Mental Health Counselling Geelong

Mental Health Counselling Geelong Mental Health Counselling Geelong offers professional, high quality therapy to the Geelong community

Sometimes being able to cope with a situation can make it harder to recognise how much it's affecting you.You might stil...
09/09/2026

Sometimes being able to cope with a situation can make it harder to recognise how much it's affecting you.

You might still be going to work, getting things done, managing difficult conversations or meeting everyone else's expectations. From the outside, it can look like you're handling things well.

But coping can take a lot of effort.

You might spend your evenings recovering from the day, constantly think about what you need to do differently, become increasingly anxious or irritable, or notice that you have very little capacity left for anything else.

Because you're still functioning, it's easy to assume the answer is another strategy to help you manage it better.

Sometimes it's useful to look at how much of your energy is being used just to keep functioning in the situation.

That can tell us something important about whether the problem is how you're coping, or what you're continually being asked to cope with.

After five years with Mental Health Counselling Geelong, it’s time to say goodbye to Nat as she moves on to focus on the...
07/09/2026

After five years with Mental Health Counselling Geelong, it’s time to say goodbye to Nat as she moves on to focus on the continued growth of her own business.

Five years is a significant chapter, and Nat has been an important part of MHCG throughout that time. I’m genuinely grateful for everything she has contributed to the practice and, most importantly, for the care and support she has provided to so many clients over the years.

It feels strange to imagine MHCG without her, but I’m also very happy to see her business doing so well and excited for everything that lies ahead for her.

Thank you, Nat, for being part of MHCG for the past five years. I’ll miss having you here and wish you every happiness and success in this next chapter 💚

Dayna

Myth Busting MondayMyth: If I'm struggling with something, I just need to learn how to cope with it better.We often assu...
07/09/2026

Myth Busting Monday

Myth: If I'm struggling with something, I just need to learn how to cope with it better.

We often assume that struggling with something means we need better strategies for managing it.

Sometimes that is true. Learning ways to manage stress, regulate emotions or respond differently can make a significant difference.

But sometimes people become very good at coping with situations that are continuing to take too much from them.

They learn how to get through the workday, manage the difficult relationship, keep everyone else happy or recover enough to do it all again the next day. Because they're still functioning, the focus can stay on what they could do differently to make the situation easier to tolerate.

At some point in therapy, the question can start to change.

Instead of only asking “How can I cope with this better?”, we might also start asking “Should I have to keep coping with this?”

Sometimes the work isn't finding another strategy to help you tolerate the situation. It's looking at whether the situation itself needs to change.

04/09/2026

After a while, it can start to feel like you need a reason that other people can't argue with before you're allowed to stop.

When does a need become “reasonable”?It can be much easier to understand a partner's needs when we can see the reason fo...
02/09/2026

When does a need become “reasonable”?

It can be much easier to understand a partner's needs when we can see the reason for them.

If they're sick, we don't usually need much explanation about why they need to rest or why plans might need to change. The reason is obvious, and there's often very little negotiation about whether it's reasonable.

It can become more complicated when the reason isn't as visible. Your partner might tell you they're overwhelmed, need some time alone, don't have the capacity for a social event, need more help, or aren't comfortable with something.

If we don't experience things the same way, it can be tempting to question whether the need is really necessary or try to explain why we see the situation differently.

When this happens repeatedly in a relationship, the person expressing the need can start to feel that simply saying what they need isn't enough. They may find themselves explaining more, waiting until they're completely exhausted, or feeling relieved when something external happens that makes the decision for them.

In relationships, we won't always understand why something affects our partner differently from us. We can take their experience seriously without having to experience it ourselves.

Myth Busting MondayMyth: If my partner doesn't agree with what I need, maybe I'm asking for too much.Something I notice ...
31/08/2026

Myth Busting Monday

Myth: If my partner doesn't agree with what I need, maybe I'm asking for too much.

Something I notice in couples counselling is how quickly expressing a need can turn into having to justify it.

You might tell your partner that you need more help, some time alone, more reassurance, or that there is something you're no longer comfortable with. If their response is to question why it's necessary or explain why they see it differently, the conversation can shift away from what you've said you need and towards whether you should need it at all.

When this happens repeatedly, it can become harder to trust your own judgement. You may start explaining yourself more, changing what you're asking for, or waiting until there's a reason that feels difficult for the other person to disagree with.

This is sometimes why being sick, completely exhausted or having circumstances make the decision for you can bring an unexpected sense of relief. There is finally a reason that doesn't have to be defended.

Your partner doesn't have to experience something the same way you do for your experience to be taken seriously.

21/08/2026

Perfectionism doesn't always make success feel successful.

Sometimes, after putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to get something right, the main feeling when we do is relief that we didn't fail.

In this week's Inside the Therapy Room, I talk about why this can happen and why achieving a lot doesn't always change how we see ourselves.

Why can “good enough” feel like failure?For some people, getting something wrong carries much more weight than the mista...
19/08/2026

Why can “good enough” feel like failure?

For some people, getting something wrong carries much more weight than the mistake itself.

If you grew up with high expectations, criticism, or the sense that getting things right affected how others responded to you, mistakes can become connected to how you see yourself.

Over time, the standard can become so high that doing something well isn't enough. It needs to feel certain that you won't get it wrong.

This is where perfectionism can start getting in the way. The possibility of making a mistake can make it harder to start something, finish it, or try something new.

The fear isn't always simply about failing.

It's about what failing has come to mean about you.

For some people, making a mistake doesn't just feel like getting something wrong. It can feel like it says something abo...
17/08/2026

For some people, making a mistake doesn't just feel like getting something wrong. It can feel like it says something about who they are.

Perfectionism can develop as a way of trying to prevent that feeling. If everything is done perfectly, there is less chance of being criticised, getting something wrong or feeling like you've failed.

The problem is that the pressure to get everything right can become so strong that it becomes difficult to start, finish or try something when there's a chance it won't go perfectly.

Sometimes the fear of failure ends up getting in the way more than failure itself.

14/08/2026

Sometimes rejection affects more than the relationship. It can reinforce beliefs about ourselves that were there long before it.

This can make changing the other person's mind feel really important, because their response has become connected to how we feel about ourselves.

In this week's Inside the Therapy Room, I talk about why this can happen and what we might start exploring in therapy.

Address

Level 4, 65 Brougham Street
Geelong, VIC
3220

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+61425831176

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mental Health Counselling Geelong posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category