Psychotherapy and Counselling in Carlton North, Melbourne

Sometimes Life Is Sh*t. Let’s Start There.

Got problems?

Yeah, we know.

Maybe you’re anxious.

Exhausted.

Lost.

Angry.

Heartbroken.

Stuck in a relationship pattern you understand intellectually but somehow keep repeating anyway.

Maybe you’ve spent years being exceptionally competent while quietly wondering why everything feels so bloody hard.

Or perhaps nothing has dramatically fallen apart.

You just have the increasingly uncomfortable feeling that:

I don’t want to keep living like this.

Psychotherapy and counselling give you somewhere to stop, pay attention and understand what’s actually going on.

At The Urban Alchemist in Carlton North, counselling and psychotherapy offer a confidential therapeutic space to explore your emotions, relationships, experiences, patterns and the parts of yourself you’ve perhaps become very good at avoiding.

Not because there’s necessarily something wrong with you.

But because sometimes the way we’ve learned to survive life isn’t necessarily the way we want to keep living it.

Book Now!

Not sure whether Psychotherapy or Counselling is right for you? Contact our team on (03) 9347 9247.

Is Psychotherapy or Counselling Right for You?

You don’t need a diagnosis.

And you don’t need to wait until you’re in crisis.

Psychotherapy and counselling may be useful if you’re experiencing:

Anxiety or persistent worry
Stress and overwhelm
Low self-worth
Shame or feelings of inadequacy
Relationship difficulties
People-pleasing
Difficulty setting boundaries
Anger or emotional reactivity
Grief and loss
Breakups or separation
Difficult family relationships
Trauma or difficult past experiences
Feeling lost or without direction
Identity questions
Major life transitions
Repetitive relationship patterns
Fear of rejection or abandonment
Difficulty trusting others
Feeling disconnected from yourself
Difficulty understanding or expressing emotions
A sense that the same problems keep following you around
The sneaking suspicion that perhaps you’re ready to understand yourself a little better

Sometimes people arrive with a very clear problem.

Sometimes they arrive saying:

“I don’t really know what’s wrong. I just know something needs to change.”

That’s enough.

Our Psychotherapists and Counsellors

Sabrina Joseph — Social Work Counsellor EDMR Therapist

Fees

Fees for Psychotherapy and Counselling vary according to the practitioner and appointment type.

Current fees are displayed when you select your practitioner and appointment through our online booking system.

Funding or rebates may be available for some services depending on the practitioner, your eligibility and the relevant funding arrangement.

If you’re unsure which appointment to choose, contact reception on (03) 9347 9247 and we’ll help point you in the right direction.

Ready to Start Somewhere?

You don’t need to know exactly what you want to talk about.

You just need somewhere to begin.

Book Now!

Not sure who to book with? Contact our team on (03) 9347 9247.

Psychotherapy and Counselling Can Help You Find Solid Ground

This is how we look at it.

Sometimes life is sh*t.

Things happen that you can’t control.

People leave.

Relationships end.

Bodies change.

Families are complicated.

People disappoint us.

We disappoint ourselves.

Plans fall apart.

And occasionally life appears to have completely disregarded the carefully constructed spreadsheet in which everything was supposed to proceed according to schedule.

Therapy can’t make life permanently predictable.

But it can help you develop a more solid relationship with yourself.

When you begin to trust that there is some ground beneath your feet, difficult experiences don’t necessarily disappear.

You become better able to meet them.

But how do I get to the solid ground?

Usually?

One foot in front of the other.

And if all you can do is crawl, crawl.

Therapy can be somewhere you begin.

What Is Psychotherapy?

Psychotherapy is a broad term for therapeutic approaches that use the relationship between client and therapist, conversation and other psychological or experiential methods to explore emotional and psychological difficulties.

Depending on the therapeutic approach, psychotherapy might explore:

Current problems
Emotions
Relationships
Behaviour
Childhood experiences
Attachment
Identity
Beliefs
Patterns
Trauma
Defence mechanisms
Values
The way you relate to yourself
The way you relate to other people

Some psychotherapy is primarily conversational.

Some is more experiential.

Some approaches pay close attention to bodily sensations or emotions.

Others focus more strongly on relationships, thoughts, behaviour, meaning or unconscious patterns.

