Services
Individual and family Counselling & Psychotherapy
Practical Social Work Services
Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP
Stand Strong Child & Youth Counselling offers a 'come to you' mental health therapeutic counselling service for children and Youth 2-25yrs. Stand Strong accepts NDIS Plan & self managed NDIS participants and private bookings. Stand Strong offers a child focused and child friendly approach and will work collaboratively with the child/youth's parents/caregivers, other family members and other Allied Health Services as needed. Stand Strong service covers all of Adelaide and visits regional and remote South Australia by appointment.
What we offer:
A trauma informed, culturally competent 50-minute mobile counselling/psychotherapy session with a qualified Accredited Social Worker
Hours:
Location:
Monday -Thursday 9am-6pm
(Stand Strong Psychological is a mobile service that comes to the participants home or other agreed location. Stand Strong Psychological services all of Adelaide. If you require remote or rural sessions please contact me to discuss this option further.
Please see the Fees/payments page for information on booking, payments and cancellations
How can a Child & Youth Mental Health Counsellor help?
Children, youth and adolescents build social skills and emotional intelligence as they grow. These things often lead to healthy, happy lives. However some kids have emotions or behave in ways that disrupt their well-being. Learning about children's mental health issues can increase your knowledge of how to help. Therapy with a child & youth Mental Health Counsellor can be a safe space for kids and adolescents to process thoughts and emotions and learn helpful strategies to assist them moving forward. As parents/carers, certain skills can teach you to interact more effectively with your child. At Stand Strong Psychological I work with the child and the parents/carers and sometimes the whole family as needed. I facilitate and support attachment which is criticl to restablish and maintain safe , supportive relationships. Learning about children's mental health issues can increase your knowledge of how to help. Certain skills can teach you to interact more effectively with your child. A child & youth mental health counsellor is a professional can provide assessments and treatments for children experiencing difficulties of learning, behavioural, social, emotional issues. Stand Strong uses a variety of counselling and psychotherapy techniques some of which you can view below. The type of technique used will depend on the information you and you child/young person have provided as well as the outcome of the assessment (see the main page in services). Stand Strong Psychological has vast experience with neurodiverseity and complex family dynamics. You will be presented with a treatment plan and review date. As with everything around my practice this is a collaborative effort. In the treatment plan, where possible you will have input about choices of various therapeutic approaches that you may feel will be better suited to your child's way of learning.
You are the expert - I have some skills - Let's work together
Leah Price
Counselling and Therapeutic Approaches
Play Therapy
Play Therapy involves the use of toys, blocks, dolls, puppets, drawings, and games to help the child recognize, identify, and verbalize feelings. The psychotherapist observes how the child uses play materials and identifies themes or patterns to understand the child's problems. Through a combination of talk and play the child has an opportunity to better understand and manage their conflicts, feelings, and behavior.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
The therapist helps the client become aware of their thoughts and feelings. The therapist also helps the client evaluate if their feelings or thoughts may be distorted or illogical, and then supports the client through the process of changing the thoughts as well as the emotional reactions and behaviors that go along with them. Cognitive-behavior therapy is a widely researched and evidence based practice which can be very successful and effective. Most commonly used in conditions of: - ADHD - Behaviour Disorders - Anxiety - Depression
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
DBT Treatment is a form of cognitive behavior therapy. Its primary aim is to give people the skills to regulate their emotions, handle stress in a healthy manner, and improve relationships, and live mindfully. Originally developed to treat people with borderline personality disorder, DBT is now used to treat a variety of mental conditions and is believed to be especially helpful for people with seemingly uncontrollable, intense negative emotions or those who may incline toward self-harm. DBT differs from CBT in that it teaches you that your experiences are real and shows how to accept yourself, even with your unique challenges and life experiences. The treatment usually consists of both one-on-one sessions with a psychotherapist and therapist-led group sessions where the participants develop and practice skills and behaviors needed for a more manageable daily life. In both situations, DBT clients learn how to label emotions, handle angry feelings and navigate conflict without giving into impulsive tendencies, and develop awareness of their feelings during the present moment. Like CBT, DBT also has a homework component. DBT is ideally done both in groups and in individually sessions simultaneously. People generally find this mixture quite helpful.
Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy is a style of therapy that helps people become—and embrace being—an expert in their own lives. In narrative therapy, there is an emphasis on the stories that you develop and carry with you through your life.1 As you experience events and interactions, you give meaning to those experiences and they, in turn, influence how you see yourself and the world. You can carry multiple stories at once, such as those related to your self-esteem, abilities, relationships, and work. Narrative therapy seeks to have an empowering effect and offer counseling that is non-blaming and non-pathological in nature.
Acceptance Committment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance and commitment therapy has been associated with improved outcomes in patients with chronic pain (comparable to cognitive behaviour therapy) and several studies suggest that it may be useful in patients with mild to moderate depression. Preliminary evidence of benefit has also been shown in the setting of obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychosis, smoking, tinnitus, epilepsy and emotionally disordered eating after gastric band surgery. Acceptance and commitment therapy starts with a discussion about what the patient wants and how they have tried to achieve these aims. Strategies previously used to avoid discomfort are discussed. Psychoeducation in ACT involves metaphors, stories and experiential exercises to demonstrate the uncontrollability and acceptability of much psychological experience. In its final phase, ACT resembles traditional behaviour therapy consisting of goal setting and graduated activity scheduling toward goals directed by values. The therapy is less concerned with eliminating unwanted thoughts, emotions and sensations (often seen as the symptoms of psychiatric disorder) and more concerned with cultivating psychological flexibility: the ability to change behaviour depending on how useful to the patient's life this behaviour is understood to be in the long term. The ACT model predicts people will be most effective when able to:2 accept automatic thoughts, sensations and urges defuse from thinking (ie. observe thoughts without believing them or following their directions) experience self as context (ie. a continuous, stable sense of self as an observer of psychological experiences) attend to the present moment with self awareness clearly articulate values (ie. self chosen, desirable ways of behaving) engage in committed action (ie. participating in values-consistent activities, even when psychologically challenging).
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy MBCT
What MBCT Can Help With Research suggests that MBCT can be effective for helping individuals who have experienced multiple episodes of depression. While it was originally developed to treat depression, it has also been shown to be effective for other uses including: Anxiety disorders Bipolar disorder Depression associated with medical illnesses Low mood Unhappiness Depression-relapse prevention Treatment-resistant depression Benefits of MBCT: A primary assumption of cognitive therapy is that thoughts precede moods and that false self-beliefs lead to negative emotions such as depression. MBCT utilizes elements of cognitive therapy to help you recognize and reassess your patterns of negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts that more closely reflect reality. This approach helps people review their thoughts without getting caught up in what could have been or might occur in the future. MBCT encourages clarity of thought and provides you the tools needed to more easily let go of negative thoughts instead of letting them feed your depression Much like cognitive therapy, MBCT operates on the theory that if you have a history of depression and become distressed, you are likely to return to those automatic cognitive processes that triggered a depressive episode in the past. The combination of mindfulness and cognitive therapy is what makes MBCT so effective. Mindfulness helps you observe and identify your feelings while cognitive therapy teaches you to interrupt automatic thought processes and work through feelings in a healthy way.
