Gary Vaughan

Clinical Psychologist
& Psychotherapist

• Home
• |
• About the Therapist
• |
• About the Treatment
• |
• Fees & Rebates
• |
• Location & Hours
• |
• Contact Details

Treatment Approaches
Offered

• Cognitive Behaviour
  Therapy
• Psychodynamic
  Psychotherapy

Problems Treated

• Stress
• Panic
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Anger
• Self-esteem
• Relating & Relationship
  Difficulties
• Trauma
• Childhood Abuse & Trauma
• Grief & Loss

Copyright©2011 Gary Vaughan

What treatment is appropriate? How long will it take?

Generally speaking, both the form of the treatment, and the duration of the treatment, can very much depend on many factors. Such factors include:

• the nature of the issue or problem that the client presents with;
• the duration of the issue or problem;
• the state in which the client presents in at the time;
• the nature and outcome of previous treatment (if any);
• what the client’s knowledge/understanding and expectations are;
• what the client may be ready for, and available to (consciously and unconsciously);
• (if relevant) the client’s financial circumstances; and perhaps physical circumstances (such as available time; and location – proximity of my practice to where the client works and/or lives).

These factors will be considered and discussed with the client with the utmost understanding and respect for the client’s wants and needs.

Notwithstanding such consideration and discussion, I find Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to be an extremely useful approach. In that, it provides the individual with skills or tools that he or she can utilize (as required) to manage particular feelings that he or she is having difficulty with (most commonly this may be stress, anxiety, depression, or anger). Skills that can be adopted to assist with managing, or perhaps even overcoming, periods or episodes of strong negative emotion. Or if practiced regularly and persistently, can help reduce and possibly prevent the reoccurrence of further episodes of the particular negative emotion.

Where the difficulties with the stress, anxiety, depression, or anger are recurring or chronic, or where the individual’s difficulties and concerns involve deeper aspects of his or her personality, such as in the area of relating and relationship with others, and therefore undoubtedly relating and relationship with him or herself (self-esteem) … then I find psychodynamic psychotherapy to be a more useful and pertinent, if not necessary, approach.

Sometimes, I may suggest commencing with CBT until the client is more settled and able to manage the anxiety/depression/anger that he or she is experiencing, before then incorporating psychodynamic psychotherapy to work on and work through the issues underlying the anxiety/depression/anger (i.e., the source of the difficulties).