There isn’t one universal way to “do psychotherapy.”

Which is why finding a therapist whose approach works for you can make such a difference.

What Is Counselling?

Counselling provides a confidential therapeutic relationship in which you can explore difficulties, experiences, decisions and emotions with a trained professional.

It may be particularly useful when you’re navigating:

A difficult period
Grief
Relationship problems
Stress
Major decisions
Life transitions
Family difficulties
Emotional overwhelm
Changes in identity or direction

Counselling can provide support while also helping you develop greater understanding, clarity and different ways of responding.

It isn’t simply paying somebody to listen while occasionally saying:

“And how does that make you feel?”

Good counselling is collaborative, thoughtful and purposeful.

What’s the Difference Between Counselling and Psychotherapy?

There is considerable overlap.

The terms aren’t always used consistently, and different practitioners have different training.

Counselling is sometimes more focused on current difficulties, specific life circumstances and practical or emotional support.

Psychotherapy may involve deeper or longer-term exploration of recurring emotional, relational or psychological patterns.

But that isn’t an absolute dividing line.

A counsellor may work deeply.

A psychotherapist may work on something highly specific.

Rather than getting overly attached to the label, it can be more useful to consider:

What do I want help with?

How does this practitioner work?

Do I feel comfortable enough with them to actually talk about the things I usually don’t say out loud?

Therapy Is Somewhere You Can Tell the Truth

For many people, one of the most powerful parts of therapy is remarkably simple.

You can tell the truth.

Not:

“I’m fine.”

Not the polished version.

Not the version you tell your family.

Not the version where you’re extremely understanding about everybody else’s behaviour and somehow mysteriously absent from your own story.

Your version.

You might talk about thoughts you’re ashamed of.

Things you regret.

Anger.

Jealousy.

Fear.

Sex.

Relationships.

Family.

Grief.

Things you’ve never told anybody.

Things you’ve told everybody approximately 400 times because you’re still trying to make sense of them.

Therapy provides a confidential professional relationship where difficult experiences can be explored without requiring you to look after the other person’s feelings while you’re doing it.

For people who spend much of their lives taking care of everybody else, that alone can feel surprisingly unfamiliar.

What Does “Confidential” Actually Mean?

Therapy is confidential, but confidentiality isn’t absolute.

There are circumstances in which a therapist may need to disclose information because of legal, ethical or safety obligations, for example, if you’re planning to harm yourself or someone else.

Your therapist will explain the limits of confidentiality as part of the therapeutic process.

You can also ask about confidentiality before sharing something you’re uncertain about.

Therapy and Self-Awareness

Awareness isn’t the whole of therapy.

But it’s often an important beginning.

You start noticing things.

Oh. I do that every time I feel rejected.

Interesting. I say yes before I’ve even worked out whether I want to.

Right. Apparently I become incredibly reasonable when I’m actually furious.

Ohhhhh. THAT’S why this person gets under my skin.

Once a pattern becomes visible, you have more opportunity to decide what you want to do with it.

That doesn’t mean insight automatically creates change.

Human beings would be considerably easier if it did.

But it gives you somewhere to start.

People-Pleasing and Boundaries

Perhaps you’re extraordinarily good at anticipating what everybody else needs.

You know when somebody is disappointed before they say anything.

You smooth things over.

Keep the peace.

Say yes.

Make yourself easy.

Explain.

Accommodate.

Reassure.

And then, occasionally, wonder why you’re absolutely bloody exhausted.

People-pleasing can develop for many reasons.

It may have helped you maintain connection, avoid conflict, feel valued or stay safe.

Therapy can help you understand what happens when somebody else’s disappointment becomes more important than your own limits.

And begin exploring a deeply inconvenient possibility:

Other people are allowed to be disappointed with you.

You may still be okay.

Low Self-Worth

Low self-worth can sound like:

I’m not good enough.

Everybody else seems to know what they’re doing.

If people really knew me, they wouldn’t like me.

I need to prove myself.

I should be doing more.

I don’t deserve this.

Sometimes these beliefs are obvious.

Sometimes they’re hidden underneath perfectionism, overachievement, people-pleasing or the relentless need to appear as though you have everything handled.

Psychotherapy can help you understand how these beliefs developed and whether you want them continuing to run the show.

