ACAP Psychology Clinic
ACAP has announced that additional spaces to their affordable psychology clinic are being made available to the public, in Sydney.
The push to open up more spaces comes as mental health issues and concerns continue to grow throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, the ACAP Psychology Clinic began offering virtual telehealth appointments to ensure their services were able to be delivered to clients and the public.
Accessibility
The ACAP Psychology Clinic is a not-for-profit psychology teaching clinic that offers a range of psychological services to the community at a nominal fee. Therapy sessions are facilitated by provisionally registered psychologists who are in training which allows for minimal fees to be charged. For example, a 50–60-minute therapy session costs as little as $20.
One of the main benefits of the clinic is that clients do not need a medical referral to access the services, says Simone Mohi, Supervising Clinical Psychologist at the ACAP Psychology Clinic.
“Accessibility to services within the clinic can be a result of self-referral, so unlike many other psychology clinics people can self-refer to the service as opposed to needing to obtain a mental health care plan referral from their GP.”
The clinic offers a wide range of individual and group therapy options to service several different psychology treatments.
Simone said that clients present with a wide range of problems from stress and overwork to relationship issues and social and isolation problems.“There is also a wide range of diagnosable presentations that we treat, for example, anxiety and mood disorders,” Simone said.
‘Humans are social creatures’
One area the COVID-19 pandemic has particularly impacted is our levels of social interaction. Simone said that it is common to feel nervous or self-conscious in different social settings, however, increased levels of social anxiety can be an indicator that professional help may be warranted.
“To cope, many people with increased social anxiety start to avoid social interactions and activity and in the longer term, this can have bigger negative ramifications for mental health. Humans are social creatures, and they have a need for social connection,” Simone said.
When to get help
Emma Wilson, Clinic Administrator at the ACAP Psychology Clinic said that people having issues with working from home or disconnection should try increasing social connection and establishing a routine that prioritises social connection and physical activity can help.
However, Simone points out that If you notice you are feeling increasingly overwhelmed by things and feel isolated with your problems, this is often a sign that professional psychological support would be of benefit in promoting mental health and well-being.
Note that the clinic does not provide provision of service to crisis clients, where other services such as community mental health service would be better to support their needs.
More information
To book or for more information, visit The ACAP Psychology Clinic website or call (02) 8236 8070.