WARM, PROFESSIONAL & TAILORED
PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES

Areas of practice

We offer warm, professional and tailored care to improve your wellbeing and help you reach your potential. Some of the difficulties we may be able to assist with include:

Anxiety and stress are uncomfortable emotions to deal with. Feeling anxious some of the time and in certain situations is natural. However, for many people – feelings of anxiety and stress become so strong and overwhelming that they significantly affect how a person experiences their life.

This is where we may be able to assist. There are many effective treatments for anxiety, and it is possible to feel better. We can work with you and support you to learn to manage your anxiety, utilising evidence-based approaches and strategies.

Some of the anxiety conditions we may be able to assist with include:

  • unmanageable worrying / generalised anxiety disorder
  • health and illness anxiety
  • obsessive-compulsive disorder
  • post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • separation anxiety disorder
  • specific phobias
  • panic attacks and panic disorder
  • social phobia / social anxiety disorder
  • peri-natal anxiety (pre and post pregnancy anxiety)
  • Substance or medication-induced anxiety disorder
  • Anxiety disorder due to a medical condition

For further information, please contact us, or check out the Beyond Blue Website and/or The Blackdog Institute website.

Depression

Depression can happen to anyone. One in 20 Australians are affected by depression each year, and it’s thought that over the course of a lifetime, up to 50% of Australians are affected by depression and/or anxiety (two conditions that often go hand in hand).

Feeling sad, down or lonely some of the time, and in response to difficult situations and life experiences, is natural. However, for many people these feelings of sadness, flatness, low mood, irritability, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, and lack of joy or interest in things, can persist – day in and day out – and really impact on relationships and life functioning.

Sometimes the triggers for feeling this way are obvious, but sometimes depression can come out of the blue, with no apparent explanation. Whatever the reasons that underlie how you feel, we can work with you to help you to better understand yourself and your symptoms. Depression is a treatable condition, and we are keen to support you in your recovery, utilising evidence-based approaches and strategies. Please contact us for warm, professional, and individualised care.

Understanding the signs and symptoms of depression, how they appear in different people, and where to go to get help are important. For further information, please contact us, or check out the Beyond Blue Website and/or The Blackdog Institute website.

Mood Disorders

It is common and a natural part of life and emotional functioning for mood changes to occur. However, some people’s moods fluctuate up (for example, extremely high mood and activity or agitation, racing thoughts, little need for sleep and rapid speech) and down (for example, low mood, feelings of hopelessness, extreme sadness and lack of interest and pleasure in things) and to such an extent that it changes their usual behaviour and impacts on their life functioning. Untreated, mood disorders can make it hard to consistently manage at work, home, school, and in relationships. Management of mood disorders, including bipolar disorder, often requires a long-term combination medication-psychological therapy approach.

Understanding the signs and symptoms of mood disorders, how they appear in different people, and where to go to get help are important. For further information, please contact us, or check out the Beyond Blue Website and/or The Blackdog Institute website.

Do you consistently lack confidence or notice that you are very hard on yourself?
Low self-esteem can cause pervasive feelings of insecurity and is often underlying other psychological and emotional difficulties, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, drug and alcohol use, gambling, other addictive behaviours, communication style (including difficulties speaking up, feeling comfortable with saying no, having healthy boundaries, being assertive), and relationship patterns – just to name a few.

We can help you explore what may have contributed to your low self-esteem and give you tools and strategies for improving your relationship with yourself, and improving how you experience your life.

We’d love to hear from you! Please contact us.

Anger is a healthy human emotion but sometimes anger can become unhealthy – when it is so intense and so difficult to express in a healthy way, that it creates problems in work, social and personal relationships.

Anger difficulties occur on a spectrum – from persistent irritability through to temper outbursts, verbal tirades or aggressive outbursts – and can significantly impact on wellbeing and life satisfaction.
Excessive anger can even have harmful effects on one’s health and wellbeing, and is thought to contribute to many health conditions, including: digestive problems (eg. Irritable Bowel Syndrome – IBS), high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, headaches, back and other chronic pain, insomnia, inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, and skin conditions.

Anger is often underlying other psychological and emotional difficulties, including low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, drug and alcohol use, gambling, other addictive behaviours, communication style (including difficulties speaking up, feeling comfortable with saying no, having healthy boundaries, being assertive), and relationship patterns – just to name a few.

