Shine Strong Psychology 

Commencing Friday 1 May, an additional treatment approach has been included - Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing therapy (EMDR). Any Psychologist with adequate training and experience in providing EMDR can now do so and their services will attract a Medicare rebate with a valid Better Access Mental Health Care Plan or for a client utilising the Bushfire Recovery Access Initiative (no GP referral required). Focussed Psychological Strategies now contains : Psycho-education (including motivational interviewing) Cognitive-behavioural therapy including : Behavioural interventions Behaviour modification Exposure techniques Activity scheduling Cognitive interventions Cognitive therapy Relaxation strategies : Progressive muscle relaxation Controlled breathing Skills training: Problem solving skills and training Anger management Social skills training Communication training Stress management Parent management training Interpersonal therapy (especially for depression) There is also flexibility to include narrative therapy for clients of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent.  Further information about this announcement, read the MBS article here . Read more about EMDR from Shine Strong Psychology. Source: Australian Psychology Association Inc, EMDR Therapy and Psychology Interest Group

On one hand I was so excited for his adventure but on the other was holding back a flood of tears at the thought my first baby had grown up. Following my sons departure I spent a lot of time reflecting on the whirlwind of the last 19 years of my parenting ride. What a privilege it has been being a Mum to two beautiful sons, but if there is one thing I wished I had done a little more of over the years that would be to have taken more time for my own self-care. Research suggests that if we invest in just 10 minutes a day of self-care in the form of mindfulness or meditation it will assist with our ability to remain calm in the face of life’s storms. Taking time to include some exercise into your day or week also promotes self-care as it produces those great happy endorphins that everyone talks about. But if you are anything like me I struggle to find the time for self-care as often there are no daylight hours left after work, fulfilling all of life’s demands and taking care of my family’s needs. So as this year draws to an end I would encourage you all to set yourself goals for 2020 to improve your self-care. Self-care can also be in the form of rewards. Give yourself small but regular rewards as by doing this we activate the natural chemical called dopamine which gives us a quick hit of motivation, and we all know we could do with a bit more of that! Rewards can be as simple as booking a massage, going to the movies or getting your nails done… whatever works for you. Another type of self-care that is also rewarding is catching up with your lady tribe (can you believe it) and guess what there is actually some real science behind it. In 2016 a study found evidence that spending time with friends increases the production of oxytocin which is the hormone that produces feelings of love, bonding and wellbeing. Cheers to that science! Sometimes it is difficult to fit in the time to give ourselves selfcare but if we don’t regularly recharge our batteries then we are at risk of burn out or depression. For the past four years my girlfriends and I take off on a girls only weekend every May and this has become something I look forward to at the beginning of every year. It’s my way of doing something that is just for me. This proved to be the most important medicine that I could of asked for when my second born son had a skateboard accident in February 2018 in which he fractured his skull and was put on life support. The following three months of my life went by in a blur as my husband and I shared the shifts to be by his side during his recovery whilst juggling to keep both of our individual businesses running. After three months my son had recovered enough to return to school full time which was just in time for my annual girlfriend getaway. What my lady tribe gave me was the space to recharge and to just be me which I hadn’t felt in such a long time. We laughed, cried, drank wine, had adventures and shared our past years pains and joys. What a healing balm to my soul. By the time I returned home I was ready to go back into battle with my modern life again. To all the lady tribes out there please remember to invest in your own self-care in 2020… Note: this article was originally published in Oasis Magazine . You can download the PDF version here .