Support in the Mental Health sector can sometimes be a little overwhelming.

Yes, your GP can provide a few referrals from their list (although they may be limited) but there are many more skilled professionals that you can source yourself.

Google certainly can assist in finding a therapist near you or you can search a number of accredited online directories such as the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), Psychology Today Australia & Good Therapy Australia.

Embarking upon the research yourself, allows you to review, in your time, professionals that can assist in your journey with a number of them offering an initial obligation free telephone call. This can help establish if they are a good fit.

After all, this journey is about you with the therapeutic alignment being the very first step towards finding a therapist that you can work with.

Counselling is a short-term treatment that places emphasis on a specific symptom or situation, whereas psychotherapy is an approach that provides long-term relief and aims to gain a deeper cognisance of a person's problems.

Consider what your needs are today and start there.

Some of my clients have resolved issues through both counselling and psychotherapy, then made the choice to become more proactive in there lives by commencing a maintenance programme.

They pop in for a tune up regularly, (or as they need it), to avoid letting things spiral out of control and having to deal with a bigger issue down the track.

Smart thinking actually...prevention rather than cure. We maintain our cars regularly to avoid accrued issues, so why not ourselves?