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 We offer counselling and psychotherapy to individuals and groups in Auckland who are experiencing problems in their lives. Counsellors and therapists are clinical psychologists and health psychologists especially trained to ensure that treatments are effective (they draw on the latest rigorous scientific research to understand treatments) and well matched to what the client wants. Psychologists are generally trained to work towards change.
Counselling is a broad term to describe many different forms of talking therapy. Further information on many types of talking therapy is available here. At Change it psychology we specialize in building happiness and confidence through proven scientific tools such as cognitive behaviour therapy, solution focussed therapy and positive psychology. Change it psychologists will first ask you lots of questions about the issue that has brought you to therapy. They will help you set realistic goals to get you closer to your goal. You will learn how to combat sabotaging thoughts and master powerful tools, backed by the latest psychological literature, and move to a happier, more confident you.
Click here to read our article on how many people believe we should just harden up and how else to approach problems.
Click here for tips on using self compassion with whatever problem you are facing.
Change it energizing psychology provides psychological help for everyday situations including:
Counselling for Depression
Depression has many symptoms which can be grouped into
- Mood symptoms
e.g., feeling depressed, feeling guilty, feeling hopeless
- Body Symptoms
e.g., sleep changes, appetite changes, low energy, weight loss or gain
being slowed down or sped up, fatigue
- Thinking Symptoms
e.g., Thinking you are worthless, thinking it’s all your fault, suicidal thinking, difficulty making decisions, impaired concentration
- Behaviour symptoms
e.g., withdrawal from others. For a more complete list see our depression page in the resources section.
When people talk about “clinical depression” they have from a few of these symptoms (mild depression) to almost all of them (severe depression).
Most people have probably felt low at some point in their lives and may have called this “being depressed.” However, mood fluctuations are a normal part of being human and can help inform us that something is not quite right. Doctors and clinical psychologists diagnose depression when you’ve had a number of the symptoms above for over 2 weeks, and they are interfering with your daily functioning.
People who are depressed have used words like a fog or black cloud has descended upon them. The good news is that there is very good evidence that depression is treatable with psychological therapies.
Read our Mindfood article about Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Counselling for anxiety including panic attacks
Anxiety has many symptoms which can be grouped into
- Mood symptoms
e.g., Feeling anxious, wound up, fearful, scared, frightened
- Body Symptoms
e.g., Tense, nausea, dizziness, light-headedness, hot and cold flushes, racing heart, trembling, shaky, sweating, irregular breathing, churning stomach, need to go to the toilet
- Thinking Symptoms
e.g., What if? thoughts, worry thoughts, racing mind
- Behaviour symptoms
e.g., Avoiding people or places that trigger your anxiety
Anxiety is a normal reaction when people are in worrying situations or are faced with danger. You can think of anxiety as a tool our body uses to warn us of potential danger and alert our bodies to spring into action and defend ourselves. You have probably heard of the system in our bodies called the “fight or flight” response which produces physical changes so that we can defend ourselves. This is very useful and adaptive in situations we have to respond quickly, for example, moving out of the way of a train.
Some anxiety (a moderate amount) results in increased productivity, where you might experience a bit of a “charge”, you’re ready for action and your performance improves. For example, this might be felt before an important performance –helping us focus and perform well under pressure. The optimal amount of anxiety differs for each of us so we need to find it individually and not compare it with others.
The problem occurs when our bodies start the fight or flight response when the threat in the environment is not obvious or there is a very strong bodily response to a threat that most people would not think is severe. The good news is that you can learn to manage it.
Click for tips to deal with worry and two relaxation exercises.
There are many types of anxiety not all of which are listed here. Each of these anxiety problems have been shown to respond well to cognitive behaviour therapy.
- Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by a lot of worry about many different areas of life. If one worry is solved, people who suffer GAD will keep worrying about other areas. Other symptoms of GAD include restlessness or feeling on edge, difficulty concentrating and being easily distracted, fatigue, irritability, muscle tension, difficulties falling or staying asleep, stomachache, diarrhea, headache. These symptoms must be on-going, persisting at least 6 months.
- Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) can be a disabling condition where sufferers find themselves having repeated unwanted thoughts (obsessions) which they try to ameliorate by performing some action (compulsions). Sufferers recognize that the thought is excessive and unreasonable but feel driven to perform compulsions which reduce distress and provide short term relief.
Common themes of OCD thoughts are about contamination (i.e., themselves or people they love will be contaminated), doubting (e.g., did they lock the door or turn off the oven), or aggressive or sexual impulses that would be socially unacceptable. Compulsions from the above thoughts might include handwashing, repeatedly checking the door or oven, hiding knives or avoiding people they think they might hurt.
People often feel trapped by OCD as the more the try and perform compulsions to stop the thoughts, the more the thoughts occur.
- Social phobia or social anxiety is a common problem where people fear being judged negatively which they think will then lead to being rejected or found socially unacceptable. Because social situations provoke such anxiety, they are often avoided, or endured with gritted teeth. Usually the fear involves being embarrassed (e.g., others noticing the blushing face or trembling hands) and that others will deem them anxious, crazy or weak because of this.
- Health anxiety used to be known and sometimes still is as hypochondriasis. People with health anxiety believe that they have (or are at risk of developing) a serious illness. The preoccupation with this causes distress or interference in life in some way, however they can acknowledge the possibility that there may not be an illness or that they might be overstressing the negative elements of the situation.
Counselling for Stress
Stress is a very common problem and can result in mental, physical, emotional, and behavioural effects.
