Your Psychology is in Good Hands
About Me
Alissa Oakes
Clinical Psychologist
BEc, GradDipPsych, BSc(Psych)Hons, MPsych(Clin)
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Hi, Welcome to My Psychology Sydney.
People are my passion - I am passionate about working with clients to achieve positive change in their lives and I consider it a privilege to be a psychologist. My style is warm, empathic, caring and non-judgmental. My role is to guide clients and help them build their own skills in order to bring about lasting change. I pride myself in my ability to work with all clients in a compassionate, yet productive way to bring about that long-term change.
I absolutely love my work and I am an advocate for Schema Therapy. I’m deeply curious about why we do what we do and Schema Therapy helps to understand the patterns in our emotions and behaviours that drive us. Every day I see the positive change that it can make in people’s lives. However, I know that not everyone needs Schema Therapy and I also draw from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Attachment Theory. Therefore, my approach is integrative, with a strong client-centred focus.
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I work across a wide range of client issues including stress and anxiety, depression, personality issues, parenting, work pressures, relationships and trauma. I am also interested in helping women who are dealing with fertility/infertility issues and the many complexities associated with the journey of trying to conceive.
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Prior to becoming a Clinical Psychologist, I was a commercial manager in several multi-national companies so I understand trying to balance the demands of working life with that of family, relationships and raising children. My passion for helping people led me to change career paths and every day I endeavour to live the skills that I teach my clients. I practise what I preach!
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If you are wanting change in yourself or your life, I look forward to working with you to achieve that. Please don’t hesitate to contact me to ask about booking an appointment or with any questions you might have. I’d love to hear from you.
Kindest Regards,
Alissa
Psychological and emotional issues I can help you with
Anxiety Stress
Depression Post Natal Depression
Family Relationships
Parenting New Parents
Trying to conceive Family Planning
Work pressures or stress Grief and loss
Self Esteem Personality Disorders
Trauma Eating issues
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Please note that I don't see couples or clients under 18 years of age
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About Schema Therapy
Have you ever heard the word 'schema' before? Most people haven’t but it’s not a psychological word. A schema is a framework or model or belief about something. The example I always give is that we all have a birthday schema. Early on in childhood, as we start to have birthdays, we learn that when it’s your birthday you might get presents, have a cake or a party, and people might sing happy birthday to you. That’s your schema or belief about how a birthday works. You take that through life and never question that a birthday would work any other way. A schema in Schema Therapy is similar. Early on in childhood, we learn beliefs or schemas about ourselves, about other people or about the world and we take them through life without questioning them. It’s a stable, enduring negative pattern of behaviour or thought.
Here are some examples of common schemas:
Schema about yourself: the belief that I’m not good enough. Some people will feel less than confident whereas others with this schema feel flawed, unwanted or worthless (defectiveness)
Schema about other people: the belief that others won’t be there to support or look after you, you have to fend for yourself, other people won’t meet your needs (emotion deprivation)
Schema about the world: the belief that bad things will happen – you might fall ill or get injured or the worst case scenario will eventuate (vulnerability to harm or illness, or negativity / pessimism)
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Schema Therapy works to change these deep beliefs, we can’t make long term change without doing this as they are the lens through which you see the world.
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If any of this resonates with you, please get in touch to learn more.
Fees & Rebates
The fee per session is $355 (50 minutes).
If you have a valid Mental Health Care Plan and referral, you will be able to claim a Medicare rebate of $145.25 per session for up to 10 sessions per calendar year. Please ask your GP about obtaining a plan and referral.
You may be able to claim a rebate from your Private Health insurer but please contact them to discuss.
Contact Me
Please contact me to learn more or book a session:
Alissa Oakes, Clinical Psychologist
I am located in a lovely office in Woollahra.
Suite 3, 1 Moncur St, Woollahra 2025
P: 0422 791 870
F: 9182 5944
Privacy Policy
Last Updated May 2024
At My Psychology Sydney, we are committed to protecting your personal information in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles set out in the Privacy Act (1988) and by the Psychology Board of Australia’s Code of Ethics (2007).
Please read our privacy policy below carefully.
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INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND USE
We collect personal information when clients register an enquiry, book an appointment, attend our practice, access our Website and during psychological consultation. Information will also be collected from other health service providers via referral, correspondence and medical reports.
We use the information we collect to deliver optimal psychological services.
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STORAGE AND SECURITY OF YOUR INFORMATION
We will use all reasonable means to protect the confidentiality of your Personal Data while in our possession or control. All information we receive from you is stored and protected on our secure servers from unauthorised use or access.
We retain your personal information for as long as needed to provide services to you and as otherwise necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.
In the event there is a breach of our security and your Personal Data is compromised, we will follow the national requirement as set out by the Office of the Australian Information Commission.
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DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION
We will disclose personal information for the primary purpose of providing optimal psychological services. This will primarily take the form of a report prepared by the clinician and sent to the referrer or referring agent, plus others involved in the client’s care where applicable. From time to time, we need to disclose certain information to comply with a legal requirement, such as a subpoena, in the course of a legal proceeding or in response to a law enforcement agency request. This also may include if there is serious risk of life, health or safety to an individual or the public, or on a rare occasion to assist in the location of a missing person.
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CHANGE IN PRIVACY POLICY
As we plan to ensure our privacy policy remains current, this policy is subject to change. We may modify this policy at any time, in our sole discretion and all modifications will be effective immediately upon our posting of the modifications on this website. Please return periodically to review our privacy policy.
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CONTACT US
If you have any questions or concerns at any time about our privacy policy or the use of your Personal Data, please contact us at info@mypsychology.com.au.