We can work with you to improve your anger management, by helping you to understand yourself and what may have contributed to your anger, what the triggers are, what your particular early warning signs of increasing anger are, as well as giving you tools and strategies for managing your anger in a healthy and less harmful way.

We’d love to hear from you! Please contact us.

Alexandra (Alex) Corcoran is registered to provide counselling through NSW Victims Services.

For further information, please click here.

Drug, Alcohol, Sexual, Gaming & other Addictions

Addictions come in many varied forms and can significantly affect all aspects of a person’s functioning, including their physical and emotional health, work, and relationships. These issues are common and affect many thousands of Australians from all walks of life. We provide a warm and non-judgemental therapeutic space for you to openly discuss any difficulties that you are experiencing, and we will work with you to piece together and understand the underlying reasons and triggers for the difficulties. We then work with you to develop a plan for breaking the cycle, including strategies for making positive changes and for developing healthy coping strategies.

Get to know our Clinical Psychologists. View profiles, qualifications and clinical interests along with appointment availability.

At Moving Forward, each practitioner offers the maximum medicare rebate available for clinical psychological services.

Our standard fee is significantly less than the standard fee recommended by the Australian Psychological Society. Pricing and rebate information can be found in our FAQ zone.

Couples therapy, relationship therapy & marital therapy

Paul Corcoran is an experienced relationship therapist who works to create a safe therapy space or all kinds of couples.

Paul is primarily influenced by the Gottman Approach (https://www.gottman.com/about/the-gottman-method/). His approach is based on determining the strengths and challenges of each couple’s relationship to help determine how the strengths may be harnessed, and the vulnerabilities addressed.

Therapy is focussed around teaching effective strategies for resolving conflict, improving communication and connectedness, and developing a sense of shared values and meaning in the relationship. Sometimes Paul is asked to assist couples where one partner or both wish to separate amicably. He is able to provide support around co-parenting in a manner that reduces the emotional impact of separation on children.

If you are struggling to manage oppositional behaviour, anger, aggression, and other conduct problems, Paul may be able to help. He works to identify areas of strengths and areas of difficulties and provides families with strategies to help them live a more connected and harmonious life. Depending on the age of the child, and the nature of the difficulties, this may involve working with both the child and the parents (or broader family), or it may entail working in a more parent-focussed way. Paul prefers to work with families where the child’s wellbeing and caregiving is not the subject of an ongoing legal matter – if this is the case, please mention this at the time of making an appointment so that Paul can discuss the situation with you prior to making an initial appointment. On occasion, Paul may refer to another service if he feels this would better meet your family’s needs.

View Paul Corcoran’s bio

A parent’s wellbeing has a huge impact on their developing child. The science of a baby’s brain is quite remarkable. Forming over a million neural connections every second, the brain develops more in a person’s first five years, than at any other stage of their life.

Intervention within the perinatal period can be a protective factor for the individual parent and the family unit, with long-lasting impacts.

Some of the ways we work with parents include:

  • Normalising their struggle, and evidence-based strategies to assist with managing feelings of anxiety/fear, sadness, guilt, and adjustment to parenthood
  • Supporting the parent to talk, attune with, and interact with their child in a way that helps support the healthy development of mirror neurons and a secure attachment relationship
  • Support around creating healthy home routines and a healthy family environment

We may be able to assist with:

  • Perinatal mental health, including antenatal & postnatal anxiety & depression
  • Pre-conception preparation, including fertility issues
  • Pregnancy
  • Perinatal loss
  • Birth trauma
  • Premature birth
  • Post-birth adjustment
  • Relationship support
  • Parent-infant attachment
  • Parenting
  • Supporting fathers

The health status of males in most countries, including Australia, is generally poorer than that of females.

More males die at every stage through the life course: more males have accidents, more males take their own lives, and more males suffer from lifestyle-related health conditions than females at the same age.

When it comes to mental health, statistics indicate that this week, roughly 45 Australian men will take their own lives, with over 2000 male deaths from suicide per year. There are indications that this rate is increasing, and is particularly a problem in the 30-39 year age range.

Improving men’s accessing of healthcare is not always easy – and comes down to males recognising that they need support and that it is ok to seek help. Our approach celebrates the strengths of men, the contributions they make and the important roles they play. From the first appointment, we strive to help men feel comfortable seeking help.

