Sarah Beck

I have had more than 35 years experience helping people make the changes they want to make to live a happier and fuller life. I offer affordable counselling and a caring space in which to explore difficult issues.

Areas of Special Interest

• anxiety
• depression
• self esteem issues
• grief and loss
• couples counselling

I trained as a Family Therapist in Melbourne and had 12 years experience working with families to bring about change.

Counselling/Therapy Services

I offer supportive counselling in a confidential environment to help you work through issues that are troubling you, including relationship and family difficulties.

I work from a Solutions Focussed Brief Therapy Perspective and a CBT, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy perspective. I also use many of the ideas from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (A.C.T) including Mindfulness exercises for relaxation and to improve concentration. I have attended training sessions in Australia by Dr Russ Harris, author and A.C.T practitioner.

Solutions Focussed Brief Therapy asks present and future focussed questions rather than spending a lot of time on the past. It encourages you to look for exceptions – times when the problem was less of a problem. It helps a person get in touch with their strengths. The Miracle Question is often asked: Suppose that one night while you were asleep a miracle happened and this problem was solved. How would you know? What would be different? What would your partner or children notice was different?”

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) aims to help you become aware of negative thinking that influences our emotions and keeps a problem going. It helps you recognise faulty thinking and its origins. More positive options are then explored and applied. CBT may involve some homework such as jotting down negative thoughts and the context in which they occur.

Counselling/Therapy Approach

I have worked with clients from a broad range of cultural backgrounds, age groups and presenting issues.  I have found that the techniques that I use are user friendly, that is they are not only seen to be useful but often enjoyable at the same time. I use a range of techniques to promote constructive change in my clients including CBT, Solution Focussed Therapy and Acceptance, Commitment Therapy.

I come with a great deal of life experience and consider myself to be warm, empathic, sensitive and knowledgeable. I am seen as a compassionate person with a strong sense of social justice by those who know me.

About Me

I have more than 30 years experience as a registered psychologist in both Australia and New Zealand.

While I grew up in Wellington and attended Victoria University, I have spent most of my working life in Australia. I worked as a psychologist for many years in Australian schools, at a 24 hour medical centre in Melbourne and also with Lifeline in North Queensland.

Before training as a psychologist I was a secondary school teacher. I also worked in journalism and television.