Counselling Areas of Specialty

As a psychologist and counsellor as well as a couples and marriage therapist, I have helped hundreds of people over the years overcome a variety of problems including depression, anxiety, symptoms related to trauma and relationship problems. Through them I have learned that even if you're feeling discouraged, stuck or hopeless, there is always a way to overcome your problems. However, sometimes it's difficult to do that without the help of a skilled counsellor or psychologist. You may recognize yourself in one or more of the descriptions below. Often people find they experience an overlap in problems and symptoms. For instance, you may have relationship challenges, which lead to stress or depression. Extreme trauma can also lead to symptoms of stress, anxiety or depression.

Stress and Anxiety Counselling

You can suffer from stress and anxiety even if you are not aware of it. You may be someone who has only recently noticed that stress or anxiety is getting in the way of your life.  It may have built up slowly over time or it may be due to a specific crisis that has occurred in your life. On the other hand, you may have a long history of chronic stress and anxiety and perhaps feel very discouraged about ever overcoming it.

• frequently feeling anxious, “jumpy” or “edgy”
• waking up in the night fretting about something
• ongoing nightmares
• feeling overwhelmed or consumed by fear
• recurring thoughts from the past that you can’t control
• physical signs of stress or anxiety such as shortness of breath, nausea, racing heart, etc
• panic attacks

Sometimes it's difficult to pinpoint where the symptoms of stress and anxiety may be coming from. As your therapist, I will work with you to help you uncover the root causes of your stress and anxiety and help you find the best solutions for resolving them. As we work together, you can become more relaxed and calm. You will feel more at peace with yourself. Your life will become easier and you will experience more happiness.

If you think you could benefit from counselling for depression, please contact me.

Depression Counselling

Depression, whether due to situational circumstances (e.g. loss of a loved one, relationship break-up, loss of a job, family crisis, personal injury, etc), or the result of a chronic condition, can be debilitating. It is often a 'silent' issue that people don't want to talk about publicly even though many people experience it.  Our society is still very judgemental about depression, which unfortunately, can cause you to even feel worse.

Signs that you may benefit from therapy to overcome depression:

• feeling lethargic, tired or unmotivated
• a persistent empty or 'blah' feeling
• loss of interest in things that used to have meaning for you
• inability to sleep or sleeping too much
• isolating yourself from friends and family
• loss of appetite or increase in appetite
• thoughts of suicide or that life is not worth living

Through counselling, we will work on uncovering the deeper reasons for your depression so that you can feel better about yourself and your life. You will feel more motivated to engage in life and will feel more fulfilled and happy doing so. Together, we can work to get your life on the road to greater fulfillment and happiness.

If you think you could benefit from counselling for depression, please contact me.

Relationship Counselling / Marriage Therapy

Relationship Counselling for Singles

Often single people come to therapy because they are tired of having unsuccessful or painful relationships. They often long for a partnership but either seem to have relationships involving a lot of conflict and pain, or relationships that they have trouble committing to.

Signs that you may benefit from relationship counselling:

• you relationships are fraught with pain
• you long for a relationship, but don’t know how to  find a fulfilling one
• you are shy or uncomfortable with intimacy
• you are unable to commit to a relationship, yet would love to have one.

The inability to have a successful relationship is often due to patterns developed in early childhood. As your relationship counsellor, I will work with you to help you breakthrough emotional and behavioural patterns that are interfering with your ability to develop a fulfilling relationship.

If you think you could benefit from relationship therapy, please contact me.

Marriage or Couples Counselling

Relationship problems can occur even in the best of relationships. The most common problems are related to poor communication – feeling unheard, arguments that never get resolved, not expressing feelings and desires to one another and blaming each another.  More serious problems for couples include upheaval due to an extra-marital affair, relationships that are on the brink of separation, emotional or physical abuse, etc.

Signs That You May Benefit from Marriage or Couples Counselling:

• frequent arguments that never seem to get resolved
• withdrawal or avoidance of one another on a regular basis
• a major decrease in emotional and/or sexual intimacy
• one partner has had an affair
• the relationship is not meeting your needs and there are issues of trust
• you have began to talk about separating or fear that you are headed in that direction
• your spouse does not want to enter relationship counselling with you, but you want therapy to help you improve your own life and/or to decide whether to stay or leave the relationship.

Communication is the key to all successful relationships.  I provide couples  with the tools they need to develop happy and fulfilling relationships. Even the most conflicted and unhappy relationships can be saved, if you as a couple decide that is what you want.  Through couples or marriage therapy you will discover how to express your needs to one another in healthy ways in order to deepen your intimacy and increase your satisfaction.

If you decide that you do not want to continue your relationship, I can then help you separate in the healthiest way possible.

Trauma Therapy

Relationship Counselling for Singles

The symptoms of trauma can be due to a known experience you had that was traumatic, or  you may have symptoms of trauma even when you don’t know the cause.

The more severe forms of trauma can be caused by abuse in childhood or adulthood (emotional, sexual, physical), the death of a loved one, war combat, accidents, robberies, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, etc. 

Signs that you may benefit from counselling for symptoms of trauma include:

• flashbacks to the traumatic incident
• frequent nightmares
• insomnia, lethargy, lack of motivation
• chronic depression or anxiety
• fears that seem irrational
• difficulty making decisions or concentrating
• withdrawing from family and friends
• emotional outbursts of sadness or anger that you can’t seem to control
• low self-esteem and perhaps guilt or shame because you blame yourself for what happened.

Healing trauma can be very difficult to do on your own. Trauma sends the body into a state of  “flight” or “fight” and often your brain’s neuro-networks get frozen in this state of trauma. You may then react to non-harmful situations as if there was a danger present. This happens involuntarily and it often requires therapy to release these reactions.

If you would like to discuss the possibility of therapy with me for depression, stress, anxiety, trauma or relationship problems, please contact me via phone on 1300 784 184 or via email at catherine@m-pact.com.au.

Catherine Lally is a psychologist and marriage / relationship therapist with counselling offices in both Melbourne and Hampton, Victoria. She provides counselling and marriage therapy to those experiencing problems due to depression, stress and anxiety, trauma or relationship difficulties.