Self-awareness is another one of those terms that gets thrown around quite a bit in the psychology world. So what exactly is it? Self-awareness is a form of stepping back and observing your thoughts and feelings as they unfold. It can be as simple as noticing the emotions that you [...]
Grounding exercises are used to help bring us back into the present moment. These techniques can be used in many different situations, like when we’re feeling “spacey”, anxious or overwhelmed. They can be used when we are distracted by unhelpful or distressing thoughts, memories or impulses. Or if we’re experiencing [...]
This week (October 7th to October 13th) is Mental Health Week. To celebrate we got together with gorgeous Kate and Lauren from Little Jar of Happiness and The Vibe Tribe to chat about the ins and outs of self-compassion. We've made some notes below for anyone who wants to find ways [...]
My dad passed away when I was 10 years old and when he was 37 years old. He died of a brain tumour. My grief around losing my dad has been complicated, deeply painful and at times, pretty lonely. In recent times though, something has lifted. My sadness remains, but [...]
Unfortunately, as a private practice, we do not have the resources available to provide crisis support or immediate assistance. Follow these steps if you're worried about your safety or the safety of someone else, or in need immediate support. STEP ONE If you need immediate help or your life is [...]
At Inner Melbourne Clinical Psychology we're fortunate to have three couples therapists on our team, Georgia Pierakos, Liz Storey and Cherry Louey. Georgia has recently joined our team, so we thought we'd take this opportunity to pick her brain about some of the common questions people have about couples therapy [...]
Defences get a bit of a bad wrap sometimes. In fact, being told that you’re being defensive is usually a pretty offensive experience (even if there is a grain of truth in what’s said). Our defences have their place though. The main reason our defences exist is that if we [...]
# 1 Stick to the topic Have you ever had that feeling during a heated discussion that you can’t quite remember what it was that sparked the argument in the first place? This tends to happen when we rehash old material - when we add old hurts, pet peeves and [...]
Even the most well-adjusted and satisfied couples argue or experience tension in their relationship from time-to-time. As Dr Russ Harris, an expert in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy says, “there are two types of couples in this world: those who fight, and those who you don’t know very well”. According to [...]
#1 Set yourself an electronic curfew one hour before bedtime. Phones and computers produce blue light which disrupts your circadian rhythm (your body’s biological clock). Actually light of any kind interrupts sleep, but in a Harvard University study blue light in particular was found to be twice as disruptive to the [...]
