needed to shake off life draining depression and regain energy and joy de vie,

or

needed to manage a hyperactive or disruptive child or teenager, or negotiate peace with your spouse or partner,

or

shake off a fear that has crippled your talent and career or social life, such as a fear of speaking up at meetings, or calling on high status people, or of spiders, flying, crowded places, open spaces, elevators etc.,

or

needed a psychologist's report for your lawyer to present in court for family court issues, criminal matters, criminal injury, workcover or other insurance claims,

or

as an employer needed to have your best job candidates scientifically profiled so you can distinguish between the best of them,

or

needed to fine tune your performance in sport, business, academia, job hunting, or social skills?

If you answered "yes" to any of the above this could eventually prove to be the most profoundly life changing letter you have read!

You can have a senior, broadly experienced psychologist help you with any one of those needs and it (a) won't cost the earth, (plus appropriate health insurance rebates apply to your fees), and (b) note well, you won't be left to your own devices between consultations because you can phone (08) 8339 5465 to arrange a short, FREE (5 -15 minutes) phone consultation as mutually convenient. This means: you won't fear falling in a hole between consultations, you may need fewer consultations, and your chance of achieving positive results improved.

Who Am I?
o My name is Victor Barnes and I have been a practising psychologist in South Australia for 3 decades. Naturally I have National government registration with the Australian Health Professionals Registration Authority (AHPRA Reg. PSY0001062807). Adelaide lawyers and government departments have been using my medico-legal reports since the mid-70s. Of course, to be a registered psychologist I have taken degrees in psychology, but apart from my registered psychology qualifications of BA, Litt B (Merit) from UNE (NSW), I have taken studies in allied subjects including a major in Sociology, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from CCU, Santa Ana, and from Adelaide a Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management and a Certificate 1V in Workplace Training and Assessment.

o I have significant overseas experience apart from conference attendance having worked in a government psychiatric service in Papua New Guinea, as a management trainer in Poland with sponsorship from the Australian embassy in Warsaw, and as Dean of a Sri Lankan college that teaches Sri Lankan based students on behalf of Curtin University, University of Western Sydney and South Australia's TAFE (government technical education).

o I have counselled literally thousands of Adelaide TAFE students and completed published research into their needs. I have studied most and taught many of the schools of psychotherapy dating from before the turn of the 20th Century to the ideas of today. My own approach is very eclectic and holistic as evidenced by my membership of the Australian Traditional Medicine Society and my DSc in Natural psychological medicine resulting from my time in Sri Lanka.

So how could you benefit from my psychological services - with the possible added help of hypnotherapy or natural non-prescription interventions?

*Sufferers from depression can find relief from this life and energy draining condition and reduce or avoid the amount of medication they might need.

*Children not doing well at school can be assessed, their problems more clearly identified and corrective strategies devised.

*Family relationships and conflicts, including unusual situations with children can often be improved with skilled counselling and guidance in managing difficult situations.

*Crippling, exaggerated fears can be banished allowing you to grasp life's opportunities and revel in the benefits of your natural talent. This is where hypnotherapy can be a very powerful adjunct.

*You can visit me as convenient at Crafers West (Adelaide Hills) or at 175 Trimmer Parade, Seaton (Western suburbs). Home visits in the Southern suburbs of Adelaide can usually be arranged when required.

*Personal dilemmas can be sufficiently solved for the best way forward to be identified with the help of skilled counselling and problem solving strategies.

*Issues related to criminal injury, mitigating circumstances in criminal cases, Workcover or accidental injury can often be greatly assisted by the provision of a respected psychologist's medico-legal report. You will need a psychologist who is experienced at standing in the witness box to face cross-examination.

*My fees can be offset by private health insurance (if you have appropriate cover) or Medicare if your GP gives you a Mental Health Care Plan. If you are suffering severe depression and or anxiety your doctor might indeed give you one and you could ask about it. If you have a GP Mental Health Care Plan and a Health Care Card I will "BULK BILL" you which means you have no cost whatsoever.

*Career issues, especially if you find yourself at a crossroads can often be clarified, resolved or at least a productive strategy formulated with skilled counselling and problem solving strategies.

*Smoking and even obesity can be helped by hypnotherapy, along with counselling and other natural interventions providing you are seriously motivated, and even if you have failed in earlier efforts.

*Peak performance in sports, studies, and business efforts can be attained with the application of the appropriate strategies including sometimes hypnosis as a powerful ally.

