Julie McDonald Psychology

R U OK?Day is coming up on Thursday 12 September but any day is the day to ask, 'are you OK?'

Are you hosting an R U OK? event? Start conversations in your workplace, school or community using our FREE digital and print resources. guides, posters, activities, social media tiles, presentations and videos - we've got you covered.

Download now 👉 www.ruok.org.au/r-u-ok-day

It is about our journey with its highs and lows all being ok:
mounika.studio

This is hardwork.

Most of the time people wait for the perfect timing but they forget that no timing is perfect.

Make most use of the resources you have.

The trick is to start. Not to wait for the perect time, resource or anything.

Can you relate?

It’s the same for us as adults when our feelings get big - which they will sometimes, because we’re humans not robots. We don’t want to be fixed, or changed, or dismissed. What helps is when someone is able to be with us, without needing to fix us, change us, or minimise us. Just being with. So simple but so hard sometimes.♥️

This National Police Remembrance Day we pay our respects to our Victoria Police colleagues, and our policing colleagues interstate and overseas, who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

At the Victoria Police Memorial, and across the state, we honour the dedicated police officers who have died serving their community.

Big behaviour is a sign of a nervous system in distress. Before anything, that vulnerable nervous system needs to be brought back home to felt safety.

This will happen most powerfully with relationship and connection. Breathe and be with. Let them know you get it. This can happen with words or nonverbals. It’s about feeling what they feel, but staying regulated.

If they want space, give them space but stay in emotional proximity, ‘Ok I’m just going to stay over here. I’m right here if you need.’

If they’re using spicy words to make sure there is no confusion about how they feel about you right now, flag the behaviour, then make your intent clear, ‘I know how upset you are and I want to understand more about what’s happening for you. I’m not going to do this while you’re speaking to me like this. You can still be mad, but you need to be respectful. I’m here for you.’

Think of how you would respond if a friend was telling you about something that upset her. You wouldn’t tell her to calm down, or try to fix her (she’s not broken), or talk to her about her behaviour. You would just be there. You would ‘drop an anchor’ and steady those rough seas around her until she feels okay enough again. Along the way you would be doing things that let her know your intent to support her. You’d do this with you facial expressions, your voice, your body, your posture. You’d feel her feels, and she’d feel you ‘getting her’. It’s about letting her know that you understand what she’s feeling, even if you don’t understand why (or agree with why).

It’s the same for our children. As their important big people, they also need leadership. The time for this is after the storm has passed, when their brains and bodies feel safe and calm. Because of your relationship, connection and their felt sense of safety, you will have access to their ‘thinking brain’. This is the time for those meaningful conversations:
- ‘What happened?’
- ‘What did I do that helped/ didn’t help?’
- ‘What can you do differently next time?’
- ‘You’re a great kid and I know you didn’t want this to happen, but here we are. What can you do to put things right? Do you need my help with that?’♥️

Sometimes when people feel disconnected from their emotions, it's harder to connect with others. It can be a survival response that has developed over time, like having a shield around their feelings to stay safe.

And it's also important to understand that having that shield can make it difficult to have strong and happy relationships with others. To make things better, we need to understand why we built that shield in the first place and take actions to change it.

Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3rCXGFJ

Shame is a powerful and overwhelming emotion many survivors of complex trauma experience. It is a signal of danger that supports survival when safety is elusive. Janina Fisher, a respected trauma specialist reflects on the needs of survivors around safety, control and working through shame as part of recovery.

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What a great show of support for their colleague.
Violence against Paramedics is not acceptable.

Ambos rally against aggression "The pendulum has to swing back further towards their own safety."

Perfectionism is a form of ‘flight’, as in, ‘What if it’s wrong?’ ‘What if I’ve made a mistake?’

Of course we want them to recognise their potential and go after that, but mistakes will be part of that.

Mistakes are part of learning, not a disruption to it. There’s a part of the brain that is only activated when we make a mistake. We’ll remember the word we got wrong in the spelling test or the feedback from that thing we did that we cared about.

Perfectionism can be a sly little beast. It can hold kids back from taking safe risks that will grow then. They’ll be less likely to try new things or hard things, unless they know they’ll do them well. Or they might procrastinate (also flight) and leave things until the last minute.

For these kids, mistakes or failure will trigger a felt sense of relational threat. ‘What if I’m humiliated?’ ‘What if my teacher or my parents think less of me?’

To support children through perfectionism we need to build as much relational safety as we can.

Focus on effort over outcome: ‘What matters more than the mark is the work you’ve put into it. There will be more tests, and assignments, but what’s going to matter isn’t the mark you got today, but that you’re willing to try/ have a go.’ Or, ‘Whatever happens, I couldn’t be prouder of you. You’ve worked so hard and that’s what matters most.‘

Shift the focus from the ‘threat’ (the mistake) to the ‘opportunity’ (the learning). ‘I can hear how much the mistakes matter to you, but I’m really interested in what you’ve learned.’

Perfectionists will put more pressure on themselves than we ever can. Any anxiety they feel from us will add to the pile-on.

Don’t tell them you can handle imperfection - show them. Share, with strength, your own stories of failure or mess-ups - the littles and the bigs.

Most importantly, don’t protect them from mistakes or failure. Our job isn’t to protect them from the discomfort of imperfection, but to make space for the experiences that will show them that they (and we) can handle their imperfections. The truth is, it’s the vulnerability that comes with imperfection, and our willingness to embrace that, that we tend to love most about each other.♥️

Shame is a powerful and overwhelming emotion many survivors of complex trauma experience. It is a signal of danger which supports survival when safety is elusive. Janina Fisher, a respected trauma specialist reflects on the needs of survivors around safety, control and working through shame as part of recovery.

