Telehealth
Video Telehealth psychology offers the same high-quality care as in-person therapy, with the added convenience and flexibility many clients prefer.
Benefits of Telehealth Sessions
1. Accessible and Flexible
You can attend sessions from home, work, or any private location — saving travel time and making it easier to fit therapy into your schedule. Ideal for clients living in regional or remote areas, or for those balancing work, study, family or parenting commitments.
2. Continuity of Care
Telehealth allows you to maintain consistent therapy even when circumstances change — such as moving house, travelling, or recovering from illness or injury.
3. Comfortable and Private
Many clients find they can relax more easily and open up when they’re in their own familiar environment. You only need a quiet space, stable internet, and a device with a camera and microphone.
4. Safe and Confidential
Zoom sessions are conducted using end-to-end encryption and password-protected links. Your privacy and confidentiality are always prioritised in line with Australian Psychological Society and AHPRA guidelines.
5. Effective and Evidence-Based
Research shows that online therapy is just as effective as face-to-face sessions for most mental health conditions — including anxiety, depression, trauma, and stress-related concerns. EMDR and other trauma-focused therapies can also be delivered safely and effectively via telehealth.
PTSD and CPTSD
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is where a person experiences an isolated life threatening or horrific event or situation, such as a serious accident, sexual assault, natural disaster or combat. They then go on to experience symptoms in three main categories.
Re-experiencing the trauma, such as nightmares, flashbacks, intrusive images, being overwhelmed by feelings and thoughts about the trauma.
Avoidance of reminders that might trigger re-experiencing the event, such as people, places, activities or conversations.
Feeling like the threat is still current, such as being very jumpy, hypervigilant, fearful the incident might happen again, which may also lead to behaviours to protect from the incident happening again.
It is generally formally diagnosed if the symptoms interfere with important areas of functioning, such as personal, work, social or educational life.
Complex post traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is where a person experiences a life threatening or horrific event or traumatic situation/s which are prolonged or repetitive, where they feel little or no chance of escape. This may range from repeated childhood sexual or physical abuse, prolonged domestic violence or other forms of organised violence. As a result they experience PTSD symptoms with additional complexity.
The experienced symptoms are in the three main categories as PTSD . In addition to this, they struggle to manage their emotions. They may experience emotional outbursts, dissociate or have emotional numbing. They have persistent beliefs of worthlessness, intense feelings of guilt and shame about the trauma. They also have difficulty maintaining relationships, either engaging in or remaining in them.
Again, a diagnosis would also require the symptoms to interfere with important areas of functioning, such as personal, work, social or educational life.
Phases of EMDR
EMDR is based on eight phases to ensure the most comprehensive reprocessing.
Phase one – History and treatment planning Initially a timeline related to trauma experiences is developed, which enables a greater understanding of which events are the best to target and the order. This phase also includes screening and assessment for dissociation, to address this before processing, so it can be done safely. This phase also clarifies the treatment goals.
Phase two – Resourcing The focus of this phase is to ensure stability, which assists with smoother and more complete processing. It would include self regulation strategies such as ‘peaceful place’ (imagery) and any parts work needed to manage dissociation.
Phase one and two will vary in length depending on the complexity of traumas and the degree of stabilisation needed to safely reprocess memories.
Phase three – Assessment This phase identifies the specific memory to be processed first/next, also known as the target memory. It then identifies the other key elements, such as the associated negative belief, the adaptive belief, emotion and body sensations related to the target. At this point the baseline measures of the target are also set, specifically, how true does the adaptive belief feel, and how distressing the target memory currently is.
Phase four – Desensitisation This is the most well known phase of EMDR. In this phase the client focusses on the target memory and is simultaneously provided bilateral stimulation which could be eye movements, audio, tapping or a combination of these. The bilateral stimulation may be rapid, if needed to assist in the desensitisation. This is done in short bursts with regular check-ins on any change. During this phase, thoughts, feelings and body sensations may emerge or change. This is repeated until the target memory has a zero (or one if relevant) level of distress.
Phase five – Installation Within this phase the memory as it now appears is paired with the adaptive belief and slow eye movements are used to strengthen the felt sense of the belief with the memory. This is installed until there is a felt sense that it is true, measured with a seven (or six if relevant).
Phase six – Body scan This phase has the client scan their body for any resistance to the adaptive belief in the context of the target memory. If there is any resistance, this is processed further until the scan is clear.
Phase seven – Closure This is about regrouping to the here and now and debriefing in relation to the processing. If the target memory was not fully processed, then tools such as ‘containers’ are used, so the memory can be further processed at a later date. Other tools may be used to ensure clients are in a state of calm before finishing the session.