Feeling Inadequate

Comparison is an extremely efficient way to ruin a perfectly reasonable Tuesday.

Somebody else earns more.

Looks better.

Has a better relationship.

Parents differently.

Owns a nicer house.

Appears mysteriously capable of meal prepping.

Meanwhile, you’re comparing their outside with your inside.

Therapy can help explore the standards you’re measuring yourself against, where they came from and whether they’re actually yours.

Anger

Anger isn’t automatically a problem.

It’s an emotion.

It can tell us that something feels unfair, threatening, painful, frustrating or unacceptable.

The problem is what happens when anger becomes difficult to control or begins harming you or other people.

Perhaps you:

Yell
Say things you regret
Break things
Become intimidating
Shut down completely
Feel constantly irritable
Go from fine to furious incredibly quickly
Feel frightened by the intensity of your reactions

Therapy can help you recognise what happens before anger reaches its peak, understand what may be sitting underneath it and develop different ways of responding.

Anger can explain behaviour.

It doesn’t excuse harming somebody.

Both things can be true.

Anxiety

Anxiety can make your brain extraordinarily committed to identifying everything that might possibly go wrong.

Money.

Health.

Relationships.

Work.

The future.

Something you said three Tuesdays ago.

Something that hasn’t happened and statistically may never happen but which your brain has nevertheless scheduled for immediate investigation.

Psychotherapy and counselling can help you understand the patterns surrounding anxiety and develop different ways of responding to uncertainty, fear and worry.

Where anxiety is significantly affecting your functioning, Psychology may also be appropriate.

Relationships

Relationships are fertile ground for discovering parts of ourselves we’d otherwise quite happily leave unexamined.

Fear of abandonment.

Fear of intimacy.

Jealousy.

Control.

People-pleasing.

Avoidance.

Difficulty expressing needs.

Choosing unavailable people.

Trying to make unavailable people available.

Wondering why you’re once again explaining basic emotional reciprocity to somebody at 11pm.

Psychotherapy can help you explore how you participate in relationships, what you need, what you tolerate, what you fear and what keeps repeating.

Importantly, therapy isn’t about assuming every relationship problem is secretly your fault.

Sometimes the other person’s behaviour genuinely isn’t okay.

Understanding yourself should make your boundaries clearer, not erase them.

If you want to work specifically on a relationship together with your partner, Couples Therapy or Relationship Counselling may be more appropriate.

Grief and Loss

Grief can follow:

Death
Relationship breakdown
Pregnancy loss
Estrangement
Illness
Changes in health
Loss of identity
Retirement
Career changes
Friendship breakdown
Moving
Major life transitions
The loss of a future you thought you were going to have

There isn’t one correct way to grieve.

And not every loss needs to be turned into a lesson.

Sometimes therapy provides somewhere to say:

This hurts.

without somebody immediately trying to make it better.

Identity and the Question of “Who Am I Now?”

Identity can become particularly interesting when something that previously organised your life changes.

A relationship ends.

Your children need you differently.

Your career changes.

Your body changes.

You leave something you spent years building.

You achieve the thing you thought would finally make you happy and discover that you’re still, inconveniently, yourself.

Sometimes the question isn’t:

What’s wrong with me?

It’s:

Who am I now?

Psychotherapy can provide space to explore identity, values, meaning and what you want the next part of your life to look like.

And sometimes there isn’t an immediate answer.

Therapy doesn’t have to manufacture one.

What If I Don’t Know What Comes Next?

Good.

Not comfortable, necessarily.

But good therapeutic territory.

Human beings can become very good at filling uncertainty with activity.

Find the next goal.

Solve the next problem.

Make another plan.

Become extremely busy.

Anything to avoid sitting in the peculiar space where the old thing has ended and the next thing hasn’t arrived yet.

Psychotherapy can offer somewhere to explore uncertainty without immediately turning it into another problem that must be solved.

Sometimes:

I genuinely don’t know.

isn’t failure.

It’s simply where you are.

Trauma and Psychotherapy

Traumatic experiences can affect emotions, relationships, beliefs, behaviour, identity and the way we respond to situations in the present.