Mental effects include difficulties concentrating, difficulties making decisions, forgetfulness, self critical thoughts, and difficulty turning off.
Physical effects can include increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, butterflies in stomach, nausea, dry mouth.
Emotional effects include nervousness, tension, moodiness, loneliness, crying, sadness, guilt and shame
Behavioural effects include difficulty sleeping, outbursts, irritation, aggression, avoidance of people or places, inactivity, drinking, smoking and others.
In the context of work, while there are techniques you can use (e.g., slow diaphragmatic breathing, taking a walk at lunchtime, taking regular mini-breaks, increasing awareness of your own body responses), it also may be worth taking a big picture view of your work.
Are there other factors (workload, changes in the organization, tight deadlines, job insecurity, sense of lack of control, difficult/noisy work environment, insufficient skill for the job, inadequate working environment, poor relationship with others, pressure from others, harassment, long hours etc) impacting?
Dealing with stress usually involves understanding more about its specific effects on you, anticipating and planning for periods of stress, and finding the optimum level where you function best. Using a systematic approach to problem solve what you can (breaking the tasks down into smaller steps and making a plan to do the steps) also can help you feel more in control.
Often the hardest thing for people is recognizing and accepting their feelings as we tend to berate ourselves harshly when we are feeling like we’re not coping. Developing new skills, whether it be learning to say no and be more assertive, dispute perfectionistic thinking through cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), work when we feel like procrastinating or giving up control by delegating, can be an effective part of managing stress.
Many people we see find it very difficult to take breaks and schedule pleasant activities. Using stress as a reminder to step back and to look at ones values and overall life meaning can be effective. Learning mindfulness meditation has been shown to be very effective in stress reduction.
Counselling for low self esteem
Self esteem refers to how we judge ourselves. If you have a healthy self-esteem you typically feel good about yourself and your achievements and think that you are a worthwhile person. If you have low self-esteem you tend to find fault in what you do and feel not good enough.
We all have probably come across people who constantly berate themselves, refuse to accept compliments, praise others achievements at the expense of their own, change their opinions based on those around them, and seem to agree to everything you ask of them.
We all hold beliefs about ourselves, others and the world. Early experiences from parents, other caregivers, teachers, and peers help form our beliefs about ourselves, as these messages were repeated by people important to us.
For example if the majority of the feedback you have received over your life is positive, and you have lived in a family and culture that support and value your needs and differences, you are more likely grow up believing that you matter, and that you have something to contribute to society. Conversely if you were criticized, told off, or devalued, you might internalize these messages and start believing there is something fundamentally wrong with you.
As a result of your experiences you relate to yourself with what psychologists call “self talk”. This is the voice inside your head (your thoughts) that often comments on what you do. Cognitive behavioural strategies have been shown to be very effective against low self esteem.
Counselling for weight loss and eating issues
Did you know that cognitive behavioural therapy has been found to be effective for sustained weight loss? Although most diets focus on food and exercise, they typically don’t tell you how to combat your sabotaging thoughts or what to do when you feel like deserve a treat after a long and stressful day, managing your urges and emotions. CBT addresses these problems as well as providing helpful strategies about food and exercise. Our client feedback has been very positive about the “missing link” in losing weight and sustaining weight loss.
Other issues with eating can also be addressed through therapy. Most people have heard of the main eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.
However there are many issues people have with eating that don’t fit these diagnoses but still cause distress including constant dieting, feeling that you can't control your eating behavior, extreme focus on body shape and weight, eating much more food during a binge episode than during a normal meal, and feeling depressed, disgusted or upset over the amount eaten. We help you move to a non-judgemental and compassionate stance towards yourself which is a crucial step in reducing the distress you feel around your eating behaviour.
Read our why diets fail article featured in Mindfood.
Counselling for mid life crisis
The term “mid-life crisis” is used commonly to describe a stage of life occurring predominately in ones 40s and 50s where people find themselves experiencing disillusionment at the way their lives are turning out. Often it is triggered by a milestone of some sort, approaching 40 or 50, kids leaving/left home, redundancy or divorce.
In the context of a youth and beauty oriented culture, the prospect of middle and older age can be scary. Many men look and find themselves with what they thought would bring happiness (status symbols and the like) and remark with sadness that they feel like something is missing. These days the midlife crisis is seen as a normal stage of life following Yale psychologist Daniel Levinson’s theory of adult development.
Counselling for sleeping problems
Whether you experience difficulty falling asleep (onset insomnia), or wake several times during the early morning hours (early-morning insomnia), there are simple behavioral interventions that can assist in developing good nighttime routines.
It can be helpful before you start implementing these interventions, to track information about your sleep as it currently is, for example, your bedtime, your wake up time, the number of hours that you sleep each night, and the number of times you wake.
For Change it tips on sleeping see our sleep information page.
Relationship and marriage counselling
Every relationship goes through tough times - it's how you handle those times that makes the difference between staying together and splitting up. Counselling can help by examining the way we relate to the people around us and can highlight patterns that might not be working while working with you to suggest alternatives. Our specialist in this area is Dr. Elizabeth Du Preez.
Read our story on building better relationships featured in Mindfood September 2010 by clicking on the cover
Other problems
Other problems can be worked with as well as the above issues. It’s best to send us an email or call and ask whether we work with the issue that bothers you. We look forward to helping you move towards happiness and confidence.
If you feel like talking to someone about what's bothering you, please call us on (09) 361 2303 or email us
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