are ready to proceed you will need to make an intake appointment first. In this appointment we will take the background information about the separation, and assess for any risks in your circumstances. This session usually takes about 1 hour. At your assessment session we will discuss with you the suitability of your matter for mediation. If the matter is suitable we will contact the other party by mail to invite them to their own assessment session prior to family dispute resolution.

Please inform the other party of your intent to seek mediation.

The mediator facilitates cooperation around issues such as:

• How much time children spend with each parent
• Child support payments
• Division of property and investments

Family dispute resolution usually takes from two to five sessions to complete, with each session lasting two to three hours.

CHILD FOCUSED MEDIATION

All family dispute resolution processes centre on the best interests of the children involved. Practitioners do not have any bias towards either parent, no matter who initiated the process. We encourage parents to consider how their actions and decisions will affect their children.

As part of the process a psychologist can also provide child assessments and child feedback sessions if necessary

HYPNOTHERAPY

Hypnotherapy is an extremely effective method of helping people manage a range of problems. It is used to stop a wide range of habits, such as smoking, nail biting, hair pulling and alcohol abuse. It is also effective for relaxation and control of stress or pain, and in enhancing performance in pressured situations such as sports or public speaking.

MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness is the practice of directing attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental manner. It aids observation of thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in the process of evaluation or criticism. Mindfulness is a skill that can, as part of a treatment program, reduce stress, anxiety and worry as well as enhancing mental health and well-being.

The following link takes you to a free 10 minute guided mindfulness audio exercise. The therapist speaking is Joanna Mitchell

BIOFEEDBACK AND NEUROFEEDBACK

Biofeedback involves measuring signals from the body and training clients to control the behaviour of their bodies. Signals include heart rate (electrocardiography or EKG), muscle tension (Electromyography or EMG), sweating (Galvanic Skin Response or GSR), skin temperature, breathing rate, and brain activity (Electroencephalography or EEG).

Using feedback about the bodies functioning it is possible to alter muscle tension and train you to relax muscle groups, reduce heart rate, and lower a range of stress responses. Biofeedback is used to treat:

• Migraine headaches
• Tension headaches
• Other types of chronic pain
• High blood pressure
• Cardiac arrhythmias (abnormalities in the rhythm of the heartbeat)
• ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder)
• and other conditions

Neurofeedback is a specific form of biofeedback. It is an approach to train the brain, helping it to improve its ability to regulate all bodily functions and to take care of itself. Using EEG (Electroencephalogram) feedback it is possible to detect problems in the functioning of the brain, and to show you how to use your brain to improve your functioning.

EEG feedback is obtained by placing electrodes on the ears and scalp. This process is totally non-invasive and carries no risk of harm. Electrodes detect the activity of the brain, which is then fed into a computer. The software then converts the signals into output that can be viewed on screen. It can also be fed into specialized computer "games". These games are set by the therapist to reward the types of brain activity that will best help you improve your functioning.

Neurofeedback can:

• Improve sleep
• Increase mental alertness
• Assist in the treatment of depression, anxiety, migraine, and chronic pain
• Help manage problems with attention, like Attention Deficit Disorder
• Help you keep emotions more stable and manageable (eg. Managing temper outbursts)
• Enhance performance of executives, athletes and performers

ASSESSMENT SERVICES

Career Assessment

Whether planning your career as a student or planning a career change, vocational guidance can be very useful. Good vocational guidance offers a way to organise your thoughts about the types of work you like and dislike, and to match this with your personality and your ability. Also, the report you receive from the vocational guidance can be a useful addition to the materials you might present in job interviews.

We will provide you with information that matches your personality profile with your career interests to assist you in finding the most appropriate career direction.

Intellectual Assessment

These assessments are particularly useful for students struggling with school work. They can provide invaluable information about the basis of academic difficulties. In addition, all educational assessment include recommendations as to how performance can best be improved.