Psychotherapist Gold Coast
Gold Coast Holistic Psychotherapist
Experienced psychotherapist based in Mudgeeraba on the Gold Coast. Providing a holistic & solutions-based approach utilising many different types of therapies.
A Psychotherapist is trained to guide and empower clients to help them improve various psychological, emotional and behavioural problems. Psychotherapy aims to alleviate psychological and emotional distress through talking and utilising various techniques and strategies they are trained in, to improve a client’s overall mental and emotional state.
Hi my name is Michelle van Namen. As a qualified Psychologist and Hypnotherapist with over 30 years experience, I provide psychotherapy services and programs for a wide range of conditions ranging from depression to weight loss. I provide a safe, non-judgemental and confidential space for us to work together to improve your well-being.
This might be the first time you’ve considered professional support from a psychotherapist, or you might have seen psychotherapists before and have been disheartened by the experience. I offer unique holistic and solutions-focused programs that truly work to breakthrough your personal limitations and improve the quality of your life, medication free. I utilise a wide range of cutting-edge services and techniques, and I always tailor my approach to get the best personal outcomes for you!
Psychotherapies utilised:
Humanistic Therapy emphasises the study of the whole person and aims to help a client develop a stronger, healthier sense of self, as well as access and understand their feelings to help gain a greater sense of meaning in life.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a goal oriented approach; targeting the desired outcomes of therapy as a solution rather than focusing on the symptoms or issues that brought someone to therapy. This technique focuses primarily on the present and future circumstances and desires, over past experiences.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) enables an insight to faulty modes of thinking and the use of cognitive restructuring to facilitate changes in cognitive function and dysfunctional behaviour.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a specific cognitive behavioral treatment that was originally developed to treat chronically suicidal individuals diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), and it is now recognized as the gold standard psychological treatment for this population. However it has also been a very effective psychotherapy for other issues such as anxiety, depression, PTSD and addictions.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) focuses on the process of bringing one’s attention to the internal and external experiences occurring in the present moment, which can be developed through the practice of meditation and other techniques. Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present, where you can observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them as good or bad.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a contextually focused form of cognitive behavioural psychotherapy that uses mindfulness and behavioural activation to increase clients’ psychological flexibility – their ability to engage in values-based, positive behaviours whilst experiencing difficult thoughts, emotions, or sensations. ACT has been shown to increase effective action; reduce dysfunctional thoughts, feelings, and behaviours; and alleviate psychological distress for individuals with a broad range of mental health issues.
Narrative Therapy is a client-focused, strengths-based psychotherapy that works from the fundamental position that the client is not the problem, but ‘the problem is the problem’. Narrative therapy is based on the idea that people create a personal narrative or dominant story to understand and give meaning to their lives and to themselves. Often these stories are negative or ‘problem saturated’. Narrative therapy engages in a process of deconstructing the person’s dominant narrative stories to understand how that narrative influences their thoughts, feelings, behaviours and communication, and aims to develop new, preferred stories for their life.
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is based on exploring issues in relationships with other people and the way they see themselves. The goal is to help people to identify and modify interpersonal patterns of relating, to understand and to manage relationship problems. Remedial practices have also been used and have involved self-analysis, rational thinking, emotional release processes, and the use of relaxation strategies to reduce psychological and physiological arousal.
Hypnotherapy facilitates subconscious changes in the form of new responses, thoughts, attitudes, behaviours and feelings, by inducing a trance or a dream-like state of deep relaxation in such a way that the analytical left-hand side of the brain is turned off, whilst the non-analytical right-hand side is made more alert.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) can be thought of as a physiologically based-therapy used to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories, enabling a person see disturbing material in a new and less distressing way.
PSYCH-K is a powerful method of transforming limiting beliefs into supportive beliefs at a subconscious level of the mind. With a proven record of success for over 30 years, PSYCH-K™ can address deep issues and obstacles in all areas of life!