SERVICES

At Suzi George Psychology, individual therapy can be delivered to adults experiencing the following presenting problems:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Adjustment issues
• Fears and phobias
• Trauma
• Congenital heart disease
• Cardiac illness
• Adjustment to adult ADHD
• Grief and loss
• End-of-life issues
• Bereavement
• Acute medical illness
• Chronic illness
• Persistent pain
• Relationship issues and/or breakdowns
• Self-esteem and identity issues
• Perfectionism
• Life transitions (e.g., ageing, employment, role transitions)
• Quality of life issues (e.g., financial stress)

Suzi has a special interest in providing psychological care to medically unwell people, in particular people with congenital heart disease. From 2012 – 2022, she held a permanent, part-time position at The Prince Charles Hospital delivering psychological treatment to congenital heart disease patients struggling to adjust to their life-limiting conditions.

Services Not Provided
The following services are not provided at Suzi George Psychology:
• Therapy for children, adolescents, and couples
• Neuropsychological assessments and reports
• Medico-legal assessments and reports
• Forensic rehabilitation
• Primary interventions for acute psychosis
• Acute crisis support
External Help
Should you require urgent psychological attention, the following free services may be able to assist you:
• Lifeline on 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36
• Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
• MensLine Australia on 1300 78 99 78
• Acute Care Team on 1300 64 22 45
• Emergency Services on 000, or present to the Emergency Department of your nearest hospital.

TREATMENT

TREATMENT PROCESS
At Suzi George Psychology, clients can expect to receive a safe, confidential service. The initial session will involve comprehensive history-taking so that a clear, common understanding of the client’s presenting problem and its origins is developed. Assessment measures may be administered to obtain objective information on aspects of the client’s current psychological functioning e.g., mood, anxiety. A treatment plan will be collaboratively formulated and goals will be worked toward using evidence-based frameworks. At all times, therapy will be tailored to meet the individual needs of the client and regular review of progress will occur. The duration of therapy will vary among clients depending on the nature of the presenting problem and its severity. While some problems may lend themselves to a brief, solution-focused approach, other problems may require longer-term work in order to achieve and maintain therapeutic gains.
TREATMENT APPROACH
Suzi uses evidence-based therapies to help people overcome their mental health problems. While she draws upon different therapeutic frameworks when delivering psychological care, Suzi is a steadfast proponent of acceptance-, compassion-focused, and mindfulness-based therapies. Her predominant treatment approaches are Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Suzi is committed to helping people develop a deeper understanding of themselves and to respond to their symptoms in a different way.
ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY (ACT)
ACT is an evidence-based therapy that has shown to be effective in treatment of depression, anxiety, and other psychological problems. A primary purpose of engaging in ACT is to learn how to lead a rich and meaningful life, while developing the capacity to accept the pain that life can bring. Through the process of increasing psychological flexibility, a number of core processes and skills are learnt that help clients engage with their thoughts and feelings in a different way. By learning how to be present through the development of mindfulness skills, as well as through the clarification of values, clients can learn how to commit to actions in their lives that are important to them while also being able to respond to difficult thoughts and feelings.
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (CBT)
CBT has a robust evidence base for the treatment of depression, anxiety, phobias, and other mental health problems. At its core, CBT recognises that clients’ feelings and behaviours are influenced by their perceptions, or thoughts, of a situation. Through the development of damaging or unhelpful thought patterns, the lens through which clients’ see the world is impacted and painful feelings and unhealthy behaviours ensue. By recognising unhelpful thought patterns and their relationship with maladaptive behaviours, clients are able to challenge and replace their thoughts, through strategies such as identification of faulty reasoning processes and behavioural experiments. New behaviours can be learnt through and problem-solving skills can be developed to cope with difficult situations.
FEEDBACK INFORMED TREATMENT
At Suzi George Psychology, ‘Feedback-Informed Treatment’ is adopted in order to monitor clients’ progress and satisfaction. This is to ensure the effectiveness of the therapeutic approach and provides valuable information on the ‘fit’ of therapy, the therapeutic alliance, and progress across sessions. When therapeutic fit and progress are systematically monitored, research suggests that this may lead to better outcomes in psychotherapy for clients. Feedback will be used to further tailor therapy to meet clients’ specific needs.