It is a year since we first learned about COVID-19. Overall anxiety levels have increased, and people are requesting services more than ever before. While there are many factors which have contributed to the escalation of mental health concerns, I would like to focus on a specific factor, namely, catastrophic language. Whether being used by ... [Read more now]
Many people have heard the term post-traumatic stress or PTSD but few seem to know about post-traumatic growth or PTG. Post-traumatic growth refers to positive change following traumatic life events. It is a theory that was developed by psychologists Richard Tedeschi, PhD, and Lawrence Calhoun, PhD, in the mid-1990s. They found that contrary ... [Read more now]
Renee Mill is interviewed on ABC Radio Newcastle on how to cope with anxiety related to COVID-19. (Recorded 24 March 2020)
Following the bushfires of 2019 -2020, the Australian Government has introduced the Bushfire Recovery Access Initiative which provides additional Medicare rebates for psychological services. Who is eligible? Any person who has had an adverse change in their mental health as a result of a bushfire which occurred in the 2019- 2020 financial year. This ... [Read more now]
A lot of energy can be expended in trying to switch off negative thoughts. When you are used to worrying and have tended to focus on the negative, your brain has become wired to think that way. This can make it excessively difficult to change. A different approach is not to focus on your negative ... [Read more now]
The other day, I was talking to my aunty, who lives in India over the phone. She asked me casually, “How do you miss us?”. I paused a moment and then replied, “I do not know. I have never thought about it as I am always busy at work as well as at home”. Our ... [Read more now]
Failure to recognise and understand anger can lead to a variety of problems for pregnant women and their unborn babies. According to APA (American Psychologists Association) documentation, anger is accompanied by physiological and biological changes: when we get angry, our heart rates and blood pressure go up, as do the levels of our energy hormones ... [Read more now]
The good news is that if you live in Australia, there are various pathways which assist in making it possible to afford the fees. Medicare offers a rebate for up to twenty sessions of psychological treatment. This can be face-to-face or via Zoom/telehealth if you live in a remote area. Private health insurers offer ... [Read more now]
We all intuitively know what workaholism or work addiction is. Beyond “busy boasting” is the chronic and serious problem of work addiction. You may have seen the signs. The man who is literally NEVER home, the woman who has toiletries and clothes at the office so frequent are her work all nighters. And the person ... [Read more now]
Neuro-psychotherapy is a new and exciting theory which integrates neurobiology and psychotherapy. It is scientific and is based on the brain, its structure, the neurons and how it all wires together. Simply put, the brain develops from the bottom up and from the inside out. Specifically this means that the primitive brain is fully functional ... [Read more now]