Trauma-informed psychotherapy recognises the importance of:

Safety
Choice
Consent
Collaboration
Pacing
Understanding protective responses
Avoiding unnecessary overwhelm

Trauma therapy isn’t about forcing you to recount everything that happened before you’re ready.

And different trauma-related difficulties may require different therapeutic approaches.

If traumatic memories or PTSD symptoms are a major reason you’re seeking help, Psychology or EMDR may also be appropriate depending on your circumstances.

Somatic and Body-Aware Approaches

Somatic simply means relating to the body.

Some psychotherapists and counsellors incorporate body awareness into their work.

Instead of paying attention only to the story in your head, you might also notice:

What happens in your chest when you say that?

Do you hold your breath?

Does your jaw tighten?

Do you feel an urge to move away?

Do you suddenly feel very small?

Does your body soften when you imagine saying no?

Body awareness can provide another source of information about emotional experience.

It doesn’t mean every tight muscle contains a buried trauma waiting to be released.

Bodies and minds aren’t two completely separate departments.

Paying attention to both can sometimes help us understand our experience more fully.

Whether somatic approaches like Trauma Release Therapy should form part of your therapy depends on the practitioner, therapeutic approach and what is appropriate for you.

Do I Have to Talk About My Childhood?

Not necessarily.

Earlier experiences can influence the beliefs we develop, the relationships we form and the ways we’ve learned to protect ourselves.

But therapy doesn’t need to become an endless archaeological excavation of your childhood.

Sometimes the past is central.

Sometimes the present is demanding enough attention already.

Your therapy should be shaped by what is relevant to you.

What If I Have Nothing to Say?

A surprisingly common fear.

You don’t need to arrive with a prepared agenda.

You can start with:

“I don’t know what to talk about.”

Your therapist will survive.

Sometimes the thing that emerges after that is considerably more interesting than the carefully prepared material anyway.

What If I Cry?

You can cry.

What If I Don’t Cry?

Also completely fine.

Therapeutic progress is not measured in tissues.

What If I’m Embarrassed to Tell My Therapist Something?

Very normal.

You don’t have to disclose everything immediately.

Trust develops over time.

You can even begin with:

“There’s something I want to talk about, but I’m embarrassed to tell you.”

That’s already part of the work.

Psychotherapy vs Psychology

There is overlap between psychotherapy and psychological therapy, but the professional pathways and scope can differ.

Psychologists in Australia complete regulated psychology training and are registered with AHPRA.

Psychotherapists and counsellors may have different professional training and registration or membership arrangements depending on their qualifications.

Psychology may be particularly appropriate where you need:

Psychological assessment
Diagnosis
Treatment of a diagnosed mental health condition
A psychologist specifically
A Medicare-funded psychology pathway where eligible

Psychotherapy or counselling may appeal if you’re particularly interested in exploring:

Relationships
Identity
Emotional patterns
Meaning
Life transitions
Self-worth
Attachment
Personal growth
Recurring ways of relating to yourself and others

Neither is automatically “deeper” or better.

The right choice depends on what you need and who you work well with.

Psychotherapy vs Mental Health Occupational Therapy

A useful distinction is:

Psychotherapy: What’s happening within me, and how did I come to relate to myself and others this way?

Mental Health OT: How is this affecting my everyday functioning, and what practical strategies might help me do life differently?

That’s deliberately simplified because there can be plenty of overlap.

But if you’re primarily interested in patterns, emotions, relationships, identity or deeper self-exploration, Psychotherapy may be a natural starting point.

If your primary concern is translating insight into routines, sensory strategies, executive functioning or everyday participation, Mental Health Occupational Therapy may be particularly useful.

Sometimes you need both the why and the how.

Psychotherapy vs Relationship Counselling

If you primarily want to explore your own patterns, emotions, experiences or relationships, individual Psychotherapy or Counselling may be appropriate.

If you and a partner want to work directly on what happens between you, Relationship Counselling or Couples Therapy may be a better fit.

NDIS Funding for Counselling and Psychotherapy

Some counselling or therapeutic supports may be accessible using NDIS funding where the service is appropriate to your disability-related needs and goals and meets current NDIS funding requirements.

Having an NDIS plan doesn’t automatically mean every Psychotherapy or Counselling service can be claimed.

Funding arrangements can also vary according to the practitioner and how your plan is managed.

