Welcome to Core Psychology

Professional psychological therapy for adults and adolescents.

Our approach is evidence-based, supportive and flexible to your individual needs.

For help with a range of issues including

• Depression and mood difficulties
• Stress and Anxiety Disorders
  
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
• Self Esteem and Confidence
• Grief and Bereavement
• Alcohol and other Drug issues
  
• Body image and eating issues
• Sleep difficulties
• Work or school difficulties

All of our Psychologists are registered with Medicare as providers of Psychological Services and are fully registered with the NSW Psychologists Registration Board.

After hours appointments and Saturday appointments are available.

What is Depression?

Depression is a very common psychological disorder. Up to 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men will experience depression in their lifetime. Depression is not just normal sadness, or being moody. Depression is a set of symptoms that persist and interfere with your life.

If you are depressed you might experience some of the following symptoms

• a lack of energy, feeling tired all the time
• feeling sad or down most of the time
• feeling hopeless or helpless, numb or empty
• thinking about suicide
• increased use of drugs &/or alcohol
• withdrawing from family or friends
• lack of interest in sex
• headaches or stomach aches
• losing interest or pleasure in things you used to enjoy
• having difficulties concentrating and making decisions
• feeling overwhelmed, irritable, guilty, sad, or unhappy
• changes in sleeping patterns

Depression is a treatable condition and excellent outcomes can be achieved with cognitive behavioural therapies with a focus on understanding what depression is, learning strategies for managing your thinking and behaviour and strategies for relapse prevention.

For more information about depression have a look at the following links:
www.BeyondBlue.org.au
www.blackdoginstitute.org.au

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What is Stress and Anxiety?

Stress is not a diagnosis, but a set of symptoms. Stress is not always a bad thing. Some people thrive on stress and even need it to get things done, but for other people stress can cause extreme distress or discomfort. The level and extent of stress a person may feel depends a great deal on their attitude to a particular situation. An event which may be extremely stressful for one person can be a mere hiccup in another person's life.

Some symptoms of stress include the following:

Emotions - anxiety, depression, tension or anger

The way you think - poor concentration, forgetfulness, indecisiveness, apathy or hopelessness

Behaviours - increased drinking and smoking, insomnia, accident proneness, weight problems, obsessive compulsive behaviour or nervousness, gambling, difficulties sleeping

Anxiety disorders are the most common of all psychological complaints.  There are several disorders that come under the heading of anxiety; Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Phobia and Simple Phobias. Anxiety disorders respond very well to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Generalised Anxiety Disorder
Panic Disorder
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Social Anxiety and Social Phobia
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Simple Phobias

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Trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

There are a wide range of traumatic events that might lead to difficulties with psychological functioning. Some examples include;

• war
• torture
• rape
• child sexual or physical assault
• physical assault
• being kidnapped
• terrorism
• a natural disaster (e.g. a bushfire, flood or cyclone)
• a major car accident
• being diagnosed with a potentially fatal illness e.g. cancer
• finding the body of someone who has committed suicide or been murdered

It is normal to have a wide range of reactions following exposure to one of these traumatic experiences. Common reactions include feeling tense and on edge, numb, shocked, fearful, angry, irritable, sad, guilty, and lacking in interest and motivation. It is also normal to experience difficulty concentrating.

Following a traumatic events support from family and friends and time to respond in your own way are very important. For many people, given time and understanding, their emotional reactions to a trauma settle to manageable levels, over days, weeks, or months as they gradually find ways to come to terms with what has happened. For other people these very strong symptoms persist for a number of months and cause significant distress and disruption in their lives, they then may be diagnosed with Posttraumatic stress disorder. Some of the symptoms of this disorder include;

• distressing thoughts or images
• nightmares about the event
• feeling or acting as if the traumatic event were recurring
• intense psychological distress when exposed to something that triggers memories of the traumatic event.
• physical symptoms such as sweating, muscle tension and rapid heartbeat when exposed to things that trigger memories of the traumatic event.