Are some people hard to help? Yes! If you are coming to see me to humour someone else i.e. because you have been badgered into it by a partner or parent then forget it! Don't waste your money and our time. Productive intervention in all the above listed issues involves CHANGE. Change always requires work, both yours and mine. Take smoking for example. Perhaps you've tried to give up and failed. With skilled hypnotherapy however you can expect to succeed but you will still need to make an effort. If I have to work against you, you will always win. Psychologists do not have magic pills or wands. We can only help you in your efforts and make things more easily possible for you. We can strengthen you but we cannot get the load of your shoulders.

The psychologist's services and how psychologists work:

The first session.

When I meet new clients I usually do not begin by taking a thorough history. Instead I encourage them to get it off their chest and tell me why they have come to me. At the end of that first session I give my impressions of the situation and try to get clear the client's hopes and expectations. It is at subsequent sessions that I fill in the blanks.

What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

Psychologists: are essentially scientists who study behaviour, emotion and perception in all contexts. Their field of interest is much wider than just mental illness. The role of clinical psychologists however overlaps with the role of psychiatrists, but psychologists do not offer drug-therapy or shock treatment.

Clinical psychology encompasses mental illness to some degree but is mostly about improving how we deal with, and adapt to the problems encountered in our family, social and workaday lives. And it is about personal achievement and life satisfaction. Psychologists are not medical doctors and do not prescribe drugs. They work using counselling and psychotherapy, explained below.

Psychiatrists: are medical doctors who have specialised in Psychological Medicine. In other words, they specialise in mental illness. Seriously inappropriate behaviours, thought patterns and emotions making us less able to take proper care of ourselves, or even a danger to others, can have a genetic or other biological causes. In these cases medical intervention is required, often in concert with psychotherapy or counselling and a psychiatrist could be the most appropriate specialist. Your doctor refers patients accordingly.

Some Psychology "Basics".

*Body and Mind are interdependent.
Biology is such that it is natural for us to fight or flee when we feel threatened. When we are threatened hormones are automatically released that maximise our body's ability to do either of these as required for survival (while functions like digestion close down). When the threat passes our hormone levels and general biological balance returns to normal. The activity of fight or flight itself helps to use up those excess hormones and their effects. When the lion loses interest in the chase, the panicking herd of animals notice this and almost instantly settle back to grazing and digesting their food asif nothing had happened.

The threats we face in modern life however, usually cannot be escaped by using our muscles and rarely end quickly. The adrenalin and other stress chemicals that would normally be "burned away" by a muscular response to a short term stress stay in our systems too long. These perceived stresses come from our work-life, family and social life. Some of the threats driving us are generated from within ourselves as a result of attitudes we learned in childhood causing us to be chronically vigilant. Three simple examples are compulsive perfectionism, cleanliness or approval seeking. When a sense of threat stays too long it means that our bodies are geared-up for danger too long and then things start to break down: We develop such physical symptoms as stomach aches, heart pains, dizziness, rashes, our immune system weakens and we become more vulnerable to illness. Our desperation to cope with perceived threat may drive us to eccentric behaviours, or twitchiness (noticed by friends, family and workmates) or painful emotional states such as panic attacks, depression and anxiety. When these latter two go together, it is commonly called a nervous breakdown. Most of us encounter this situation at least once in our lives.

"Pulling Ourselves Together"
It is a very human form of self-delusion to think we can deal with our chronic psychological conflicts and anxieties by the application of willpower alone. This is why a pull-yourself together approach is ultimately unhelpful in changing ones' inner realities and their eventual consequences.

When conscious will is out of harmony with inner reality.
Doctors and psychologists commonly see patients suffering debilitating illness resulting from the tension caused by a strong commitment to a lifestyle, or a form of work for which they are not temperamentally well suited. Psychological assessment and counselling helps to investigate and rationalise the factors involved. Sometimes a lifestyle change is needed, and a psychologist can help guide and support the change process which can be difficult.

Possible reasons for being referred to a psychologist.

*You suffer a medical condition that can be aggravated by stress
Certain kinds of heart problems, skin conditions, alopecia (hair loss), some cases of torticollis (shoulder muscle spasm), ulcers or other digestive system problems are just a few examples. Some medical conditions indicate a change in lifestyle for continued well being. A psychologist can teach you stress management techniques and attitudes, and coach you through life-style changes, often as part of a 2-pronged approach involving both medical and psychological interventions. Work Cover patients often need psychological treatment and rehabilitation counselling.

*Phobias:
Irrational fears, of say spiders or birds, inanimate objects or of driving a car subsequent to motor accident, can interfere with the conduct of everyday life. Psychologists are specialists in helping you overcome these fears.

