La Trobe Psychology Clinic

We provide cognitive and behavioural therapies at the Clinic to individuals, couples and families. These psychological therapies are based on research evidence and involve clients learning skills to make progress towards personal goals. The therapist will support you to find ways to cope with life's challenges, including learning new ways of thinking and acting.  Our approach is to work in a collaborative and respectful way, tailoring therapy to your needs, seeking to understand your life experiences and current circumstances.

We provide psychological therapy for a range of problems experienced by adults, young people and children including:

• General mental health and wellbeing
• Low mood/depression
• Fears and worries/anxiety
• Overcoming panic
• Psychological impact of chronic disease/cancer
• Adjustment to changes in life and circumstances
• Being a carer
• Parent relationships
• Eating related difficulties
• Sleep problems
• Grief and loss
• Relationship problems
• Gender and sexuality.

One in every seven Australian children suffers from behaviour problems including hitting, kicking and tantrums, or emotional difficulties such as fears, anxiety, sadness and depression. Early identification and treatment of challenging child behaviours helps prevent more serious issues from developing.

The Psychology Clinic offers strategies to help parents improve their child's wellbeing and behaviour and improve families' quality of life.

We offer services for a range of problems including:

• Behavioural and emotional problems
• Parent/child relationship
• Learning, educational and neuropsychology assessments
• Bullying at school
• Learning disabilities
• School adjustment problems.

Due to high demand, we have now closed the waitlist for cognitive assessments. We will re-open if there is capacity to provide cognitive assessments this year.

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A cognitive assessment includes an interview followed by a range of tasks designed to test specific areas of thinking such as memory, attention, concentration, learning, planning, problem solving and decision-making.

The Clinic provides comprehensive cognitive assessments that usually take 2-3 hours over 2-3 sessions to complete. Breaks are taken during the sessions and the pace can be varied to suit the individual.

After the completion of the assessment, we will evaluate the results, taking into consideration the persons age, background, history and reason for referral. We prepare a report that outlines the findings of the assessment including recommendations for actions and strategies that will benefit the person. These results may then be discussed during a feedback session with the person and the original referrer and/or those people supporting the person.

We provide comprehensive cognitive assessments for the following:

• Memory problems
• Concentration and attention problems
• Strengths and difficulties in cognitive processing.

Please note, although our Clinic does offer a range of learning assessments, we are unable to provide a formal assessment and diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at our Clinic. We are also unable to provide assessment of the impact of stroke or diagnose dementia.

If ASD is suspected, we recommend contacting Krongold Clinic (Monash University) or the Royal Children’s Hospital for a complete assessment.

While pregnancy can be an exciting time, it can also create worry and stress.

Up to one in five women experience anxiety in pregnancy. Some common worries may include the transition to parenthood, concerns about the wellbeing of the baby and fear of giving birth. Reaching out for help early can improve well-being and may reduce the risk of postnatal mental health issues.

This is offered as is a six-session program held over six weeks (1.45 hours per week) and invites women who are between 12-32 weeks pregnant to attend. It will help women to:

• Prepare for parenthood
• Understand their anxiety better and develop skills to manage it
• Develop strategies for self-care and relaxation
• Start to plan for the birth and postnatal period.

Participants will experience support via a range of interventions including psychoeducation, group discussion as well as ‘hands on’ practice of new skills which will assist with pregnancy, birth and beyond.

Sometimes the harder you try to sleep, the more difficult it becomes.

Insomnia is one of the most common health complaints in Australia, affecting up to a third of the population. When sleep is poor, we can feel tired and irritable, and as though everything requires more effort. When poor sleep persists it can increase negative feelings, affecting our mood and general health.

This group will help you to improve your sleep by learning natural ways to stop struggling and start sleeping. The group may be helpful for anyone who struggles to get to sleep, maintain sleep, wakes up too early, or does not sleep.

The group is offered as five sessions over six weeks (two hours per week). You will meet others who struggle with sleep, and the group leaders will guide you through:

• Why your insomnia started and what keeps it going
• How to achieve good quality sleep every night
• How to sleep naturally without reliance on medication.

The workshop is a mixture of teaching, discussion and exercises. You will be encouraged to use the learning from the workshop to build a new sleeping pattern to improve your sleep. You will also receive a set of self-help materials to use after the workshop.

Shyness and social anxiety can be a struggle.

If you experience shyness or social anxiety you might avoid social situations and have trouble connecting with others due to strong fears of humiliation, rejection and judgement. As a shy person, you may also experience panic attacks that make it even more likely that you will avoid social situations.

This group will help you to overcome social anxiety, by learning to handle performance fears, test anxiety, and interpersonal concerns. It runs for eight sessions over eight weeks (two hours per session) and will help you to:

• Understand how we get caught up by our fears of others' judgements, so that we avoid social situations and do unhelpful things to ‘play safe’
• Develop psychological flexibility skills to improve your ability to accept the feelings, thoughts, and behaviour that may arise as you learn to work past your anxiety and achieve what you care about
• Develop skills in mindfulness (noticing, flexible attention, willingness)
• Connect to your personal values, to guide actions that will build greater social confidence.

You will also receive individual coaching from a Provisionally-registered Psychologist. The group will provide you with self-help materials to use between meetings.

Individual sessions are 50 minutes. Fees apply for face-to-face and telehealth individual therapy sessions for children and adults.

There are two fee types for psychological therapy:

Standard fee: $40 per session.

Concession fee: $25 per session (concession card holders and current students including healthcare card holders).

Group program fees are subject to change. Please contact the Clinic for further information on fees for group programs.

Fees are inclusive of the interview, assessment, report and feedback; assessments occur over 2-3 sessions.

There are two fee types for cognitive assessments:

Standard fee: $500 per assessment.

Concession fee: $275 per assessment (concession card holders and current students including healthcare card holders).