Anxiety Counselling Melbourne
Anxiety is a natural response to a dangerous situation, but what do you do when your brain is telling you that a non-dangerous situation is cause for anxiety? What then?
Renee Melges supports people to break out of the conditioning that causes anxiety to intrude in their day-to-day life.
Dealing with anxiety is a distressing experience. Often physical symptoms like sweating and an increased heart rate can accompany the anxiety. General feelings of anxiety can be persistent even when there are no immediately obvious triggers. Talking to someone can be a great first step to addressing the impacts of anxiety and supporting your settlement and wellbeing.
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What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is more than feeling anxious although feeling anxious can be a part of it. Anxiety is characterised by feelings of dread, worry, stress and pressure that do not correlate to the moment or the specific situation you are facing or dealing with. ​​Anxiety can be present just by thinking of something that might happen in the future and is not dependent on it actually happening. Equally you may be triggered by a traumatic event in the past and experience feelings of anxiety.
What is anxiousness, and how is it related to anxiety?
Feeling anxious before an exam or perhaps when having an important conversation with your boss, or colleague is a common experience. Most people experience this anxiousness only fleetingly. Anxiousness differs from anxiety because anxiousness is usually tied to a specific event whereas anxiety can impact you even when there is no immediate reason or trigger in front of you. Or it can be triggered by an event that doesn't seem to warrant the anxiety. For example being 'late for work' can trigger anxiety with the same intensity as the prospect of doing a presentation to a large group of people in a boardroom.
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Anxiousness:
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Usually fleeting
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Usually related to a particular event / job / situation that you feel a bit stressed by
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Anxiety
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Is intrusive and disruptive
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Doesn't necessarily correlate to a particular event / job / situation (although it can)
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Can be triggered by past, present or future incidents
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Can cause more pronounced physical symptoms like sweating, heart rate increase, 'butterflies in the stomach''
Anxiety Psychologist Melbourne
Renee Melges is a Melbourne Clinical Psychologist who takes a holistic approach to anxiety counselling;. A holistic approach considers the whole person – their mind, body and spiritual wellbeing, to bring a multi-faceted understanding of the effects and impacts of anxiety. Read on to learn more about Renee and how she can support or get in touch.
Types of anxiety disorders Renee can support with:
Generalised Anxiety Disorder
People experiencing generalised anxiety disorder find that anxiety is impacting them regularly, with feelings of dread, worry or stress permeating daily activities.
PSDT Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD can be characterised by intrusive thoughts or images, known as ‘flashbacks’ and is the result of sustained trauma or a singular impact traumatic event that you have experienced. Renee has extensive experience working with people experiencing trauma of this nature.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
People with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder will try to self-manage feelings of anxiety with repetitive behaviour like continual hand washing or other repetitive activities.
Panic disorder and Panic attacks
Panic attacks cause a strong fear response and a heightened physical reaction that can include sweating, shortness of breath and or pain in the chest, that may feel like a heart attack. It is for this reason it is is important to seek medical support if you are unsure what is causing your symptoms. While panic attacks do pass, the fear of another one coming on can be very real. People who experience frequent panic attacks are also at risk of depression. The great news is there are plenty of options to treat panic attacks with psychological interventions.
Anxiety Counselling Melbourne
What is Anxiety Counselling and how can it support to deal with the symptoms of anxiety?
Anxiety Counselling with Renee is a nurturing space to bring awareness to the underlying causes of your anxiety. Practical exercises are provided to support you to deal with past events or repeated patterns that may be impacting your current sense of psychological wellbeing.
Anxiety and its impacts are exacerbated by avoiding the underlying causes and self-medicating in ways that have a compounding rather than healing effect.
Counselling allows you the space to talk to someone in a trusted environment who will support you with the psychological tools to support self-healing. Renee approaches each client with the understanding that they hold the answers within themselves, and with the right support and framework, this becomes evident to them.
