How Can Our Newcastle Psychologists Help?
You or your child might benefit from seeing our Newcastle Psychologists for help with you or your child’s learning, behaviour, emotions or mental health. Our experienced, child and family focused Newcastle Psychologists offer a range of psychology services and supports including assessment, therapy and counselling, behaviour support plans, consultation and guidance for children, youth and family groups. We deliver well-researched assessments and therapies that are tailored to meet the needs of individual children and family members.
Based in Warners Bay, Newcastle, our experienced Psychologists continually strive for the highest quality of support and are committed to always maintaining our high standards of care.
Who Do Our Newcastle Psychologists See?
Each of our Newcastle Psychologists have different focused skills and interests, giving us the ability to appoint a clinician most suitable to you or your child’s individual needs. Our Newcastle Psychologists primarily see children, teenagers and young adults, however also have some clinicians that are very experienced and available to support adults.
Our Newcastle Psychology team is experienced in most areas of concern including ADHD, anxiety, autism, depression, learning challenges, trauma and much more. Our Psychologists are ready to to support you or your child in our beautiful and welcoming Warners Bay clinic, at home, and at at school, where and when appropriate. Our Newcastle Psychologists are NDIS Registered and telehealth services are also available.
Making Your First Appointment
Our friendly Intake team will guide you through what to expect from your Psychology sessions at our Newcastle Psychologists Warners Bay clinic by completing an intake screener to gather a case history in relation to your child’s needs. This allows our team to allocate the most suited Newcastle Psychologist to support you or your during your time at Beam Health.
Once a Psychologist has been allocated and a convenient appointment time organised either at our Newcastle clinic, school visit or home visit, our team will email you a package of welcome information and intake paperwork. Completing the paperwork prior to your initial appointment will ensure that you have access to everything that you need to know, and your clinician is fully briefed and prepared for your first session.
First Session: What to Expect
Upon arrival at your initial appointment at our Warners Bay clinic, you will be greeted by our friendly receptionist who will be happy to answer any administrative questions and introduce you to your Newcastle Psychologist. At the conclusion of your session, our receptionist will discuss payment options and book an ongoing appointment schedule as discussed with your Newcastle Psychologist.
Funding may be available through NDIS or Medicare. For further information on NDIS eligibility and finding, visit: https://www.ndis.gov.au/
Funded Programs
Beam Health also deliver some Primary Health Network funded mental short term health programs aimed at providing access to support for people who may find it difficult to afford or access services ordinarily. These include Little Sparks (under 12) and Medicare Mental Health Centre (adults).
Our Newcastle Psychologists can help in many areas, including:
At Beam Health, Our Newcastle Psychologists are experienced in providing comprehensive support for individuals with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), including ADHD diagnosis. Our team of experienced Psychologists, Counsellors and Social Workers are dedicated to helping people understand and navigate the challenges associated with ADHD.
Our Newcastle Psychologists offer a range of services, including assessments, therapy, and consultations, tailored to meet the unique needs of each individual. Our approach focuses on practical skills to manage symptoms, improve skills, reduce unwanted behaviors, and enhance emotional regulation. For children, our Newcastle Psychologists involve parents and caregivers in the process to ensure a holistic and supportive environment that promotes positive outcomes and a bright future for those with ADHD.
Mental health is a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. Some of the signs of mental health concerns tend to be:
1. Feeling anxious or worried
2. Feeling depressed or unhappy
3. Emotional outbursts
4. Sleep problems
5. Weight or appetite changes
6. Quiet or withdrawn
7. Substance abuse
8. Feeling guilty or worthless
9. Changes in behaviour or feelings
If you or your child is experiencing mental health concerns or just not themselves, it is may be important that you seek professional support sooner rather than later. We are very experienced at supporting children, youth and families managing mental health concerns. Our Newcastle Psychologists offer a professional and private telehealth & online service, using technology that enables you to access services wherever your location in Australia.
Don’t forget that you can ask your GP for a referral as part of a Mental Health Care Plan and medicare will then cover some of the cost of seeing the psychologist.
It is common for children and young people to experience some anxiety and it is hard to know exactly how much anxiety is too much. If anxiety is interfering with day to day life, at home, in school, study or social areas, it is very important for your child to receive professional help. Our Newcastle Psychologists can help by offering proven strategies such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT).
It is estimated that 1 in 100 people have autism, or to put in context, around 230,000 Australians. If you have noticed your child has difficulty with social communication, understanding or expressing emotions and has unusually restricted interests, it may be worthwhile to talk to us about whether your child should be assessed for autism. Children and young people with autism can be easily misunderstood and often require further assistance from health professionals including psychologists, speech pathologists and paediatricians.
We offer assessments and interventions for autism, including behaviour support plans, therapy and family support. We can also provide “know how” information for parents and care-givers on how to respond to challenging behaviours related to autism.
Your child may be eligible for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) financial assistance. For more information see our NDIS page.