Gentle Yoga Sessions

Sonya Leigh is about to start regular gentle Yoga classes at 135 Thistle Street.
Classes will be held on Saturday at 10 am OR 11am sessions.
More times, possibly on a Tuesday evening, may be introduced depending on need.
Cost is $15 per session and class sizes will be very small.
If you are interested and want to secure one of the limited spaces in the saturday clasess begining this week the 14th January please contact Sonya on 0408 891 017

This is such disappointing news.

Today we received the bitterly disappointing news that the Federal Government will not be extending the additional 10 Better Access sessions past 31 December 2022: http://ow.ly/bRZI50M0yBj

This has come as shocking news, and we cannot be clearer with the extent to which we disagree with this decision. We deeply disagree with the rationales provided to support the cutting of services.

This decision will harm those most in need, and we will be making a clear case for the government to reverse this decision. This decision is a backwards step towards ‘Better Access’ to mental health care.

Given the devastating impact of the pandemic, regular natural disasters, increasing levels of mental ill-health and unprecedented demand, this decision is denying people the level of mental health care they so desperately need. We implore the Federal Government to give more consideration to the mental wellbeing of Australians.

Regarding practicalities, the Department of Health has advised that clients with a mental health treatment plan and current referral for sessions (whether for the initial 10 or additional 10) will be able to use that referral to access up to 10 sessions in 2023, without having to go back to their GP. This aligns with current arrangements for the rollover of unused Better Access sessions across calendar years. Please note usual MBS referral and item rules will apply.

AAPi continues to call for a $150 rebate for psychology clients across the board, which would make it much more affordable for the general population and utilise the 7,900 strong provisional psychology workforce through Medicare rebates to reduce the long waiting lists we are seeing around the country.

We understand the high level of concern and distress this news will cause members and clients. AAPi will continue to fight for increased access to psychologists. We will provide further information as it comes to hand.

Further reading here: http://ow.ly/Iuos50M0yBl

On Tuesday, the new Federal Government handed down its budget, with a disappointing result for mental healthcare investment. AAPi is featured in The Australian today discussing this in more detail as well as advocating for the additional 10 Better Access sessions to be extended: http://ow.ly/Cj2C50LmeU9

Our recommendations for inclusion in the budget were:

• One-tier Medicare rebate for the clients of all psychologists in Australia.
• Raising the Medicare rebate to $150 per session.
• Extend the additional 10 Better Access sessions & ideally allow up to 40 sessions annually for those most in need.
• Establish a provisional psychologist Medicare rebate.
• Funding for more psychologists in schools.
• Greater investment in our regional, rural & remote workforce.
• Funding to further grow our workforce & support future & early career psychologists & their supervisors.
• Improvements to existing MBS-funded case-conferencing so these can be utilised to improve client care.
• A greater focus on prevention & early intervention including Medicare funded couples counselling & family therapy.
• Expand the Bushfire Medicare item numbers to include all disasters, such as the recent & ongoing floods, that allow self-referral to a psychologist for up to 10 sessions a year.
• Medicare funding for psychological testing & assessments.
• Proper investment in the NDIS & psychological therapy.

Almost none of this appeared in the budget and very little for mental health care overall. At Tuesday night's health sector briefing from Canberra, Minister Butler was asked about the lack of mental health funding, and clearly acknowledged that this was not a big mental health budget.

This article continues over on our website, please click here to keep reading: https://aapi.org.au/Web/News/Articles/budgetstatement22.aspx

We frequently check on those around us but overlook ourselves.
This October, check in with yourself and understand your needs. Take out time to invest in yourself so that you can invest in others.

AAPi member Dr Michael Carr-Gregg spoke with 3AW Melbourne's Neil Mitchell today about the shortage of psychologists, calling on the Federal Government to allow provisional psychologists to practice under Medicare to help ease waiting lists.

His comments followed a discussion with journalist Caroline Zielenski who had written a story in The Age about her own experience in seeking help from a psychologist. (Read the article here: http://ow.ly/JEV150L7GWk). He also called for the additional 20 rebatable psychology sessions to be continued past Dec 2022 and the raising of the Medicare rebate to $150 for all psychologists.

Dr Carr Gregg described the situation as a desperate shortage of psychologists and said there were 31,000 psychologists around Australia but that another 8000 were needed. He asked Neil Mitchell to advocate to the Federal Government on AAPi's behalf.

Dr Carr Gregg's comments begin at 7.30 into this recording: http://ow.ly/BKCH50L7GWj

Today we say thank you to all police members and remember those that have given their life to the job. 👮👮‍♂️

Remember to check in with your family, friends and colleagues, not just today but everyday. RUOK?

Tomorrow is .

It's a reminder to start a conversation that could change a life - not just on , but any day it's needed.

Find tips on how to ask, and what to say if someone says they aren't OK, at https://bit.ly/2ZcG05n

People won't always tell you when they're struggling.

By checking in regularly, meaningfully connecting and asking if they're OK, we can help them find support long before they're in crisis.

Thanks Amie for this message. Find conversation tips at ruok.org.au/how-to-ask

AAPi's concerns over low psychologist rebates were published in an article in Adelaide's Sunday Mail yesterday.

Executive Director Tegan Carrison said the small increase in rebates in recent years "don't scratch the surface" of costs faced by psychologists and bulk-billing is not an option for most. It is imperative that the rebate is raised to $150 for the clients of ALL psychologists.

"Psychologists are facing the same issues as GPs. If psychologists, many of whom own their own small businesses, are to keep the doors open, they need to pass on the difference between the actual cost of service and the rebate amount to the consumer."

AAPi will continue to lobby on behalf of its members for higher rebates and improved access to psychologists in the face of this mental health crisis.