Sydney Counselling by Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH, BHSc, ND

The Sydney Counselling of Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH, BHSc, ND has provide decades of professional help and has also achieved international recognition. Dr Tracie O’Keefe is the clinical director of professional counselling in Sydney at the Australian Health and Education Centre.

For more information and details about counselling in Sydney by Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH, visit her therapy site:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What Can I Expect in a Counselling Session?

A professional counsellor such as Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH is trained to help you when you have personal, emotional and psychological problems.

From time to time in life we all encounter times that can be overwhelming, make us feel unsure about life, sad, angry, upset or thoroughly disappointed.

These are things that are often much easier to cope with and get over when we are able to share them with another human being who has a more objective point of view about our situation. Counsellors are trained to be empathic to your situation but also to remain objective in order to give feedback to you about what you are experiencing so you can begin to see things differently.

The relationship between the counsellor and the client is one of trust and confidentiality. One of the greatest skills that counsellors develop is called active listening. That is, they are there to listen to you tell your story. This in itself is very therapeutic. We all want to be listened to and we all want to be heard, without judgment.

Since as professionals we have no personal involvement in your story, history or life, we are able to see what is happening with you from an independent point of view and give you an honest opinion and advice.

Most importantly as counsellors we create an environment for you to talk about your life in a safe, private and comfortable environment in private consulting room in our air conditioned clinic in Sydney. Everything you tell us is completely and absolutely confidential.

Why Do People Seek Counselling?

Sometimes life is tough, rough, unfair, and difficult or just plain horrid. There are some things you just don’t want to talk about to those close to you. There are also ways to manage a situation that only professionals can teach you because that is what we are trained to do.

You take your car to the garage, your hair to the hairdresser, get your groceries from the grocer, a builder to build your house and you take the mental and emotional problems you cannot handle to a professional therapist and counsellor because they are trained to help you.

What is Solution-Focused Counselling?

We think that one of the most important parts of counselling is to help you, the client, move towards a positive goal. In a time of deep emotional upset you may even feel that is not possible but it truly is and we help you make that happen.

While we listen very carefully to what you say, and help you understand what is happening to you, it is equally important that we guide you to create a positive outcome from counselling for yourself. Counsellors are not here to take over control of your life or to solve your problems for you. We are here to help you find ways to move forward to a solution to your situation.

What Benefits Can I Expect From Working With a counsellor?

The benefits of counselling are that you get to talk through the issues that may be troubling you in private, confidentially, with a professional and get to consider what the solutions may be.

When you keep things all to yourself it gets very confusing and you can go around and around in circles, going over the same old ground again and again, not reaching any goals.
It really helps to get a third-person perspective.

Counsellors can listen to all that you have to say about your situation and feed that information back to you in a distilled and clarified way.

We will also give you some suggestions of how you might see things differently so you can begin to work through your issues and go on to have a better quality of life.

What Kind of Counselling is There?

As mentioned above we offer solution-focused counselling, going toward a positive goal. This is uniform across all the ways we deliver counselling to individuals and their families. Below are our available counselling services:

Individual Counselling

Many people come for individual counselling about issues they are facing in their lives. It is just you in the session and the counsellor. It couldn’t be easier getting counselling in Sydney with us because we operate flexible opening hours and our centre is accessible.

Marriage Counselling – Couples Counselling – Relationship Counselling

Sometimes people get into trouble with their relationships. You may be arguing, falling out, not getting on well together or have drifted apart. In these circumstances we generally see the people in the relationship together.

If one partner refuses to come to counselling, we are happy to see you on your own to help you with your relationship.

We are a non-denominational relationship counselling service and cater for a diverse range of relationships.

We provide marriage counselling to those who are in traditional marriages and we provide couples counselling for heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual and sex and/or gender diverse people.

Family Counselling – Family Therapy

At times the relationships between members of a family may break down. Disharmony in the family unit and the way you communicate with each other may become fraught with tension, resentment and disagreement.

In these circumstances we see the whole family together or the members of the family with whom the problem seems to exist to help you get along together better. If that cannot happen, we are happy initially to see any individual from the family on their own.