Traumatic memories can remain unprocessed long after the experience. They are stored differently to everyday memories and can be triggered by even the simplest reminders, such as smells, sights or sounds. It can appear as though your child is “hyperactive” or even has stunted learning and concentration. If you are concerned your child may be struggling from the impact of trauma we can help. We will work with you to offer a safe environment so your child can make sense of their experience and develop effective skills to manage unhealthy emotions.
We offer therapy-based approaches to address trauma, including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). Telehealth services is emerging, particularly during current global health conditions. Our Newcastle Psychologists offer professional private online sessions for those are not able to visit our psychologist’s consulting rooms in person.
While life has it highs and lows, some children and young people will experience prolonged episodes of sadness. As a parent or caregiver you might notice that your child is withdrawing from others for no apparent reason, has lost interest in things they enjoy or is constantly struggling with concentration and memory. Research says the best course of action for depression is early treatment.
Newcastle Psychologists can provide psycho-education and therapy for your child to support them in moving out of the tunnel of depression towards a brighter life. We can offer Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) based techniques for depression.
Difficult behaviours can present in many ways such as verbal opposition and aggression, acting out, socially inappropriate behaviours, escalations and tantrums and even property damage. It can be confronting to be faced with difficult behaviours in children and young people. You might even notice your response is highly emotive or increasingly stressed and it can impact your own wellbeing when faced with these behaviours.
Our Newcastle Psychologists can work with you and your child to provide behavioural assessments, therapy and consultation to address immediate risks and help you plan effective responses to challenging behaviour. We are experienced in developing behaviour support plans and consulting with professionals and families to implement appropriate strategies and supports. Our supports can be provided at our clinic, in the home or at school.
We also offer telehealth psychology and online service to help make it easier for those who are unable to visit our Newcastle Psychologists consulting rooms in person.
Would you like help with parenting, navigating life’s challenges as a parent or dealing with any challenging aspects of family life?
Our Newcastle Psychologists can provide you with support, counselling and strategies so you can help your kids learn to overcome challenges at school, at home and in life.
With the right support and advice you can help your kids reach their full potential and thrive!
If you are concerned your child is struggling in the classroom a learning assessment can be of great value. A common fear of parents is that a learning difficulty means their child cannot achieve academically. If your child does have a learning difficulty, this does not mean they have low intelligence. A learning difficulty impacts the way your child takes in, remembers and processes information.
Our Newcastle Psychologists can assess for a potential learning difficulty using our high quality assessment tools. Following consultation, we will work with you closely to develop the right strategies to allow your child to achieve to the best of their ability.
You might feel as a parent that you are fighting a losing battle when it comes to the influence of your child’s peers. It is often typical as children enter adolescence they begin to feel pressure around acceptance with their peers. You may have much more influence than you realise. Often the connection between you and your child in times of confusion and uncertainty can have a significant influence on their decisions.
Our Newcastle Psychologists can help you support your child to develop the skills they need to manage conflict and enhancing resilience. We provide counselling and therapeutic support for children and teenagers. We can also offer family-based intervention including parenting skills and resilience building strategies.
Many parents struggle with children or teenagers whose behaviour is challenging, sometimes to the point of anger and violence. You might feel like you have failed your child or that you should keep the aggression behind closed doors. You may also be concerned about your child displaying signs of aggression in social settings. It is okay to seek help if you feel that anger issues are too much to handle by yourself.
We can provide support to you and your child to understand what may be contributing to the anger, while maintaining a focus on restoring your relationship with each other.
Social relationships matter as your child will grow a strong sense of identity from the peer groups they form. As a parent it is only natural that you want your child to grow healthy and safe social relationships. If your child has difficulty building healthy peer relationships or they lack confidence with social skills our Newcastle Psychologists can provide support.
Please get in touch if you and your child would like to focus on building interpersonal skills and resilience.
No family is perfect and every individual has an impact on the family system as a whole. If you are questioning your parenting approach or concerned about the impact of your child’s behaviour on your family we can offer family therapy-based support. This approach involves spending time with you and your child in an open and non-judgemental way, focussing on strengths and understanding needs. If family conflict is left undealt with it can significantly rupture future family relationships. Research suggests that negative family interactions can even lead to depression and suicidality throughout adolescence and into adulthood. Our approach to family conflict focuses on the parent-child relationship as we believe this is key to a healthy and happy family.
Our Newcastle Psychologists do offer an evidence-based model to work with families, known as attachment based family therapy. It is a non-threatening and non-judgemental approach to exploring how families can better function and support each other.
Drug and alcohol use during teenage years puts at risk the healthy development of your child’s brain. It can have long-term consequences for their physical, emotional and mental health. It is a serious issue that can be addressed with counselling and family support.
Our Newcastle Psychologists adopt a non-confrontational, tried and tested strategy in changing behaviour known as motivational interviewing that can help your child with their alcohol or drug use problem.