Clinical psychologists specialise in teaching people how they can modify their behaviour and thinking so that they can lead more satisfactory and fulfilling lives. It is not at all unusual for people with physical problems to be referred to a clinical psychologist. In fact, these days it is quite routine for people suffering from health issues and chronic pain to be referred to a clinical psychologist.

The main aim of psychological treatment for health issues and chronic pain is to help the person to minimise their overall suffering. This type of treatment does not cure the physical issue itself, but it can help teach people techniques for coping with physical symptoms and pain, and for addressing the problems in their lives that the condition has caused.

Recovery from childhood trauma, including psychological and emotional abuse, physical abuse, family violence, sexual abuse and neglect.

Trauma affects all aspects of a person’s functioning and can contribute to emotional difficulties, feelings of dissociation and disconnection from one’s self and one’s life, poor self-esteem, problems in friendships and relationships, and physical symptoms such as health conditions and pain, among other issues.

Individual therapy is a very important part of recovery from trauma. Our Clinical Psychologists are keen to help you live a better life.

Late last year, our practice welcomed the news that Australians with severe eating disorders will soon have access to a comprehensive treatment plan under Medicare for the first time. Eating disorders are a serious mental illness and they affect over 1 million Australians.

From November 2019, patients with these serious psychiatric conditions will be able to access up to 40 subsidized psychological services. This is in line with evidence that shows at least 40 CBT sessions are needed to restore healthy eating attitudes and behaviors.

At Moving Forward Clinical Psychologists, we all have undertaken additional training in the assessment and treatment of eating disorders and have many years experience in working with patients that experience these difficulties.

WorkCover, Worker’s compensation, CTP and insurance claims

Paul Corcoran and Alex Corcoran are both registered providers in the workers compensation and insurance fields.

We really enjoy working with other Psychologists and offer supervision for ongoing professional development / peer supervision, as well as supervision for endorsement as a Clinical Psychologist / supervision through the registrar program. We are AHPRA certified supervisors of the 6+2 training pathway. Our practice also runs a monthly peer supervision group – this group includes a combination of different mental health disciplines.

Alex Corcoran

Hi! I have been in private practice for around 20 years and am familiar with all apsects of owning and running a small group practice. 

I also work one day per week as a university clinic supervisor of students in the 5+1 and 6+2 postgraduate clinical training programs. 

I work mostly with adults – mainly with complex trauma and a variety of mental health presentations. I am experienced with Medicare/Mental Health Care Plans, Workers Compensation, CTP, and Victims Services schemes, and enjoy having variety in my clinical work.  

I have previously worked for 8 years in a public inpatient mental health unit, and prior to that in community adult mental health. I have also worked in child and adolescent community mental health, and in university settings focussing on child behaviour problems, parenting and family systems work, and with children and adolescents with anxiety conditions. I am an accredited Cool Kids facilitator. 

I work from a multi-model perspective – drawing mainly from compassion-focussed CBT, DBT, ACT, Schema and EMDR.

In my spare time I am a Vinyasa Yoga teacher and have an interest in applying somatic approaches and mindfulness skills to my clinical work. 

I love providing supportive and insightful supervision, and am looking to work more in this space. 

If I sound like a good fit for you, I’d love to hear from you!

Janene England

I have been practicing as a Clinical Psychologist since 2006. I have worked predominantly in the area of adult mental health and have more than 16 years of experience working in inpatient facilities. I work with individuals presenting with a range of acute mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression, trauma, OCD, bereavement, adjustment difficulties, psychosis, and personality disorder. I have a particular interest in eating disorders.

Over my years with public health, I was seconded to a psycho-oncology position and was actively involved in preparing and providing various in-service presentations to mental health staff and students. Since joining the Moving Forward team in 2019, I have now found my home in private practice.

In terms of my therapeutic approach, I have an affinity to compassionate-focussed CBT and ACT. I have completed training in these evidence-based therapies, as well as in DBT, CBT-E, and Maudsley Family Based Therapy for Eating Disorders.

I have been a primary clinical supervisor of provisional psychologists and new graduates since 2014. With my supervisees, I aim to provide a relationship which will foster skill development, self-reflection, and a healthy self-confidence. Self-care is something I always check in on, and I aim to provide a supportive space where the demands of our work can be acknowledged. Please feel welcome to contact me for further discussion via janene@movingforward.net.au.

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