About Therapy
Sarah works with clients to understand their fundamental needs and develop appropriate action to see these met. Therapy is shaped by clients’ goals and she is dedicated to supporting her clients to achieve them.
Sarah Can Help You With
Anxiety Disorders
Assertiveness Skills
Communication/Boundary Skills
Coping w/ Affairs
Coping w/ Relationship Break-ups
Couples Counselling
Depression and Low Mood
Difficult Life Transitions
Emotion Dysregulation
Excessive Worry and Rumination
Grief and Loss
Panic Attacks
Phobias and Fears
Pornography Use
Pre-marital Counselling
Relationship Issues
Self-esteem Issues
Sexual Dysfunction
Stress Management
Workplace Issues / Bullying
Sarah is committed to the use of evidence-based treatments within a positive, collaborative framework by utilising the following approaches and tailoring them to clients’ needs to achieve the most effective outcome possible. Sarah uses:
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Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Individuals and Couples
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Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
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Schema Therapy (ST)
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Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
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Refocussing Therapy (RFT)
“Being the “best you can be” is really only possible when you are deeply connected to another. Splendid isolation is for planets, not people.”
- Dr Sue Johnson
What To Expect For Your First Session
Before your first session, Sarah will send you an email that will provides information about costs and services. It will direct you to complete an intake form asking, without going into too much detail, about the main reason that has brought you to therapy, as well as an electronic consent form.
In your first session, Sarah will explain confidentiality, its exceptions and answer any questions you may have regarding the consent form or general concerns. As it is impossible to do your life justice within a 50 minute session, Sarah will then aim to understand your story of what has brought you to therapy, your therapy goals, and towards the end of the session she will discuss her formulation of the issue with you and a plan of how therapy can achieve your goals. She will also check whether the plan feels helpful for you, how you found the session and if you feel like Sarah is the right “therapy fit” for you.
It is understandable that clients may need more than one session to answer these questions. She will then go on to discuss the scheduling and frequency of sessions if you would like to go ahead with therapy.
Given that we as people are so much more than what has brought us to therapy, Sarah will also ask for some brief background information (such as living situation, family relationships, work/study). There is typically not enough time in the first session to address all of these areas fully and so we will return to these areas in subsequent sessions when it is relevant.
Sarah will encourage you to have, if possible, a slow remainder of the day, as initial psychology appointments can be mentally and emotionally draining due to a lot of information sharing.
The therapeutic relationship between a client and a psychologist is the best predictor of a good outcome. It is therefore important for clients to consider whether they feel like their psychologist “gets them”, if they are confident in their ability to address the issue, if they feel comfortable, heard, and if their psychologist’s personality, and therapeutic style is a “good fit” for them.