Individual Psychological Therapy for Adults
People come to therapy for many reasons. Some may be experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma or relationship difficulties. Others may appear to be functioning well in the outside world, while privately struggling with self-doubt, perfectionism, emotional overwhelm or patterns that persist despite considerable insight.
Sometimes the difficulty is harder to label. You may simply feel stuck, disconnected from yourself or unable to make the changes you know you want to make.
I offer individual therapy for adults aged 21 and over, in North Sydney and online.
Who I Work With
I work with adults experiencing a range of psychological, emotional and relational concerns, including:
• Anxiety, including generalised, social, health, panic and performance anxiety
• Depression and persistent low mood
• Stress, burnout and work-related overwhelm
• Perfectionism, imposter syndrome and chronic self-criticism
• Relationship and attachment difficulties
• Life transitions, parenting concerns, grief and loss
• Adult ADHD and autism-related concerns
• Trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder
• Complex, childhood and attachment-related trauma
• Dissociation, including depersonalisation, derealisation and dissociative disorders
• Chronic shame, low self-worth and a persistent sense of not being good enough
My practice is inclusive and neurodiversity-affirming. I work with people from a wide range of personal, professional and cultural backgrounds, including medical and mental health professionals.
A Depth-Oriented, Trauma-Focused Approach
In therapy we aim to address immediate difficulties while also exploring the deeper patterns, experiences and emotional processes that may be contributing to them.
Many people arrive after previous attempts at talk therapy. They may understand their difficulties well but find that insight alone has not produced the changes they are seeking.
My work therefore has a strong experiential and bottom-up focus. Alongside reflection and conversation, we may pay attention to emotional learning, body-based responses, protective patterns and nervous-system states. This can help us work with reactions that occur automatically, often before conscious thought.
We begin by developing a shared understanding of your current concerns, relevant history, strengths and goals. From there, we determine what form of treatment is most likely to be helpful.
Depending on your needs, therapy may involve:
• Building emotional stability and practical ways of managing distress
• Understanding how earlier experiences continue to influence your responses
• Recognising recurring emotional, relational and protective patterns
• Developing a more compassionate understanding of yourself
• Reprocessing traumatic memories and other high stress experiences
• Developing more flexible ways of relating to yourself and others
Some people benefit from focused work on a particular concern. Others need longer-term therapy to address complex or longstanding patterns.
Learn More About My Clinical Approach
Who This Work Is Best Suited To
This approach is best suited to people who are committed to meaningful change and willing to participate actively in therapy.
It may be a good fit if you:
• Have gained insight through previous therapy but continue to experience the same patterns
• Want to understand and address what is driving your current difficulties
• Are open to experiential and somatically informed therapy
• Understand that complex or longstanding difficulties may require longer-term intervention
This practice may be less suitable if you are primarily seeking supportive counselling, a regular space to talk or short-term coping strategies. These can be valuable forms of support, but they are not the primary focus of my work.
How Therapy Is Tailored to You
There is no single treatment method that works for every person or every difficulty. Therapy is adapted to your goals, clinical formulation and readiness for different forms of therapeutic work.
My primary treatment approaches are Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing therapy and Deep Brain Reorienting. Where appropriate, I integrate these with other evidence-based, attachment-informed and parts-oriented approaches.
Trauma processing does not begin in the first session. Some people benefit from a period of stabilisation, preparation and skill development before addressing traumatic memories or other core adverse experiences.
What to Expect
Before starting therapy, you are welcome to book a complimentary 15-minute matching call. This allows us to briefly discuss what you are looking for and whether my practice is likely to be a suitable fit.
Your first appointments involve a more detailed assessment of your concerns, history and goals. We will then develop an initial treatment plan together and review it as therapy progresses.
Standard appointments are 55 minutes and are available in person in North Sydney or online where clinically appropriate.
When Another Service May Suit You Better
Petrova Psychology is a private outpatient practice and cannot provide crisis intervention or emergency mental health care.
The practice may not be suitable if you require active addiction treatment, intensive risk management, coordinated multidisciplinary treatment for an eating disorder or another level of care beyond what a solo outpatient practice can safely provide.
Where possible, I will identify this early and help direct you towards more appropriate support.
Taking the Next Step
You can book a complimentary 15-minute matching call to discuss whether individual therapy may be suitable for you.
If you would prefer to share more information first, you can send an enquiry through the contact form.