Phase eight – Evaluation This phase is done at the next session to review and check the target memory is still desensitised and the adaptive belief still feels true. The next target memory or another aspect of the target memory can then be planned.
While the eight phases are distinct and have different functions, phase one and two can often be done simultaneously rather than sequentially, to maximise stabilisation.
In terms of working through trauma memories, some target memories may require additional processing sessions to reprocess different elements of the memory, such as multiple negative beliefs.
Types of EMDR
The eight phases of EMDR can be facilitated in more than one format. Where there is a known or identified trauma, particularly if it is an isolated incident, Standard protocol is usually used, which is described above.
Where a specific incident is difficult to determine, as the first occasion may have occurred when quite young, attachment informed EMDR may be used. In this process, the eight phases are still used, however the issue is ‘bridged’ back to the earliest memory for processing.
Within both processes the eight phases are still utilised, however the target memories are accessed in a different way.
Regardless of which format is used, there may be multiple processing sessions needed to address the various emotions and negative beliefs that relate to a specific trauma, which are likely to still be playing out in the current day.
Flash Technique
A gentle, effective approach to healing trauma
The Flash Technique is a therapeutic approach designed to reduce the distress associated with traumatic or upsetting memories—without the need to talk about them in detail. Originally developed as an adjunct to Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), it has since been used successfully as a standalone method, particularly for clients who may feel overwhelmed by traditional trauma work.
How it works
The Flash Technique allows you to stay focused on something positive and engaging—what we call a “Positive Engaging Focus” (PEF)—while your brain processes distressing memories quietly in the background. You don’t need to describe or relive the traumatic event. In fact, you don’t even need to consciously think about it.
This gentle and non-invasive method works with your brain’s natural ability to heal, helping to reduce the emotional charge of painful memories in a way that feels safe and contained.
Why clients choose Flash Technique
Minimally distressing – You don’t have to talk about the trauma.
Safe and contained – Ideal for people who feel overwhelmed by strong emotions.
Effective – Many clients report a noticeable shift in distress levels after just a few sessions.
Flexible – Can be used on its own or alongside other therapies like EMDR or talk therapy.
Who can benefit?
The Flash Technique can be helpful for people who:
Are dealing with trauma, PTSD, or complex trauma
Feel anxious or avoidant when thinking about the past
Have had difficulty with traditional trauma therapy approaches
Are looking for a more gentle, paced way to work through emotional distress
Parts work
Parts work is a modality sometimes used to assist in therapy. Models range from inner child to Schema therapy modes to Internal Family Systems. At times they can greatly assist as a stand alone modality or in conjunction with EMDR.
Consider the last time you may have felt ‘torn’ about something. A part of you wanted to do something but another part might have been cautious or scared. These could be described as “parts”, where listening and negotiating between parts could help resolve the inner conflict.
Another situation to consider is where a part is ‘triggered’ and we react with hostility, sarcasm or even panic. This could be seen as a vulnerable part (child or adult) being activated and another part coming in to protect them. Through parts work, by resolving the trauma of the vulnerable part, the protector no longer needs to react, in turn we do not react with hostility, sarcasm or panic.
This modality is particularly valuable when working with dissociation or where there are blocks in EMDR processing.
Self care and stabilisation
Self care comes up in all forms of therapy. These strategies can include:
- having a consistent routine in the day and for sleep
- eating well
- trying to get any exercise possible
- healthy contact with others
- self-compassion, self-understanding
The focus of self care is to assist in stabilisation and the development of strategies to enable emotional regulation. This is foundational and therapy then builds on healing, rather than focussing on crisis management.
Stabilisation is about being able to stay in the ‘window of tolerance’ or bringing our self back to the window of tolerance. This window is the state were we are able to manage stress and think through decisions. When out of this window, the stress response is activated and we go into either fight/flight, or freeze/shutdown response.
These responses are very normal and healthy when reacting to an actual threat. However if overactive to any possible perceived threat due to trauma history, it can create day to day difficulties.
Relaxation strategies are used to reduce anxiety and/or the fight/flight response. This can range from mindful breathing or visualisations through to yoga. Through the regular practice of relaxation strategies, muscle memory is developed. In turn when the stress response is activated, there is a greater capacity to return to the window of tolerance and manage the situation more effectively.
Where the freeze/shutdown response is activated, it is common to develop strategies in grounding. These can range from using tactile objects to naming things in the room. The function of this is the same, to return to the window of tolerance.
Parts work can also be used as part of stabilisation strategies.