Avoidance Symptoms such as:

• trying to avoid thinking or talking about the trauma, as well as any feelings associated with the trauma (for example using alcohol or other drugs to block out unwanted memories).
• avoiding people, places and activities that trigger memories of the traumatic event.
• not remembering an important part of the traumatic event
• losing interest in, and enjoyment of e.g. leisure activities, study, work or stop participating in such activities altogether.
• feeling detached from other people
• being unable to feel joy or have loving feelings
• not being able to see a future, for example not expecting to have a family or live a long time

The Physical Arousal Symptoms include:

• sleep disturbance
• irritability or anger
• impaired concentration
• being always on the alert for signs of danger
• overeacting to sudden noises

If you are experiencing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, effective treatment helps you to understand your reactions and to process the trauma in such a way that it intrudes less on your daily functioning.

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What is Self Esteem?

Self Esteem is the experience of being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and being worthy of happiness. It is the opinion that you have of yourself.

Self esteem is essential for psychological survival. Judging and rejecting yourself causes enormous pain, and you might find yourself avoiding anything that might aggravate the pain of self-rejection in any way. You take fewer social, academic, and career risks. Having low self esteem can mean that you make it more difficult for yourself to meet people, interview for jobs, limit your ability to get close to people, express your sexuality, be the centre of attention, hear criticism, ask for help or solve problems.

How you perceive and feel about yourself can change. You can uncover and analyse the negative self statements that you make and learn to make more realistic and positive ones about yourself.

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Loss, grief and bereavement

Grief and bereavement means, literally, to be deprived by death. After someone close to you dies, you go through a process of mourning. Numbness, anger and sadness can all be part of that process. Bereavement can also cause physical reactions including sleeplessness, loss of energy and loss of appetite. Your feelings of grief can also be triggered by the loss of a job or pet and also things like a relationship breakdown. Being diagnosed with a terminal illness or caring for someone who is dying can also lead to feelings of grief.

When someone is bereaved, they usually experience an intense feeling of sorrow - grief. People grieve in order to accept a deep loss and carry on with their life. Experts believe that if you do not grieve at the time of death, or shortly after, the grief may stay bottled up inside you. This can cause emotional problems or physical illness later on. Working through your grief can be a painful process, but it is often necessary to ensure your future emotional and physical well-being. If you think that you might need a bit of help coping with grief and bereavement, please give core psychology a call.

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Alcohol and Other Drugs

How do you know when just enjoying a few drinks or recreational drug use might be causing you problems? Some things to look out for include:

• needing more and more alcohol or drugs to feel any effects
• withdrawal symptoms a few hours after you have stopped using alcohol or drugs (e.g. shaking, sleep problems, agitation, anxiety, nausea)
• having trouble cutting down or controlling the amount of alcohol or drugs you use
• sick days because you are hung-over
• missing out on things you used to do or enjoy because of alcohol or drug use

There are lots of practical steps you can make to help to be able to cut down or stop your alcohol or drug use. Contact core psychology if you would like to speak to someone about this common problem.

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Body image and eating issues

It is common for people to feel unhappy about certain aspects of their physical appearance, and for some people this can lead to unhealthy eating habits. Some unhealthy eating habits that people can fall into can include not eating enough, overeating or binge eating, and taking measures to rid the body of calories consumed such as vomiting, or doing excessive exercise. You might think that your efforts to control your eating are a healthy way to achieve the body you want, but if your eating habits consume your thoughts and dictate your social activities, things have gotten out of control. Eating disorders can have serious emotional and physical effects. If you think that your eating or dieting might be getting out of hand please contact core psychology.

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Sleep difficulties

Sleep difficulties can have an enormous impact on your ability to function at work, at school and your relationships. Sleep difficulties include difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying awake during the daytime, difficulty sleeping during normal sleep hours at nighttime, waking up during the night or very early in the morning. Sleep difficulties are common in people experiencing worry and stress, and is also a common symptom of depression. There are some practical strategies that a psychologist can help you with to assist you to get your sleep back on track.

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Work or school difficulties

Think about how much time you spend at work or in the classroom! When you add it up, it can seem like it is the majority of your waking hours.  So when something at work or school is not going well it can have an enormous impact on the rest of your life. Bullying doesn’t just happen in the schoolyard, many people can experience bullying in their place of work too. The impact of being a victim of bullying can be enormous including sleep difficulties, feeling anxious, loss of confidence and depression.

Burnout is a state of emotional and physical exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. Burnout can occur when you face constant demands and it can leave you feeling overwhelmed and lacking in motivation. Burnout left untreated can lead to other psychological problems such as depression and anxiety disorders. Burnout is a serious problem and you should seek treatment if you think you are suffering from this condition.

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