As a Holistic Clinical Psychologist Renee's training is evidence-based and person-centred. She uses a strengths-based psychotherapeutic approach to support you in uncovering the patterns that may be keeping you stuck. Together you will work through memories and past events that may be contributing to any current anxiousness, anxiety or feelings of unsettlement.
Treatments can include but are not limited to:
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CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy)
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Emotional Regulation Techniques
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Psychotherapeutic Approaches
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Mindfulness
How long does it take to treat anxiety?
Length of treatment varies depending on the person and their individual circumstances, and support is available for as long as you feel you may require it. Clients often choose to have more frequent sessions in the beginning, and once they feel more confident and more able to manage their symptoms, they often space out the sessions. In the beginning this might mean a session each week or fortnight and then go to monthly appointments.
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FAQ
What is your experience working with people with anxiety and anxiety related disorders as a ‘Anxiety Psychologist Melbourne’?
Most people who see a psychologist are experiencing a certain level of anxiety. Renee has developed various tools and approaches to support people in a holistic way who are experiencing acute anxiety over 25 years of practice. Most commonly people experience anxiety as a result of past patterns or experiences that have impacted them negatively, this then plays out in feelings of anxiety in the present day. Renee's warm and caring approach supports you to delicately unpack the past traumas and underlying narratives which are inhibiting you in your present day life.
What interventions do you use in your approach to anxiety counselling Melbourne?
CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy)
Cognitive Distortions are symptomatic of people who experience anxiety. Cognitive distortions include unhelpful and unsupportive thought patterns like 'catastrophising' . CBT techniques support you to challenge distortions and reframe negative thinking to 'flip the script' on thoughts and thought patterns that are impacting you.​
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Behavioural Strategies to support emotional regulation
Renee will support you with strategies to overcome feelings of anxiety which can be applied daily. Various approaches are explored including, mindfullness, relaxation techniques, breathing exercises, grounding techniques and integrating activities that bring you enjoyment and a consistency to your daily rhythm.
Psychotherapeutic Approaches
Well versed in evidence-based interventions like CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) Renee has found her clients most benefit from an in-depth psychotherapeutic approach which considers the whole person – where they have come from, the conditions and environments that have shaped or impacted them and what their sense of themselves is beyond the environmental or experiential events that may have traumatised them and are now the cause of anxiety. Supporting people to uncover where they have been impacted by events that are outside of themselves and reacquainting people with their deeper sense of strength and inner-resilience is an empowering process. This allows people the space to reaffirm their strengths and discard the patterns that no longer fit with their psychological wellbeing.
Over a 25-year practice many have benefited from her psychotherapeutic approach to anxiety counselling Melbourne and Australia-wide.​​
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Mindfullness
In recent times mindfullness techniques have proven a great support to people experiencing anxiety. Renee is well versed in supporting with this approach. Mindfullness techniques include bringing greater observation to your thoughts, this observation creates distance so that the emotion stemming from the thought pattern is less likely to become all-consuming. With this created distance, and with curiosity and compassion, you are empowered to face the feelings of anxiety without feeling overcome or overwhelmed by them.
Do you need a GP referral to see a Clinical Psychologist in Australia?
In Australia, you don’t require a GP referral to see a Clinical Psychologist. However, to access a rebate for Holistic Counselling or Holistic Psychology sessions from Medicare under the Medicare Benefits Scheme, you will need your GP to provide an up-to-date Mental Health Care Plan.
Where are you based?
Clinical Psychologist Renee Melges sees people in her Ashburton, Melbourne psychology rooms and can also see you online if you prefer – for some this is convenient if travel time or distance is an issue. With video on and in a safe quiet space, a video call can be just as supportive and interactive as an in-person session.
Ready to take the next steps?
An initial call with Renee is recommended so she can learn a bit more about your circumstances and let you know if she can support. Inquire about an initial intro call here or call or text Renee on +61 414 866 330.
