Cancer and treatment
Diagnosis, treatment burden, fear of recurrence, body changes, medical appointments and uncertainty about what comes next.
Health, pain and psycho-oncology
Psychological care that respects the medical reality.
Therapy alongside cancer, chronic illness, pain, treatment and major health change, with attention to grief, identity, function, relationships and the demands of living with uncertainty.
Reasons people come
Health changes can affect far more than the body.
Therapy can help people process what is happening, communicate needs, make decisions and build a workable life within circumstances they did not choose.
Chronic illness
Living with ongoing symptoms, fluctuating function, loss of predictability and the work of explaining an invisible condition.
Persistent pain
The interaction between pain, sleep, stress, activity, mood and the understandable urge to protect against further harm.
Identity and role change
Changes in independence, work, family roles, relationships, sexuality, confidence or a previously familiar sense of self.
Grief and uncertainty
Losses that may be concrete, ongoing or difficult for other people to recognise, including anticipatory grief.
Caregiver strain
The emotional and practical weight of supporting someone while trying to maintain your own health, relationships and responsibilities.
A considered approach
Work with what can change, without minimising what cannot.
Therapy may include practical strategies for sleep, pacing, communication and difficult medical situations. It may also involve grief, trauma, relationships, identity and the meaning of changes in health or function.
Goals are developed with the person rather than assuming that symptom reduction is the only meaningful outcome. Coordination with medical or allied health clinicians can occur where appropriate and consented.
Common questions
Psychological care alongside medical care.
Does seeing a psychologist mean my symptoms are considered psychological?
No. Therapy can take the medical reality seriously while helping with the emotional, behavioural, relational and practical effects of illness or pain.
Do I have to think positively?
No. Therapy makes room for fear, anger, grief and uncertainty. The work is about responding to what is happening with greater choice and support, not denying the difficulty.
Can Brent communicate with my treating team?
Where useful and with appropriate consent, communication can help coordinate goals and clarify the psychological work. The purpose and limits are discussed first.
Taking the next step
Request an appointment for health, pain or cancer support.
Share a brief outline of the health context, the main psychological impact and whether another clinician is referring you.
Request an appointment