Experience Change With
DR JANE ZHAO-O'BRIEN
Clinical Psychologist Brisbane
121 Wickham Terrace, Spring Hill, Brisbane
Please make enquiries via the contact form
Starting Therapy with Jane
Jane works well with adults (>25 years old), experienced in treating anxiety and depression, with a special interest in trauma, PTSD and grief. Jane does not provide assessment reports for medical, legal or insurance claim purposes.
Before organising the first consultation, you will be invited to complete a comprehensive set of assessment questionnaires in your own time, so that Jane can start to get to know you and to study the issues in the wider context of who you are including your patterns, your past, your relationships and your strengths. This work will save nearly two sessions of time used for gathering info so that we may move forward quicker, and it produces over twenty pages of information for Jane to study, reflect and make plans.
We will then meet and start to understand the issues in depth and move towards the goals you wish to achieve. To find out what may work best for you, Jane tends to draw from a variety of therapy models including: Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Schema Therapy, Clinical Hypnosis and Internal Family Systems Therapy/Ego State Therapy.
In order to monitor how therapy is working for you, you will be regularly invited to give Jane specific feedbacks, as well as invited to assess your own progress using an outcome-monitoring software, the results of which will be used to help adjust therapy strategies.
EYE MOVEMENT DESENSITISATION REPROCESSING (EMDR )
EMDR is an evidence-based therapy, designed to reduce the impacts of trauma. Therapists need to receive specialist training to use this therapy. Jane received training with EMDR Institute Australia, completing Level One & Two, Structural Dissociation and Master Class.
How does it work?
EMDR therapy proposes that the mind is like a factory continuously processing and resolving life events, traumatic experiences can overwhelm this process, causing the system to grind to a halt. EMDR appears to re-activate the brain’s self-healing process through bilateral stimulation, simulating what occurs during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep whilst clients remain awake and in control.
What problems does it help with?
For suitable clients, EMDR can accelerate the resolution of traumas, often resulting in positive changes, such as more compassionate views of self, greater sense of empowerment, and a sense of peace when recalling the trauma memories. Clinical research shows that it is effective in treating trauma, with potentials in helping with anxiety, phobia, panic disorder, OCD, performance anxiety, depression and grief.
Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is an evidence-based therapy. ACT proposes that people suffer when their thoughts or emotions pull them away from doing what is important and meaningful to their lives.
How does ACT work?
ACT aims to develop vital life skills of mindfulness and acceptance, which aims to reduce the power of unhelpful thoughts and to expand the capacity to handle painful emotions, so that people have more freedom to act according to their deeply- held values and move towards life goals that truly matter to them.
What problems does ACT help with?
Research has shown that ACT can be effective in treating depression, chronic pain, PTSD, trauma and addiction.
What is Schema Therapy?
This is an evidence-based integrative therapy, developed to help people with chronic relationship issues or personality disorders .
What are schemas?
Schemas refer to negative patterns of thinking feeling and responding, usually formed during early life stages. Schemas are often implicit thus not in the conscious awareness but have powerful influence on how a person feel think and respond to life situations. As a result, people may found themselves falling into the same negative life patterns repeatedly and involuntarily. Some common schemas are: fear of ‘Abandonment’, ‘Defectiveness’, ‘Approval Seeking’ and ‘Negativism’.
How does it help?
This therapy aims to help a person become more aware of the schemas that may be operating in the background, and move towards establishing healthier patterns, in order to meet their needs effectively.
What is CBT?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a structured, practical and collaborative treatment for people suffering from depression or anxiety. CBT aims to improve moods by modifying unhelpful ways of thinking and unhelpful actions. CBT focuses on the ‘here and now’ problems and move towards specific goals, instead of exploring causes from the past.
How effective is CBT?
Numerous research demonstrates that CBT is as effective as antidepressant or anti-anxiety medications in treating major depression and anxiety.
What is Clinical Hypnosis?
Hypnosis is a natural, relaxed state of inner-focused attention. Hypnosis can be used by credentialed professionals in clinical and medical settings as a technique to enhance treatment outcome. For suitable clients and with their consent, Jane may use this technique in conjunction with other evidence-based therapy methods to enhance treatment effect. Jane received training from Dr Michael Yapko Ph.D, Clinical Psychologist ("12-Day Intensive Training in Clinical Hypnosis and Strategic Therapy", and Two-Day "Experiential Treatment of Depression Master Class".
How does hypnosis work?
In hypnosis, your body is relaxed and mind is focused, hypnosis thus creates a space where the learning of new ways of thinking or behaving can happen more easily .
What issues can hypnosis help with?
Clinical research shows that hypnosis is effective in reducing acute or chronic pain, and has potential in managing stress and anxiety and improving sleep.