Body Dysmorphic Disorder
People with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are extremely concerned about a perceived or slight flaw in their physical appearance. They may be fixated on a specific part of their body (e.g. their skin, nose, hair, legs), or describe themselves more generally as “ugly” or “deformed”. BDD usually starts during late childhood or early adolescence, and is distinguished from normal appearance concerns among this age group by the time, distress, and interference caused by their worries. Young people with BDD spend lots of time checking their appearance in mirrors, comparing themselves to others, and attempting to “fix” or camouflage their appearance with makeup, skin products, and clothing. In some cases, people with BDD will seek medical interventions, such as dermatology treatments and plastic surgery.
Sadly, BDD is often associated with negative feelings, such as disgust, shame, and depression, so accessing effective treatment is very important. Psychologists at CAO have a special interest in treating BDD, and have published research studies in the area. Learn more about BDD in our blog post.
Hoarding Disorder
It is fairly common to collect objects and to have some difficulty parting with sentimental items. Individuals with hoarding disorder, however, find it extremely difficult to throw away seemingly meaningless items, such as bits of paper, old plastic bags, drink bottles, and string. Their homes may be very cluttered and they will become extremely upset when family members attempt to clean up or throw objects away. At CAO, we can support patients and their families in addressing problematic hoarding behaviour.
Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviours (BFRBs)
Disorders in this category include skin picking (Excoriation Disorder) and hair pulling (Trichotillomania). BFRB’s can cause damage to the person’s body, including bald patches, scarring, and skin lesions. People who suffer from these disorders find it extremely hard to stop the behaviour, even though it is negatively impacting their life. Read more about Habit Reversal Therapy (HRT), a successful intervention for BFRBs offered at CAO.
Gold Coast Psychologist
Our Gold Coast Weekday Bulk Billing psychologist is on site for your convenience
“Sometimes I just need to ask someone about things that I can’t talk to my parents, wife, husband, friends or relatives about.”
Do you ever just need a minute to yourself so you can relax?
Do you ever let out a big sigh after experiencing some stress or anxiety?
Do you ever notice how your breathing is fast when you’re nervous right before or during a test?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might want to try counselling services and deep breathing exercises to help you relax.
Our Mental Health team consists of an experienced Gold Coast psychologist and general practitioners and specialists. They have a breadth of experience in assessing and working effectively with people experiencing:
- Depression and other mood disorders
- Anxiety disorders
- Psychosis
- Relationship problems
- Adjustment issues
- Family conflicts
- Personality disorders
- Suicidal thoughts
- Life crisis
- Trauma
Our Mental Health Team helps individuals with mental health disorders to resolve associated psychological problems and improve their quality of life.
This may involve individual counselling, family counselling, or group therapy.
We recognise the broader implications of an individual having a mental health illness and the impact on friends, family, work and education.
We use a range of interventions in helping people with mental health disorders, including the following focused psychological strategies:
Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Behavioral interventions
- Cognitive interventions
Skills training
- Problem solving
- Anger management
- Social skills
- Stress management
- Parenting
General practitioners are often in the best position to assess the most appropriate psychological therapy to improve their patients’ health.
Under the government mental health care programs, the first step is for you to formulate a GP mental health treatment plan. You are eligible for a rebate fee from Medicare to enable you to complete this plan.
A written referral is required from your GP to access this rebate. Our practice bulk bills all your counselling sessions.
Please note Mental Health Care Plans under Medicare are very complicated and difficult to understand. Please see your GP first to get clear information.
The next step is to visit our experienced Gold Coast psychologist. Contact us today on 07 5562 2910
Contact GCMP for a consulation
Get in touch
Are you looking for Bulk Billing Psychologists without wait times which could go on for months? Are you dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, ADD, relationship issues (+ other issues) and have been on a waitlist and it’s taking forever to see someone? We’re here to assist you by providing Telehealth therapy via online or phone without any costs to our clients. Better yet, you can see someone in the team either this week, or next! We have a team of multi-cultural psychologists who can help you deal with a whole range of issues so get in contact with us ASAP!
What is anxiety and how can seeing a Psychologist help?
Firstly, having anxiety is a normal human experience. Anxiety is not bad for you in its intended form, that of preparing us for danger or a difficult situation. It is therefore not achievable to cease having anxiety. Words like stress, nerves and fear are commonly used to describe feeling anxious. Anxiety symptoms are believed to be triggered by what is known as the “fight or flight or freeze response” (FOFR). This is an automatic response to danger (both real and perceived) and results in the releasing of chemicals into the body causing a range of anxiety symptoms. However, the FOFR is problematic when triggered by situations that pose us no real danger such as walking into a room and fearing judgement. In other words it is your thinking that creates most of your anxiety.
Common symptoms of anxiety include body sensations such as increased heart rate, excessive sweating, trembling, difficulty breathing, dizziness, and muscular tension; thoughts such as excessive worry about one or more issues, fear of losing control, fear of dying, fear of fainting, underestimating your ability to cope, and overestimating the chances of a bad event happening; and behaviour such as avoidance of sensations and places that lead to feeling uncomfortable or anxious.
Psychologists can help you by providing a range of treatments including Cognitive-behaviour therapy, Mindfulness therapies, Schema therapy and Hypnotherapy. Within these approaches we can provide the following:
- Education about anxiety and how to best respond when anxious.
- Teaching you skills to manage the anxiety including breathing exercises, relaxation exercises, and mindfulness.
- Teaching you how to change the way you respond to anxious thoughts including defusion, mindfulness and thought challenging.
- Teaching you how to confront fear and anxiety using approaches like graded exposure.
- Improving your lifestyle so that it compliments lowering anxiety and managing it better.
- Liaising with your GP to rule out any physical causes of anxiety and to arrange medication if required.
*Clinical/Counselling Psychologists are trained to diagnose, treat and prevent a wide range of mental and general health issues affecting adults, children and families.
Note*: It is legislated in the Australian law that a psychologist (clinical or otherwise) who gains registration under the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) is within their practice rights to diagnose and treat mental disorders. Check AHPRA’s database for registration status
Find Gold Coast Clinical Psychologists in the Gold Coast Healthcare directory. Browse through the listings below, or refine your search using the location filter on the right.
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