If you intend to use NDIS funding, contact reception on (03) 9347 9247 before booking so we can help you determine whether the service is appropriate for your funding arrangement.

Medicare Rebates

Medicare eligibility depends on the profession of the clinician, the service provided and the relevant referral pathway.

Psychotherapy or counselling isn’t automatically Medicare-rebatable simply because it is a mental health service.

If using Medicare is important to you, contact reception on (03) 9347 9247 before booking so we can help you understand the options currently available at the clinic.

Private Health Insurance

Private health rebates may be available for some counselling services depending on your insurer, policy and practitioner.

Check with your health fund if you’re relying on a rebate.

How Many Therapy Sessions Will I Need?

We could confidently tell you twelve, but we’d be making it up.

It depends on:

What brings you to therapy
What you want from it
How longstanding the difficulties are
The therapeutic approach
How the work develops
Your circumstances and preferences

Some people want support through a particular period.

Others use psychotherapy for deeper, longer-term work.

You and your therapist can discuss what makes sense and review it as you go.

There should be a reason you’re coming to therapy beyond:

Apparently I come here forever now.

Frequently Asked Questions About Psychotherapy and Counselling

Do I need a mental health diagnosis?

No.

Many people attend psychotherapy or counselling without having a diagnosed mental health condition.

Do I need a referral?

Generally, you don’t need a referral for private Psychotherapy or Counselling.

Specific funding pathways may have their own requirements.

Is everything I say confidential?

Therapy is confidential within professional and legal limits.

Your therapist can explain those limits to you.

What can I talk about?

Pretty much whatever is relevant to why you’re there.

Relationships, sex, family, grief, anger, shame, identity, work, fear, childhood, money, things you regret, things you’re confused about, things you can’t stop thinking about.

You don’t need to make it respectable before bringing it into therapy.

What if I don’t like my therapist?

Sometimes therapy feels uncomfortable because you’re talking about difficult things.

That’s different from consistently feeling misunderstood, unsafe or unable to work with the person.

A good therapeutic relationship should give you enough safety and trust to do the work.

You’re allowed to decide a practitioner isn’t the right fit.

Will my therapist tell me what to do?

Usually the goal isn’t to run your life for you.

Therapy can help you understand choices, identify patterns, consider alternatives and make decisions with greater clarity.

Is psychotherapy only for trauma?

No.

People seek psychotherapy for many reasons, including relationships, identity, anxiety, grief, self-worth, life transitions and personal development.

Can I come if nothing is seriously wrong?

Absolutely.

You don’t need to wait for your life to burst into flames before becoming curious about yourself.

Can I use NDIS funding?

Possibly, depending on your needs, goals, funding arrangement, current NDIS rules and the service provided.

Contact reception on (03) 9347 9247 before booking if you intend to use NDIS funding.

Can I claim Medicare?

That depends on the clinician, service and referral pathway.

Psychotherapy and Counselling in Carlton North, Melbourne

Maybe you’re here because something happened.

A breakup.

A loss.

A betrayal.

A frightening experience.

A relationship you can’t make sense of.

Maybe you’ve reached the point where your old ways of coping aren’t working anymore.

Or maybe life looks perfectly acceptable from the outside and you simply have the increasingly persistent feeling that there must be another way to inhabit it.

Therapy doesn’t promise a life without pain.

It doesn’t turn you into a permanently regulated, boundary-setting, emotionally enlightened human who never again sends an ill-advised text message.

It can offer something more useful.

A place to become more familiar with yourself.

To notice what you do.

Understand what you protect.

Question what you believe.

Recognise what keeps repeating.

Discover what feels meaningful to you now.

And begin choosing what you want to carry forward.

That is the solid ground.

Not a life where nothing difficult happens.

A stronger sense that when it does:

I can meet myself here.

Our Carlton North clinic is conveniently located for people seeking Psychotherapy and Counselling from Carlton, Fitzroy, Fitzroy North, Clifton Hill, Brunswick East, Northcote, Collingwood and Melbourne’s inner north.

Telehealth appointments may also be available.

Ready to Start Somewhere?

You don’t need to have the whole thing figured out.

One foot in front of the other.

And if all you can do is crawl, crawl.

Book Now!

Not Sure Who to Book With? Contact Us on (03) 9347 9247