Individual Support

Therapeutic support and professional supervision available

Individual sessions tailored to your needs and invite you to:

  • build inner resources and strengths
  • practice rest, relaxation and mindfulness
  • work through grief and loss
  • process intrusive thoughts or memories
  • develop deeper understanding of your hopes and needs
  • integrate memories, sensations and experiences
  • develop a practice of self compassion and embodied presence
Schedule a session
person sitting with hands clasped

Therapeutic support and professional supervision available

We don’t always like to admit it, but the cumulative strain of working in the helping professions can impact our wellbeing and our ability to function in our personal lives and at work.

Working in the service, care and protection of others is exciting and rewarding work. But heavy workloads, exposure to distressing situations and traumatic events, and feeling like you’re holding too much can have a significant impact on your health and wellbeing.

The cumulative toll of facing ongoing extremes of human suffering, environmental disasters or even managing the moral distress resulting from organisational mismanagement can leave you managing symptoms of anxiety, depression or post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Sometimes as helping professionals we can think that we need to soldier on. We tell ourselves:

“I’m tough”

“I can handle it”

“It’s part of the job”

“They need me”

“I shouldn’t complain because this is nothing compared to the daily reality of my client / patient / student”

“It’s great that *name of colleague* is getting help, but I don’t need that”

But we can’t help others and continue to do good work if we don’t look after ourselves.

Symptoms of workplace related stress may include:

  • Feeling tired, hopeless, numb or empty
  • Dreading going to work
  • Difficulty completing tasks or staying focused
  • Working harder than ever but struggling to meet goals
  • Difficulties with sleep and struggling to slow down
  • Feeling isolated
  • Taking extended sick leave

Symptoms specific to PTSD can include:

  • Intrusive thoughts / memories of an event, person or community
  • Flashbacks and / or nightmares
  • Avoiding places associated with the event, person or community
  • Difficulties with sleep
  • Feeling numb, empty or cut off from yourself
  • A state of hypervigilance or feeling revved up, angry or irritable

We know that prolonged stress can habituate us into patterns of:

  • hypervigilance (feeling revved up and on-the-go)
  • shut down, or
  • a combination of both.

And, that we typically manage this pain by disconnecting from our experience, both physically and emotionally. Over time this can result in the symptoms described above.

Tempo encourages you to support yourself by moving from the intellectual to the physical through music listening, creative arts and embodied processes.

Individual therapy will support you to:

  • Develop a restorative practice of rest and relaxation
  • Reconnect with your body and feelings
  • Process intrusive thoughts, memories and / or somatic responses
  • Work through grief and loss
  • Build your capacity for self compassion
  • Ground yourself and develop tools to support you in stressful situations
  • Find clarity and focus

Face to face appointment in New Town

(Therapeutic counselling support OR professional supervision)

Online appointment via Zoom

(Therapeutic counselling OR professional supervision)

What’s involved?

Individual therapy will respond to your needs as they arise.

Our areas of focus will include:

  • A stepped approach to creating safety and trust
  • Using the breath and music listening to support rest and relaxation
  • Developing imagery and music listening as inner resources (that you can use anywhere)
  • Developing greater awareness of your feelings and body responses
  • Connecting with hope and positive experiences

And plenty of opportunities to practice and explore:

  • focused music listening
  • breathing exercises
  • approaches to relaxation
  • guided imagery
  • drawing

I'm not an artist or musician, does that matter?

Absolutely not!

Using creative arts in these sessions is part of a process of getting to know yourself. You don’t have to be an artist or a musician to benefit. In fact, I often encourage people to imagine they are 3 years old when drawing to remove the pressure to ‘perform’.

Is individual therapy right for me?

If you:

  • Prefer or need to have individual support at this point in time
  • Are experiencing PTSD symptoms
  • Have a proactive approach to finding ways to look after yourself
  • Need skills to support yourself that are not only talk-focused
  • Are having difficulty practicing self care
  • Need a confidential space to share your worries

Then individual therapy is right for you.

Liaison with other health professionals

In our first session we will discuss the importance of having a supportive team around you as you move towards improved health and wellbeing. Depending on your needs and what you are comfortable with, I can liaise with your GP, psychiatrist or any other health professionals in your team, to ensure clear communication and a cohesive approach in supporting your needs.

What will I need?

  • A private and comfortable space.
  • Somewhere that you can lie down or lounge during music listening, relaxation inductions and guided imagery (think warmth, comfort, cushions).
  • Art materials (if these are hard for you to access, I can send these to you).

Fees

Fees for individual sessions are

  • $179 for 55 minute appointments - both face to face and Telehealth appointments.

Fees are payable on the day of your appointment.

If you have the relevant cover, you can claim private health insurance rebates with:

  • Police Health
  • Emergency Services Health
  • Bupa
  • St Lukes Health
  • Medibank Private
  • GMHBA
  • Westfund
  • Phoenix Health
  • CUA Health
  • AHM

Please contact your provider to see if you are eligible.

Tempo Therapy & Consulting is also registered with a number of different Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) - contact me to find out more.

Header image: Priscilla Du Preez