Client/Person Centered Approach
Person-Centered Therapy (Rogerian Therapy) A man with a red shirt and a prosthetic leg climbs a mountain.Person-centered therapy was developed by Carl Rogers in the 1940s. This type of therapy diverged from the traditional model of the therapist as expert and moved instead toward a nondirective, empathic approach that empowers and motivates the client in the therapeutic process. The therapy is based on Rogers’s belief that every human being strives for and has the capacity to fulfill his or her own potential. Person-centered therapy, also known as Rogerian therapy, has had a tremendous impact on the field of psychotherapy and many other disciplines. ROGERIAN THEORY IN PSYCHOTHERAPY Rather than viewing people as inherently flawed, with problematic behaviors and thoughts that require treatment, person-centered therapy identifies that each person has the capacity and desire for personal growth and change. Rogers termed this natural human inclination “actualizing tendency,” or self-actualization. He likened it to the way that other living organisms strive toward balance, order, and greater complexity. According to Rogers, "Individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behavior; these resources can be tapped if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided." The person-centered therapist learns to recognize and trust human potential, providing clients with empathy and unconditional positive regard to help facilitate change. The therapist avoids directing the course of therapy by following the client’s lead whenever possible. Instead, the therapist offers support, guidance, and structure so that the client can discover personalized solutions within themselves. Person-centered therapy was at the forefront of the humanistic psychology movement, and it has influenced many therapeutic techniques and the mental health field, in general. Rogerian techniques have also influenced numerous other disciplines, from medicine to education. SIX FACTORS NECESSARY FOR GROWTH IN ROGERIAN THEORY Rogers identified six key factors that stimulate growth within an individual. He suggested that when these conditions are met, the person will gravitate toward a constructive fulfillment of potential. According to Rogerian theory, the six factors necessary for growth are: Therapist-Client Psychological Contact: This first condition simply states that a relationship between therapist and client must exist in order for the client to achieve positive personal change. The following five factors are characteristics of the therapist-client relationship, and they may vary by degree. Client Incongruence or Vulnerability: A discrepancy between the client’s self-image and actual experience leaves him or her vulnerable to fears and anxieties. The client is often unaware of the incongruence. Therapist Congruence or Genuineness: The therapist should be self-aware, genuine, and congruent. This does not imply that the therapist be a picture of perfection, but that he or she be true to him- or herself within the therapeutic relationship. Therapist Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR): The clients’ experiences, positive or negative, should be accepted by the therapist without any conditions or judgment. In this way, the client can share experiences without fear of being judged. Therapist Empathy: The therapist demonstrates empathic understanding of the clients’ experiences and recognizes emotional experiences without getting emotionally involved. Client Perception: To some degree, the client perceives the therapist’s unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding. This is communicated through the words and behaviors of the therapist.
Strengths Approach
Strength-based therapy is a type of positive psychotherapy and counseling that focuses more on your internal strengths and resourcefulness, and less on weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings. This focus sets up a positive mindset that helps you build on you best qualities, find your strengths, improve resilience and change worldview to one that is more positive. A positive attitude, in turn, can help your expectations of yourself and others become more reasonable. When It's Used Anyone with poor self-esteem, or who has emotional issues resulting from an abusive relationship with a parent or partner, can benefit from strength-based therapy. This includes people with serious mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia, who can use strength-based therapy to build confidence and reduce the stress of living with such a condition. Strength-based therapy can be used as an intervention for individuals of all ages, couples and families.
Behavioural Therapy (includes parent skills training)
Behavior therapy teaches children and their families how to strengthen positive child behaviors and eliminate or reduce unwanted or problem behaviors. One type is parent training in behavior management. The therapist works with parents to learn or improve skills to manage their child’s behavior. Parents are encouraged to practice the skills with their child, either during the therapy session or at home. Teachers can also be trained in behavior management to help the child at their childcare center or school. With older children or adolescents, the therapist usually works directly with the child to teach them how to choose positive behaviors. Parents can be involved to support and strengthen the skills their child is learning.
Developmental Perspective
Psychosocial Development Theory Transpersonal Theory Growth. Change. Consistency. By adopting a developmental perspective, social workers can start uncovering the patterns of a person’s life. A large portion of developmental theories focus on childhood, since this is such a formative time. Psychosocial Developmental Theory Inspired by the earlier work of Sigmund Freud, German psychoanalyst Erik Erikson developed an eight-stage theory of identity and psychosocial development. According to Erikson, everyone must pass through eight stages of development throughout their life cycle: hope, will, purpose, competence, fidelity, love, care, and wisdom. As a social worker, you may find it useful to identify a client’s current stage to pinpoint what challenges they’re currently facing. Transpersonal Theory Transpersonal theory suggests the existence of stages beyond the adult ego. These stages contribute to creativity, wisdom, and altruism in healthy individuals—but can lead to psychosis in those lacking healthy ego development. In social work, transpersonal theory may be used to treat anxiety, depression, addiction and other mental health concerns. Typically spiritual approaches as used such as meditation, guided visualization, hypnotherapy and more.
.jpg)
