Psychological Support For Adults
At Think Clinical Psychologists, our clinical psychologists in Cremorne and North Sydney provide evidence-based therapy for adults experiencing a range of emotional, personal and relationship difficulties, including: anxiety, depression, OCD, work stress, burnout, trauma, grief and loss, eating difficulties, low self-esteem, relationship problems and major life transitions.
Depression and Low Mood
Everyone feels down sometimes. But if low mood is happening regularly, lasting for long periods, or affecting your motivation, energy, sleep, concentration, confidence or ability to keep up with day-to-day life, it may be a sign of depression.
Depression can be caused by many different factors, and it is often a combination rather than one single cause. Stressful life events - like separation, divorce, prolonged work stress, grief, relationship difficulties, parenting demands, or periods of change and uncertainty - can contribute to depression. Family history, personality, coping patterns and past experiences can also play a role.
Sometimes the cause is obvious. Other times, it is not. Either way, you do not need to know exactly why you feel depressed before you can start feeling better. Psychological therapy for depression can help you understand what is keeping low mood going, build practical strategies, improve motivation and reconnect with the parts of life that matter to you.
At Think Clinical Psychologists, we provide evidence-based treatment for depression and low mood in a supportive, practical and personalised way.
Anxiety
Anxiety is a normal human emotion, and most of us feel anxious from time to time. But when anxiety becomes persistent, difficult to control, out of proportion to the situation, or starts affecting sleep, concentration, work, relationships or day-to-day life, it may be a sign that extra support could help.
Problem anxiety can show up in different ways, including constant worry, overthinking, panic symptoms, avoidance, reassurance-seeking, physical tension, irritability, or feeling like your mind will not switch off. Some people experience generalised anxiety, social anxiety, health anxiety, specific phobias or panic attacks. Anxiety can also be a significant part of difficulties such as OCD and PTSD.
The good news is that anxiety is very treatable. Psychological therapy for anxiety can help you understand what is keeping the anxiety going, reduce avoidance and overthinking, manage physical symptoms, and build confidence in situations that currently feel difficult.
At Think Clinical Psychologists, we provide evidence-based treatment for anxiety in a practical, supportive and personalised way.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD is often misunderstood as simply being very tidy or organised, but it is usually much more distressing than that. OCD involves unwanted intrusive thoughts, images or urges that feel hard to shake, and often very out of step with the person’s values. To try to reduce the anxiety or uncertainty these thoughts create, people may feel driven to do certain behaviours or mental rituals, such as checking, washing, seeking reassurance, reviewing events, counting, or trying to “neutralise” a thought.
OCD can show up in many different ways. Some people experience contamination fears and washing compulsions, while others struggle with checking, intrusive fears about harm, symmetry or “just right” feelings, relationship doubts, health-related obsessions, moral or religious fears, or distressing intrusive thoughts about things they would never want to do. Although the content can vary, the underlying cycle is often similar: an intrusive thought creates distress, a compulsion provides short-term relief, and over time the pattern becomes harder to step out of.
Psychological therapy for OCD can help you understand what keeps the cycle going, reduce the need for compulsions, and build confidence managing uncertainty and distress in a more helpful way.
Adult ADHD
ADHD in adults isn’t just about being distracted or disorganised. It can affect attention, planning, time management, emotional regulation, motivation, follow-through and the ability to manage everyday demands. Some adults with ADHD feel constantly overwhelmed, forgetful or behind, while others have learned to compensate for years but feel exhausted by the effort it takes to keep everything together.
Being diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood can bring its own challenges. For some people, it helps explain years of feeling “lazy”, inconsistent, underachieving, too sensitive or not quite able to reach their potential. For others, it can bring grief, frustration or sadness about difficulties that may have been misunderstood for a long time.
Adult ADHD can affect work, study, relationships, parenting, household tasks and self-confidence. It may show up as procrastination, difficulty finishing tasks, impulsive decisions, restlessness, emotional reactivity, poor organisation, trouble prioritising, or feeling frustrated that your ability doesn’t always match your performance.
Psychological therapy for adult ADHD can help you better understand your strengths and challenges, develop practical strategies for organisation, planning and emotional regulation, and reduce the shame or self-criticism that often builds over time.
At Think Clinical Psychologists, we provide evidence-based support for adults with ADHD in a practical, collaborative and personalised way.
Pregnancy, Birth and New Parenthood
Having a baby is a huge adjustment. Welcoming a new member of the family can be exciting and meaningful, but the sleep deprivation, constant feeds, hormonal changes and relentlessness of the newborn period can also make it an incredibly challenging time. This can be especially true if you’ve had a difficult pregnancy, traumatic birth, feeding challenges, a baby who is difficult to settle, or if you’re experiencing postnatal anxiety, postnatal depression or just not coping the way you expected to.
It can feel awful to feel like you’re being robbed of the happy newborn experience you imagined - or to feel stuck, overwhelmed, resentful, disconnected, or frightened that you’ve made a mistake you can’t undo. These feelings are more common than most parents realise, and they’re not a sign you’re failing. With the right support, things can get better.
Think Clinical Psychologists has a dedicated service for new and expectant parents: Think Parents, Bumps + Bubs. Our team provides psychological support for pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period, as well as infant feeding and sleep support for families navigating the early months of parenthood.
Visit the Think Parents, Bumps + Bubs website.
Eating Disorders and Body Image Concerns
Eating disorders can look different from person to person, but they often involve a difficult or distressing relationship with food, eating, weight, shape or body image. For some people, this might include restrictive eating, binge eating, rigid food rules, unbalanced eating patterns, frequent thoughts about food, anxiety or guilt after eating, or feeling the need to “make up for” eating certain foods.
