Thought-Full Counselling

8/66 Clarence Street, Port Macquarie New South Wales 2444, Australia

Compassionate, thoughtful and considerate

Types of Therapy and Programs

Individual Sessions

If you have decided that Thought-Full Counselling is the counselling service for you, please phone or send an email with a few times that you are available for your first session (over the next 1-3 weeks) to mali@thought-fullcounselling.com . If you have NDIS support please indicate this in your initial contact. You will then be sent a form to read and complete prior to your first session. If you have NDIS you or your Plan-Manager will also need to complete the NDIS Service Agreement. If you have any difficulties completing these forms please get in touch to discuss options. Thought-Full Counselling offers Individual Counselling Sessions that are tailored to your support needs. If you are unsure if Thought-Full Counselling is the right fit, Mali can arrange for a short phone consult to discuss any questions that you may have before you decide. If you have any accessibility needs please include this in your correspondence so that they can be accommodated for.

Under 18s

Mali has vast experience working with and supporting children and teenagers in a variety of different platforms from teaching, casework and youth work to counselling support. She has a current Working With Children Check (WWCC). Children and teenagers under the age of 18 will require consent from at least one parent/carer/legal guardian. Where there are two legal caregivers it is recommended that consent is provided by both parties. This consent is provided when completing the two forms required during the intake process. Please reach out if there are any questions or concerns regarding this, as Thought-Full Counselling understands that every persons' circumstances can be unique.

How much involvement the caregiver has will depend on the child's developmental age, the type of therapeutic support that is going to be most appropriate to them and how much information a child or teenager is comfortable sharing. Often caregiver involvement can be beneficial to a child or teenager's therapeutic experience. This does not necessarily mean that a caregiver attends all their child's sessions, but it may mean that there are times where strategies are shared in order for them to be practiced at home. Caregivers should understand that your child's counsellor will respect your child's right to confidentiality and will be guided by their consents during sessions.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is used for many mental health conditions and is a widely recognised therapeutic intervention. CBT typically focuses on cognitive distortions and applying the concept of change towards our thoughts, emotions and behaviours. It aims to develop specific coping strategies that can be applied to certain situations to bring about steps towards change. Uncovering negative automatic thoughts and working on positive applications to thought processes. It aims to create an understanding and awareness of how our thoughts can influence our emotional regulation and our behaviours. CBT identifies problems and works on actions to address these concerns through goal driven talk therapy.

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a short-term, future-focused intervention that aims to help clients engage in forward thinking behaviours. SFBT uses the concept of how things change rather than building a detailed analysis of what caused an issue to develop. It takes a focus on envisioning how a situation might be better and importantly, incorporating what someone is already doing to make those things happen. It aims to honor strengths and acknowledge and recognise already helpful behaviours. While there is not a specific number of sessions allocated to SFBT, usually it is around 6 sessions, which may vary in the length between each session, aiming to provide a brief, focused therapeutic intervention.

Cue-Centered Therapy (coming soon)

Cue-Centered Therapy (CCT) is used to specifically support those who are, or have been experiencing posttraumatic stress symptoms. CCT aims to focus on the impact of accumulating traumas and other stressors throughout the lifespan, rather than focusing on traumatic events in isolation. It utilises a hybrid approach including CBT, psychodynamic, interpersonal, expressive and family therapy techniques. The intervention was developed by Dr Victor Carrion and Stanford University (USA) and is framed around the neurobiology of trauma, creating awareness around traumatic cues, natural reactions to stress and how classical conditioning plays a role in our responses. CCT focuses on building new responses, utilising strengths and adaptive coping mechanisms. CCT aims to promote self-empowerment through increased knowledge and insight. Supportive caregivers can play an important role in CCT for children and in order for your child to get the best out of a CCT intervention there may be some sessions where a caregiver is required to attend. CCT is usually conducted over 15 sessions.

Cool Kids Anxiety Program for kids and teens

Mali is a Registered Cool Kids Anxiety Program Facilitator which is a program targeting anxiety in children aged 7-17 years of age. The program was developed by Macquarie University and is based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) with a focus on teaching practical skills. The program is a 10 session program ideally run over the space of 10 weeks. The program also involves and expects caregiver support at home to help your child work through home-based tasks targeting anxiety. If you would like your child to participate in a 10 session (ideally over 10 weeks) program it will involve commitment from the home environment also to ensure your child is gaining the full benefit of therapy. The 10 sessions will be run at the same price as the standard sessions (see fees) however it will also incur an added $50 administration fee for workbooks. Please send through an email inquiry to mali@thought-fullcounselling.com if you would like your child to participate in this program.