Psychology4Life

20/05/2025

Turning up yesterday for Rural Mental Health

05/12/2024

Respectful of self and others- teaching kids to be and interacting in the world with neuro-affirming approaches

21/09/2024

These are common (and valid!) relational needs:

To be seen
To be known
To be comforted
To be safe and secure
To know that I matter
To be wanted
To be connected
To be accepted
To be appreciated
To be valued
To be reassured
To be needed
To feel important

What are your top relational needs?

Disclaimer: Content is for informational purposes and doesn’t constitute therapy. Posts are generalized and may not fit all individuals or situations. I don’t specialize in abusive relationships, therefore my content doesn’t speak to those circumstances.

09/05/2024

Anxiety inevitably worsens with avoidance so, tackle ‘the thing’ or at least take the first step!

In today's blog post, I outline some of the standard treatments for anxiety and discuss how it should be adapted for Autistic people. Key to understanding any approach to anxiety treatment is the concept of the Avoidance-Anxiety Loop.

This loop starts when an anxiety trigger leads us to naturally avoid situations—skipping social events, job interviews, or dates, for example. The immediate relief from avoidance reinforces this behavior—the temporary relief feels so rewarding that our brain learns this as a method to evade anxiety. Unfortunately, this means that over time, anxiety grows and begins to make more and more decisions for us.

Avoiding situations that trigger our anxiety not only reinforces anxiety but also prevents us from gaining valuable experience. Experience is a crucial teacher in confronting anxiety; it teaches us that what we fear might be intimidating but isn't necessarily dangerous. When we consistently choose avoidance, we miss the opportunity to learn and reinforce this lesson. When we avoid, we miss the chance to learn this lesson, which is why treatment often focuses on breaking out of this cycle.

But what about Autistic and ADHD anxiety?

When dealing with ADHD or Autistic anxiety, it's key to identify whether what we're experiencing is genuine anxiety or something that mimics it, like sensory overwhelm, executive functioning overwhelm, or cognitive overload. If it's the latter, facing our fears isn't enough; the anxiety may signal we are in need of additional support, accommodations, or skills.

For more insights into how treatments can differ, read today's article or check out our mini-series on anxiety and autism. You can read here: https://neurodivergentinsights.com/blog/autistic-anxiety-treatment

31/01/2024

We have available psychologists to help individuals and families in 2024. Check out team details or 📞 (03) 9809.1234

Autism has many different features and can change from day to day.




Autismfamilycircus.com

29/01/2024

Our childhood experiences become stories that weave themselves into our bodies, our identities, and our beliefs about ourselves and the world.

Which is why we often need to look back before we can move forward in healing, our present lives.

Some people are lucky to inherit secure attachment patterns from their families of origin. But so many of us did not have that luck, and instead have to put in healing work to learn what it means to be secure in ourselves and our relationships.

It can feel scary and emotional and overwhelming to process our childhoods, but when we do so, we offer our children the potential to have childhood, they don’t have to heal from. And we do that by making sure there are secure, close adult relationships in our lives, where we are seeing heard and cared for an offer the same to others.

For help in doing this important work, get yourself yourself a copy of 📖Securely Attached📖… I wrote this book as a guided journal on purpose so that, instead of simply learning about attachment, everyone has the chance to process their specific attachments experiences and heal through them.

Love on.

18/01/2024

We have immediate availability to book sessions with the lovely Trish Thomas, Qualified Psychologist in Camberwell, Vic.
Phone: (03)9809.1234

04/01/2024

Best program- now free and online in Australia. You can literally ’do yourself a favour!’

27/12/2023

27/12/2023

May your Christmas celebration be everything you hope for, and if it isn't, remember to focus on what is in your control and influence.