Acknowledging that you may have an eating disorder, or that your relationship with food or your body is becoming problematic, can feel confronting. Part of you may want things to change, while another part may feel fearful, uncertain or unsure whether recovery is even possible - especially if these patterns have been part of your life for a long time, or if previous treatment hasn’t felt like the right fit.
For the record, recovery from an eating disorder is possible. There are evidence-based treatments for eating disorders and body image concerns, and working with a clinical psychologist can help you understand what is keeping the problem going, build more flexible eating patterns, reduce anxiety and guilt around food, and improve your relationship with your body.
And if you’re not sure whether your eating issues are “serious enough” to warrant seeking help, a useful question is: does my relationship with food, eating or my body affect me on a regular basis? If the answer is yes, reaching out for support is valid. You don’t need to wait for things to get worse or to wait until you’re certain you meet criteria for an eating disorder, before getting support.
Relationship Difficulties
No relationship is perfect, but some relationships feel more secure, respectful and workable than others. Occasional arguments, tension and differences of opinion are normal. But when day-to-day interactions start to feel consistently hurtful, disconnected or hostile, questions like “is this still working?” or “would I be happier if I left?” can become harder to ignore.
People often seek relationship counselling or psychological support for one of three reasons. Sometimes, they’re trying to decide if their relationship has reached its natural end. Sometimes, they want to stay in the relationship but need help understanding what’s going wrong and how things could improve. And sometimes, they’ve decided to separate but need support navigating the process in a way that is as clear, respectful and manageable as possible.
If you’re unsure whether to stay or leave, we can’t make that decision for you, but we can help you think it through carefully. Therapy can provide a space to understand the patterns in your relationship, clarify what matters to you, and make a more informed decision about what comes next.
If you want to improve the relationship, sessions can help identify the problem areas, improve communication, reduce conflict and explore more helpful ways of responding to each other. This work is often most effective when both partners attend, but individual therapy can still be useful when couples therapy is not possible or one person isn’t ready to participate.
And if the relationship has reached an impasse, therapy can also support you through separation, family conflict and co-parenting changes. Where children are involved, sessions can help you think through how to reduce their exposure to adult conflict and support them to maintain strong, healthy relationships with both parents.
Work Stress and Burnout
Even if you enjoy your job, most people experience work stress at some point. When stress is short-term, like in the lead-up to a deadline, presentation or busy period - it can feel unpleasant but manageable. But when workplace stress becomes ongoing, it can start to affect your mood, sleep, concentration, relationships, physical health and overall wellbeing.
Work stress and burnout are more likely when the demands of a role consistently outweigh the support, resources or control available. This might include unrealistic workloads, unclear expectations, tight deadlines, job insecurity, micromanagement, lack of managerial support, limited feedback or recognition, difficult workplace dynamics, or workplace bullying and harassment.
If work stress has become a constant part of your life, it may be time to make some changes. For some people, that might involve considering a new role or workplace. For others, meaningful change may come from improving boundaries, adjusting workload, strengthening communication skills, managing perfectionism, or developing more effective strategies for productivity, time management and recovery outside work.
Psychological therapy for work stress can help you better understand what is keeping the stress cycle going, clarify what is and is not within your control, and develop practical strategies to protect your wellbeing while navigating workplace demands.
At Think Clinical Psychologists, we provide evidence-based support for work stress, burnout and workplace-related anxiety in a practical, supportive and personalised way.
Trauma and PTSD
Trauma can affect people in different ways. For some, the impact is immediate and obvious. For others, the effects show up gradually, sometimes long after the event has passed. Trauma can follow a single frightening or overwhelming experience, such as an accident, assault, medical emergency or traumatic birth, or it can be linked to repeated experiences over time, like childhood trauma, family violence, bullying, neglect or emotionally unsafe relationships.
After trauma, it’s common to feel more on edge, disconnected, emotionally reactive, numb, anxious, low, or easily overwhelmed. Some people experience nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive memories, avoidance, sleep difficulties, guilt, shame, irritability, or a sense that they no longer feel like themselves. These responses can be confusing and distressing, but they’re also understandable signs that your nervous system has been through something significant.
Psychological therapy for trauma can help you make sense of what’s happened, understand how trauma is affecting your mind, body and relationships, and gradually reduce the distress connected to traumatic memories.
At Think Clinical Psychologists, we provide evidence-based trauma therapy in a safe, paced and supportive way, helping you build stability, confidence and a greater sense of control over your life.
Grief and Loss
Grief is a normal response to losing someone or something important, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to live with. It can follow the death of a loved one, miscarriage, separation, illness, infertility, job loss, major life changes, or the loss of a future you’d imagined. Grief can look different for different people, and it often comes in waves rather than following a neat or predictable timeline.
Some people feel intense sadness, shock, anger, guilt, numbness or anxiety. Others find themselves struggling with sleep, concentration, motivation, decision-making, socialising, or returning to everyday routines. You might feel like you’re coping one day and completely overwhelmed the next, which can be confusing, but is also very common.
Psychological therapy for grief and loss can provide space to process what’s happened, make sense of your emotional response, and find ways to keep moving through life while still honouring what or who you’ve lost.
At Think Clinical Psychologists, we provide supportive, evidence-based therapy for grief, bereavement and major life transitions in a way that is compassionate, practical and paced to your needs.
The clinical team at Think Clinical Psychologists share similar values in terms of the treatment quality they aim to provide, but each team member is an independent practitioner conducting their practice from Think Clinical Psychologists.