*Panic attacks:
These sudden, crippling attacks of anxiety (fear) are usually related to specific situations, e.g., crowded venues such as shopping centres or conversely, wide open spaces. Psychologists use standard techniques for gradually guiding patients to overcome these attacks using behaviour modification methods often in concert with a detailed examination of ones' life history. Often these conditions, when severe, respond to a combined medical and psychological approach to therapy.

*Depression:
This comes in various forms. Some sorts of depression have an organic basis and respond only to medication. The more common forms of depression result from a sense of loss, or a feeling of failure. In the later stages of life one becomes prone to depression based on an acute awareness of mortality and the difficulty of finding meaning in life. Psychologists often use cognitive behavioural techniques to help guide clients through this depression. It is an important area where doctors and psychologists work together because depression is a very common condition. Depression is usually accompanied by some degree of anxiety. Sleep and appetite disturbances are the common symptoms of depression.

*Anxiety:
This is a feeling of fearfulness. It can be attached to an object or situation as in a phobia or it can result from having to deal with a difficult life situation, or it can be free floating meaning that one feels fearful without knowing why. Psychologists use cognitive behavioural techniques to treat anxiety. Extreme anxiety is also a feature of serious mental illness requiring medical intervention.

*Personality problems:
Shyness with the opposite sex, stage fright in business meetings, or a fear of approaching high status executives can interfere with social life and business life. Psychologists guide their clients through these problems with a high level of success.

*Trauma counselling:
Persons who have suffered a severe trauma such as a motor accident can suffer many of the symptoms mentioned above, e.g. panic, anxiety, depression, bad dreams, flashbacks and specific fears.

*Children's problems:
Poor school performance and behavioural problems are investigated by psychologists who can then help parents and teachers devise effective approaches to managing the problem. Teenage behaviour too, is often a source of family tensions that need improved management and is helped by a psychologist's guidance.

*Relationship counselling.

Psychologists' Methods.
Many psychologists use a combination of methods that can be thought of as (a) cognitive-behavioural and (b) methods that can be loosely thought of as analytical. The former methods encourage you to see yourself and your world from a new viewpoint, to experiment with and practice new forms of behaviour. You might be asked to study the behaviour of someone who is very good at what you are not good at, or to keep a diary in which you note your behaviour and reactions at certain times or situations. The notes are then discussed. You might be shown how to relax and asked to visualise certain scenes in your mind and possibly to recall certain memories and rewrite's them as if the memory was just a movie that needed to be rescripted and refilmed. Or you might actually be taken out into the community to practice certain behaviours in real life with a mentor by your side. Analyticl methods however examine your life history, and your dreams in detail to uncover any faulty learning that might have occurred, or the symbolic meaning of any symptoms you might suffer. Regardless of the method used sometimes a psychologist will suggest using hypnosis to help you more sharply focus your concentration. Hypnosis is not a therapy anymore than a scalpel is a therapy. Hypnosis can be used to entertain an audience and a scalpel can be used to sharpen a pencil. Hypnosis is however often used to "supercharge" almost any of the psychotherapy and counselling methods.

Choosing a psychologist: Criteria Your Psychologist Should Meet:

*Must be registered with a State government psychologist registration body. This is absolutely essential.

* Should have membership of a psychologists' association or society so the psychologist is not professionally isolated.

* Should be well qualified in psychology academically.

* Should have extensive and broad experience in psychology, spanning some years and different focus areas of psychology.

* Should ideally be qualified and experienced in some other areas that support and extend the psychologist's skills and understanding, for example sociology, medicine, nursing, naturopathy, physiotherapy, education, or management.

* Should have maturity and life experience. For example, I have brought up 2 boys and am a grandparent. Although my children have their own trades and families and are well adjusted, nevertheless in their teens there were "moments". I have had my car "totalled" and left in a ditch and I know what it is to have irate parents knocking at the door. In other words, whatever family drama you are going through, I have probably been there myself! It helps if your psychologist genuinely understands "where you are coming from".

* Your psychologist should have an affordable fee structure and be conveniently located.

Seeing a psychologist:
Referral not needed. Private Health Cover is available. Not covered by Medicare - unless your doctor gives you a Medicare "treatment plan" and an "EPC referral".

Contact: Victor C D Barnes telephone(08)8339 5465 or cell/mob 0414393616 vbarnes@psychologynatural.com

(calling from outside Australia would be,say, +618 8339 5465) BACK TO HOME