I am an older woman whose kids have commenced a campaign of hatred and abuse against me for perceived 'wrong-think' on my part regarding LGBTQ+ issues. They have slandered and vilified me and even tried to discredit me in public where my business would have been in jeopardy. This has gone on for two years over a simple FB response to a meme. Having agreed to go to family counselling after two years, I was hoping for a little bit of remorse on their part - but found instead that they have doubled down, given me an ultimatum to plead 'guilty' to their judgement, and the Psychologist Ross Leembruggen was an an absolute bully - he totally took the kids 'side' and treated me like a piece of crap for almost an hour. I, my pain, my feelings and the inherent unfairness of what was being done to me was totally invalidated by him - and the kids lies were adopted as if they were gospel truths that I needed to listen to, accept and validate. I felt as though I was in Stalinist Russia - my 'guilt' was pre-established and all I needed to do was agree to it. Having de facto lost my kids was a shock as it was about the most trivial of things - but this guy didn't even think my concerns were worth considering - kept telling me that I wasn't 'listening' to what was being said. I listened alright and I concluded that Dr. Leembruggen has narcissistic tendencies and he totally identified with my son and daughter's tendencies in the same direction. Leembruggen appeared to be threatened by my level of self-esteem and clearly aimed to reduce that for his own reasons. IF YOU WISH TO BE PSYCHOLOGICALLY BEATEN UP AND INSJULTED for your personality, achievements and your successes in life, and even your tone of voice, visit this guy - he'll soon drag you down. I am in grief as an abused and bereaved elder and there is no-one in my circle of friends who doesn't see and understand the horror of what my kids have done to me on a whimsical pretext - except this so called 'Family Counsellor'. He has no insight into his own bullying character, is probably ideologically captured (hence subjugated to permissible 'groupthink'), and when I told him it didn't actually feel like 'therapy' to me he only became more belligerent. read more

I was first referred to Psychology Melbourne a few years ago and hadn't thought to write a review at the time, but on reflection it's one of the best things I've ever done for my mental health. It's not cheap, so I would recommend seeing a GP first for a mental health plan to get a referral for around 8-10 sessions partly covered by Medicare. I saw Dr. Nicole Chavannes, with a view to keep off any medication and deal with some issues I was struggling with. I have had some previous experience with psychologists where I didn't feel heard, but was able to talk very openly and honestly with Nicole without ever feeling judged or brushed off. She did warn me I may feel worse before I felt better and that's exactly what happened. She asked all the right questions and unearthed a lot of pain I didn't even realise I was carrying around, which at the time felt horrible but ultimately helped me move on from what I was dealing with. Just before I completed my last session I was made redundant very suddenly from a job I enjoyed. I cancelled my appointment because I had lost my income and Nicole herself rang me to make sure I was ok and offered to arrange a bulk billed session if I needed to come in and chat about it. I definitely felt like my health and wellbeing was put first, which I hadn't experienced at other clinics and the main reason why I put off seeing someone for so long. I feel comfortable enough to come back here again to tackle any problems or general 'ickiness' and would happily recommend them. They also run group classes on relationships and other mental health issues, which are cheaper to attend than private counseling and more educational than group therapy if you don't want to share with others. read more

Groups or Individual sessions. Highly recommended If you are starting the path to self healing, growth and creation.

This experience was actually more damaging to my mental health. I saw Valeria, and to be honest she does not listen and has her own weird agendas to fulfil. I was struggling with social anxiety, it was difficult for me to even leave the house because of major disturbances in my life at the time, she suggested that the stress in my neck and back was due to my feet being cold because I was wearing thongs. Seriously, when it's difficult to leave the house you are proud of yourself if you even put on two shoes that are the same and march out the door, she is a soul crusher. I also told her once that I found it difficult to understand what she was saying, because my mind was so busy and all over the place. The next session she went on for 10 minutes about how her accent cannot be that hard to understand, I never mentioned her accent at all, she is obviously very insecure about it and projected that back on to me. She referred me to a Psychiatrist and he believed that I should not be medicated and that I did not have the PTSD that she suggested I had. Avoid her at all costs, she did way more damage than good. She smashed my confidence, she was closed minded and extremely insecure. She brought up painful experiences and left me with no way to cope with them which just added to my pain and anxiety, in fact a member of the CAT team that I spoke to suggested that to me and told me to change to a different psych. Horrible experience. I love the girl in reception, she was lovely. read more