Psychology Melbourne Blog

News and Insights from the Science of the Mind

Anxiety and School

By Daniel Quin,

anxiety and school

School has numerous social and academic challenges. A child who experiences anxiety may struggle to embrace these challenges and make the most of school opportunities. Recent Australian research found that 7% of children have experienced an anxiety disorder in a 12-month period. The rates for boys and girls were similar. What does Anxiety look like? Excessive worries School refusal Decline...

Please, no more parenting tips!

Edited by Jill Wright,

please, no more parenting tips!

Every once in a while, I read a book that strikes a chord. The most recent of these resonant experiences was with a book about a seven-year-old who had a remarkable, albeit unusual relationship with her grandmother.The power of story-telling The child and grandmother used stories as a way of communicating about dark and scary things in a way that...

Five mindful tips to reduce family stress at Christmas

five mindful tips to reduce family stress at christmas

Christmas is usually a happy and joyful time, but for some families it can also be a very stressful time. A recent Relationship Australia survey found that Christmas is a time of year that many people experience increased anxiety and stress. While some things can be out of your control, like travel, family tensions or parental separations, there are some...

What have we learnt this year?

Edited by Jill Wright,

As another busy year winds to a close - is it really just a few weeks to Christmas? - we often question what the New Year might bring for us, personally and at work. If you're in business, it's a good time to turn your thoughts to how you could improve on things next year. What could we do to...

What managers should know about staff communications

Edited by Jill Wright,

When Lucy Kellaway, a columnist in the highly influential Financial Times publicly reprimanded the CEO of Starbucks over a well-meaning letter he sent to the company's staff - "On this Sunday, wherever you are, whatever you are doing, know that I send you my love and respect" was one riveting line" - I started thinking about what anyone in management...

Music beats the blues - play away depression

Edited by Jill Wright,

music beats the blues - play away depression

 Yesterday I ran into a colleague at the sporting club we both belong to. He had lost a good deal of weight, but he seemed quite unhappy, and not particularly well.  He told me he had lost 13kg over a matter of weeks ... largely, he said, by not eating and not sleeping. He told me a psychiatrist had diagnosed...

How to judge mental health apps

Edited by Jill Wright,

From time to time, the clinicians at Psychology Melbourne have been trialling mental health apps and recommending those they think are helpful to readers of this blog ... and steering them away from those that might be harmful. Now psychologists at Melbourne's Monash University have created some helpful guidelines for evaluating these mental health apps, which, as they point out,...

Workplace mental health issues rising in Melbourne

Edited by Jill Wright,

Workplace mental health issues are becoming a growing issue for Melbourne companies, according to a survey released by employment lawyers, Minter Ellison.  The report, available as a PDF here, notes that the legal profession is itself over-represented in the incidence of mental health problems, and finds that more than half of the 226 Victorian firms participating in the survey reported...

The psychology of loneliness

Edited by Jill Wright,

the psychology of loneliness

It seems that one of the consequences of modern life is a growing epidemic of loneliness. In Britain, loneliness is increasingly being viewed as a serious public health issue, particularly in those older than 60, that is beginning to be addressed by local government programs and the National Health Service. As the fascinating New York Times article reveals, fire brigades...

Clients benefit when matched to a psychologist

Edited by Jill Wright,

Our personal matching service, which matches the individual needs and personal characteristics of our clients to the most appropriate psychologist ,can save clients money and improve the outcome of their therapy. It enhances the therapeutic relationship between client and therapist which research shows, time and again, is the most important factor in successful therapy. This isn't an idle assertion. We have...