John McQuillen

Approach

I take a very pragmatic approach to helping people improve their lives. I believe the relationships we form and maintain are the most valuable things in our lives.

I have broad life experience and have not always been a psychologist and so I seek to practice psychology in a way that is relevant and in the context of client’s day to day lives and the realities they live with.

I see what I do as assisting people to manage or enhance their performance in life rather than simply the assess and treatment of ‘mental disorders’. Through the therapy process I hope to assist clients to feel empowered and confident to manage their lives and whatever difficulties come their way. Whilst I will always be there to support any of my clients at any time it is my hope that through our work together they will develop sufficient skills and strategies that they will feel capable of managing any difficulties into the future and no longer need to return to frequent therapy.

I am eclectic in my approach and structure therapy based on what is maintaining functional problems for my clients. I will often blend different scientifically validated therapies to provide a specific and customised therapy process designed to work well with their individuality. Although I use valid and reliable psychometric tests as process measures to track a client’s progress, ultimately my real measure is that their life improves in ways that are meaningful and adaptive for them and brings about the life they wish to lead.

I am skilled in mental health assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of a broad range of difficulties. I also work with non-clinical presentations, forensic matters, and provide supervision to other psychologists. Additionally, I provide couples and family therapy.

I have specific experience and competency in working with military veterans, first responders, and other trauma impacted groups. In addition to being registered with Medicare, I am a Workcover/CTP provider, provide service sunder the NDIS, can register a person’s treatment as a work development order for Revenue NSW, and I can provide treatment for those eligible for DVA and Open Arms.

CLIENT I SEE: Adolescents (13yrs +), Young Adults, Adults, Older Adults, Couples, Families

Specific Areas of Work:

• Trauma

• Impact of work injuries and motor vehicle accidents

• Adjustment Difficulties

• Stress, burnout, and resiliency difficulties

• Grief and Loss

• Anxiety disorders

• Mood Disorders

• Obsessive Compulsive disorders

• Psychosis and Delusional disorders

• Substance Use problems or other addictive behaviours

• Anger Management

• Performance related difficulties

• Disability support

• Sleep problems

• Individual, couples, and group-based relationship problems

• Gender identity difficulties

• Sexual performance problems

• Chronic pain and disease

• Psychosomatic and health related difficulties

• Domestic Violence

• Bullying and Harassment problems

• Victims of Crime

• Perfectionism and procrastination

• Support for family members of persons with mental health difficulties

• Geriatric mental health difficulties

• Problems with self-esteem and confidence

• Complex presentations

• Forensic matters and criminal offending behaviours

• Medico-Legal and Forensic Assessments

• Supervision of intern Psychologists for General registration, Clinical Registrars, and other Psychologists with General Registration.

Approaches I use:

• CBT

• ACT

• EMDR

• Cognitive Processing Therapy

• DBT

• Schema Therapy

• Motivational Interviewing

• Narrative Therapy

• Exposure Therapies

• Gottman Method

• Systems Therapy

• A range of counselling methods including critical incident debriefing and grief counselling

• Skills Training

• Psycho-education

• Performance management and enhancement

• Strengths-based approach

Psychometric & Structured Assessments

• WAIS-5

• Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI)

• Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 3 (MMPI-3)

• Autism Diagnostic Interview – Revised (ADI-R)

• Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults (DIVA)

• Structured Clinical interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5)

• Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5)

• Historical Clinical Risk Management-20 Version 3 (HCR-20 V3)

• Young Schema Questionnaire

• A wide range of other screening questionnaires utilising Novopsych

Medico-Legal

• Assessment and treatment reports for Workcover and CTP

• Reports for civil law matters

• Reports for criminal law matters (eg: section 14 and pre-sentencing reports)

• Firearms licence suitability assessments

Supervision

• General registration 4+2

• General registration 5+1

• Clinical endorsement registrar program

• Peer supervision