How do I find a good Psychologist?
Meeting a new psychologist for the first time can be quite daunting, particularly if it is the first psychologist you have EVER met or perhaps you have previously had a bad experience. Looking for a psychologist is difficult, our profiles read similarly, and it can be confusing to know what you need when you might not be feeling well in the first place. The key is finding a psychologist you click with.
Cliché, I know. Developing a strong connection with a psychologist is one of the most important factors in your recovery, research has demonstrated this for years. You may have to try a few psychologists before you find ‘the one’. Someone who may be a good fit for you today and this year, may not be the same psychologist you need in the future.
At Conscious Mind Centre, we understand this and know it is not a reflection of our clinical practice but rather you learning to know what it is YOU need.
Potential Challenges to Consider
- Psychologists are people, we all have our own individual life experiences prior to becoming mental health professionals. For many of us, these experiences can influence how we engage with you in the therapy room. You will get a sense in the first session with your psychologist if they understand you, and whether you feel comfortable; or if you feel uncomfortable. Listen to this intuition.
- Psychologists that do not encourage your feedback or become defensive if you ask about a different modality of treatment. Understand there are over 250+ peer reviewed therapy modalities, it is nearly impossible for every psychologist to understand and know all of these. If your psychologist becomes defensive about your enquiry it may be time to question whether it is a supportive dynamic for your individual needs.
- How the psychologist refers to themselves, depending on the person but some individuals find it highly invalidating and difficult to work with a psychologist who references themselves frequently during session after session. Some individuals like this approach as it can offer a helpful way of understanding distress, others may find this frustrating. That is okay. If you feel uncomfortable by this approach, it may be time to consider if you are ready to seek another psychologist more aligned with your needs.
At Conscious Mind Centre, our ethos is to humanise distress and use occasional brief self-reference, or clinical reference, to your experience where our psychologists may feel it is beneficial to your process. Your psychology treatment focus is you. Changing psychologist can be a frustrating process, it feels like it costs time and money, because it does. However, there is tremendous personal growth in finding the right fit.
What qualifications should a Psychologist have?
In Australia, Psychologist is a protected title – this means they must be registered with AHPRA and you can search them using their first and last name to see if they hold current registration. Anyone using the title Psychologist that is not appropriately qualified is breaking the law.
Types of qualifications for psychologists, in recent years our industry has undergone major changes to our training in a bid to standardise qualifications. Currently we have 3 levels of training you may come across; this will reduce to 2 over time.
- Undergraduate training (Bachelor in Psychology with Honours) + two years internship training this = Registered Psychologist
- Post graduate training (Masters in Professional Psychology + 1 year internship training) = Registered Psychologist
- Post graduate training (Masters of Clinical Psychology (generally 6-7 years of university study with adjunct placement) = Clinical Psychology Registrar / Clinical Psychologist
- Research (Doctorate/PhD) = Combination of Registered or Clinical Psychologist referred to as Dr.
Prior to the changes in our professional pathway, psychologists could complete undergraduate training followed by 2 years of internship work to gain Registered Psychologist status. This pathway was extinguished several years ago and replaces with 5+1 (Master of Professional Psychology).
All psychologists are Registered Psychologists. Seeking a psychologist that works in a focused problem area that suit your current needs will be the most supportive place to begin looking for the right fit. For example, addiction, trauma, dissociation, eating disorders, executive dysfunction.
Conscious Mind Centre Areas of Practice
Our psychologists each have respective niche special interests; this allows our clinician to focus on learning deeply about these difficulties to provide depth and breadth of support for you.
Currently, our psychologists have expertise in:
Addiction; Anxiety; Assessment; Burnout; Chronic Illness; Communication; Conflict Resolution; Cosmetic Surgery Assessment; Depression; Executive Functioning Support; General Psychology; Men’s Issues; Mental health; Personal Development; Psychotherapy; PTSD; Relapse prevention; Self-Esteem and Self-Development; Sleep Disorders; Stress Management; Substance use; Trauma; Women’s Issues, and Workplace Injury.
We offer telehealth and face-to-face consultations at our Coomera practice on the Gold Coast.
You can learn more about Conscious Mind Centre here.