Grief Counselling

When someone around you dies or leaves the relationship, you go through the different stages of grief, which can be quite devastating.

Family and friends may be very kind, but they might not know how to help you cope and move on. If you are looking for grief counselling in Sydney, Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH is a trauma recovery specialist and highly experienced in helping people overcome grief and loss of all kinds, including bereavement.

How Do I Know the Counsellor is Qualified?

Counsellors are trained over number of years in many psychological therapies and are required to take exams before they practise.

They then go on to apply to become members of professional counsellors’ associations that require them to adhere to strict ethical guidelines in the delivery of their counselling services.

Each year counsellors must undergo education and further professional development and continual peer supervision, all of which are monitored by those associations. They must also carry professional indemnity insurance.

Dr Tracie DCH first got involved in co-counselling in 1970 at college in the UK. She is qualified in 10 healing professions, including natural medicine and is also a practising naturopath with two degrees, postgraduate advanced diplomas and a doctorate (DCH), including a degree in complementary medicine.

She is on the register of the Association of Solution Oriented Counsellors and Hypnotherapists of Australia (ASOCHA), Psychotherapy And Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), and Australian Register of Counsellors and Psychotherapists. Before coming to Australia in 2001 Tracie was a member of the National Council of Psychotherapists in the UK.

Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH has been counselling in Sydney since 2001 and previous to that she worked out of the London Medical Centre, Harley Street in the UK for many years.

Do You Offer Rebates For Counselling?

You may be eligible for a rebate from your private health fund depending on what your policy covers (talk to our staff and see our Private Health Fund (PHF) page on this site.

We are a private clinic so we do not offer Medicare rebates.

We work in the private health care sector. It is also our experience that the more you put into the process of changing your life, including financial commitment, the more you will get out of the change process.

Do I Have to Stop Smoking or Using Drugs Before I Come to Counselling?

You come to counselling when you need help. We take a full medical and psychological history in the first session so we can best assess how to help you achieve your goals. Remember, we are not here to judge you, just to help you.

Come with an open mind and be prepared to do the work it takes to make the changes you want. We have thousands of different ways we help people and your session will be tailored to suit your individual needs.

What About Confidentiality and Privacy During Counselling?

Everything you tell us and discuss is absolutely private and confidential. We disclose none of your information to any other person, including professionals, without your express permission.  The law forbids us to do that under the NSW code of ethics for health care practitioners. We are naturally bound by all laws pertaining to Australia and NSW.

If you should become extremely ill physically or mentally during treatment we are then obliged to contact the relevant person to protect your well-being, as would any other health professionals as we have a legal duty of care.

How Do I Know the Counsellor is Right For Me?

There are many counsellors in Sydney. Which one you choose has to be in regard to whom you feel comfortable and confident with to complete you goals. A counsellor does not have to be your best friend. We are professionals who work mechanically and systematically to help you go forward.

If you are going to make changes and leave your issues behind, you need to understand sometimes you will need to step outside of your comfort zone.

Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH is trained to a very high standard with two degrees, several postgraduate qualifications and a doctorate (doctor of clinical hypnotherapy – DCH). She is here to help you help yourself, so just as she brings trust to the session, so must you.
See her guide on how to do well in therapy on her practice page at www.tracieokeefe.com.

How Many Sessions Do I Need For Counselling?

Everyone comes to counselling with a different number and intensity of issues. So everyone is different and requires different experiences from the counselling process. In the initial session we talk about what you want to achieve and set out a plan to make that happen.

Since we practise solution-focused therapy, this means that the numbers of sessions you come along will be as many as is needed but as few as is necessary. You do need to be committed to making the thing you say you want to happen, happen, just the same as any other tasks you may undertake in life. When you do that, counselling can work for you.

Can Counselling in Sydney Be Fun?

People never ask this question, but I think it’s an important one to consider. Maybe you assume that counselling will be all tears and tissues but it need not be. Sure, you come to counselling because you have problems; nevertheless, you learn fastest when you are having good time.

We believe counselling should be a wholesome and rewarding experience for you so that you go away feeling good. That, after all, is the whole point of the exercise – that you get back your zest for life, having a fully rewarding living experience each and every day.

Book your Sydney counselling appointment with Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH.