We will perform an initial assessment, either as an individual or part of a family, in order to formulate an understanding of the issues or illnesses present. These may be simple or complex.
This understanding is very important, as it will help guide how we manage each person differently. To achieve the best health outcomes we use talking therapies or medications, and consider if any other clinicians will be needed. This commitment to collaboration among our team members is what sets OPTIMIND apart from other service providers or clinics. Generally a referral from your family doctor (GP) is needed to book an initial appointment. This gives you a Medicare rebate for each consultation. Private health insurance cover is useful if you require care in a hospital. Please read the Psychiatrist profiles below to help you select the OPTIMIND psychiatrist who may be best able to help you or your family member.
Psychologists deliver their mental health expertise by diagnosing and assessing problems, developing treatments and strategies, and offering support and guidance.
(Sources APS)
Under the Medicare rebate, seeing a psychologist becomes more accessible and affordable. To receive this rebate, you need to be referred to a psychologist by a GP, psychiatrist or paediatrician.
Speak to our reception team to confirm fees for our Psychologists and the rebate you are eligible to receive through Medicare.
Mental Health Social Workers are highly trained professionals working to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of patients through direct practice, crisis intervention, advocacy, community organizing and psycho-education.
Mental Health Social workers are dedicated to the pursuit of social justice and strive to help those affected by mental illness, drug and alcohol, poverty, disabilities, unemployment, housing issues and other personal problems and social disadvantages.
Mental Health Social Workers help people solve problems in their daily lives.
To receive a Medicare rebate for your Mental Health Social Worker sessions, your GP needs to refer you with a Mental Health Care Plan (MHCP). You will receive a Medicare rebate for six initial sessions with the option to receive a Medicare rebate for four more sessions during a calendar year. You will also be eligible for a Medicare rebate for 10 group Mental Health Social Work sessions in a calendar year.
Accredited Practising Dietitians comprehend how your body works. They understand how food and drinks can nourish healthy individuals and those with medical conditions that are affected by or treated with nutrition.
Many medications related to mental health can affect the appetite, resulting in an increased appetite or slowed metabolism, leading to unwanted weight gain. A Dietitian can help to devise an eating plan which will assist in paying attention to hunger cues, avoiding non hungry eating and increasing metabolism.
While no referral is needed, to receive a Medicare rebate, you need to be referred to a Dietitian by your doctor. This rebate will entitle you to a Medicare rebate for up to 5 allied health visits per calendar year. If you have private health insurance, some extras cover Dietetics.
What is Somatic Psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing?
How is it different to talk therapy?
Somatic Psychotherapy
Somatic Psychotherapy, also known as Body Psychotherapy, encompasses a variety of approaches to psychological health. It acknowledges the importance of the body in forming our experience of life and actively uses the body in therapy as a source of information and a resource for healing.
The feelings, emotions and impulses that arise from the body are an integral part of our experience of life but we often repress, cut off or don’t recognize them due to our physiological and psychological adaptations to the constraints of our environment.
Working with the body in psychotherapy opens up a wealth of options for understanding, experiencing and healing that conventional talk therapy is often unable to tap into. This is due to the control of the conscious over cognition and verbal expression, the body’s role in creating the physical sensations that are the root of emotion and the body’s role in maintaining the muscular tension that anchors and reinforces our characterological responses to our environment.
Somatic Psychotherapy helps us deal with our concerns by helping us become deeply aware of our bodily sensations, feelings and impulses as well as our emotions, thoughts and behaviour.
Somatic Experiencing®
The Somatic Experiencing® method is a body-oriented approach to the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. The word “trauma” in this sense covers a wide range of physical and psychological symptoms that result from the effect of accumulated stress on human physiology. It is the life’s work of Dr Peter A. Levine, resulting from his multidisciplinary study of stress physiology, psychology, ethology, aetiology, biology, neuroscience, indigenous healing practices, and medical biophysics, together with over 45 years of successful clinical application. The SE approach releases traumatic shock, which is key to transforming PTSD and the wounds of emotional and early developmental attachment trauma. The SE approach facilitates the completion of self-protective motor responses and the release of thwarted survival energy bound in the body, thus addressing the root cause of trauma symptoms.
This is approached by gently guiding clients to develop increasing tolerance for difficult bodily sensations and suppressed emotions The completion of these response patterns can bring a greater capacity for self-regulation as well as an increased sense of social engagement, well-being, and integration. Even though SE primarily targets issues of trauma, it is also seen as an effective way of supporting individuals interested in expanding their ability to authentically be in the world. People often report feelings of greater ease physically, psychologically, and spiritually.
Moniquea is a registered NDIS Provider
Practises at OPTIMIND Mornington Mondays and Thursdays.
B.Sc Psych. B. Psych, Grad Dip Mental Health Science (Young People’s Mental Health)
Susan is a Registered Psychologist who has a diverse professional background and a wealth of experience working with many and varied client presentations. She has a client-centred approach and works collaboratively with clients, their support persons and treating health practitioners in order to achieve optimal client outcomes.
Susan has served in the Australian Defence Force since 1993 and has deployed operationally numerous times with the Royal Australian Navy. She has worked in both Community Health and Educational settings and has extensive experience in working with complex trauma, grief, depression and anxiety.
Susan provides holistic biopsychosocial assessment and formulation and has a compassionate and pragmatic approach to assist clients to better manage their mental and emotional health. She uses various therapeutic modalities including CBT, ACT, and mindfulness approaches. She enjoys working with young people over 18 years of age, adults, couples, and past/current serving members of the ADF, Police, and Emergency Services.
Areas of interest:
HELPING YOU OPTIMISE MIND & BODY
MORNINGTON PENINSULA’S MULTIDISCIPLINARY MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDER
