Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Melbourne

Submit an online enquiry or call our team to discuss your needs and we’ll match you with an experienced ACT psychologist at our Armadale clinic or arrange online therapy across Australia. Your first session typically lasts 50-60 minutes and gives you an opportunity to discuss your concerns, goals, and how ACT can support you. We’ll help you understand whether ACT is right for your situation and introduce you to the approach. Appointments are available during the day, after-hours, and on weekends. Simply submit your online enquiry here to get started.

No, you don’t need a GP referral to see a psychologist privately. However, if you want to access Medicare rebates, your GP should provide a Mental Health Treatment Plan. This is a simple process that significantly reduces your out-of-pocket costs for ACT therapy. For step-by-step details on accessing Medicare rebates, visit our Fees and Rebates page.

Most people see significant improvements within 12-20 sessions, though this varies depending on the complexity of your situation, symptom duration, and your consistency with practice between sessions. At your first appointment with our ACT psychologist in Armadale or online, we’ll discuss your goals in therapy and provide their recommendations in terms of frequency and duration. They will also review this regularly as you progress. ACT is different from some therapies because you often notice early shifts in how you relate to anxiety or depression within the first few sessions.

ACT can absolutely be delivered online—research shows online therapy is equally effective as in-person sessions for most people. Many clients prefer telehealth psychology for the flexibility and convenience of accessing therapy from home without commute time. Whether you choose in-person sessions at our Armadale clinic located at 738 Malvern Road or secure video sessions across Australia, your therapeutic relationship and progress continue smoothly. You can even alternate between both formats as needed.

Our clinic director, Emily Burton personally match you with one of our psychologists. Should you have a preference for an ACT psychologist based on your presenting concerns, please feel free to let us know. We have an interest in any preference including therapy style preference and whether you prefer in-person at our Armadale clinic or online telehealth. All our psychologists are AHPRA-registered and trained in ACT and evidence-based approaches. If after a session or two the match isn’t right, we can arrange a different psychologist to ensure the best therapeutic fit. Your relationship with your psychologist is essential for effective therapy.

Book an appointment with your local Melbourne GP and discuss your need for psychology support. Ask them to prepare a Mental Health Treatment Plan for ACT therapy. Provide this plan to us when you book your session via email and we’ll handle all Medicare billing on your behalf. Your GP will discuss your eligibility for up to 10 psychology sessions per calendar year through Medicare under the Better Access Scheme. For more details, visit our Fees and Rebates page.

Yes, ACT is highly effective for anxiety disorders including generalised anxiety, social anxiety, panic disorder, OCD, and phobias—research shows ACT is as effective as CBT for anxiety treatment. Rather than fighting anxiety, an anxiety psychologist using ACT teaches you to accept it as a natural emotion while taking valued actions despite the anxiety. You learn cognitive defusion to observe anxious thoughts without believing them and develop psychological flexibility around worry. This breaks the anxiety cycle by gradually moving toward valued activities rather than avoiding them. At Positive Wellbeing Psychology in Melbourne, our ACT psychologists help you develop genuine freedom from anxiety’s control over your life.

Yes, ACT is very effective for depression, with comprehensive research showing significant and lasting improvements compared to other treatments. Depression often involves withdrawal from meaningful activities and disconnection from what matters—our depression psychologist using ACT addresses this core issue by helping you reconnect with values through values-based therapy and lived values.

ACT teaches acceptance of depressive thoughts rather than fighting them while taking small, valued actions toward things that matter. As you engage with meaningful activities, mood naturally improves. This approach addresses the fundamental disconnection at depression’s core, which is why ACT improvements often last longer than symptom-focused treatments.

Psychological flexibility is the core concept of ACT—your ability to stay present with difficult thoughts and feelings without struggling against them, while taking meaningful action guided by your values despite discomfort. It’s the opposite of psychological rigidity, where you avoid anxiety triggers, suppress emotions, or let negative thoughts control your choices.

Someone with psychological flexibility might feel nervous before public speaking but does it anyway because connecting with an audience aligns with their values—the anxiety is still there, but it’s not running their life. Building psychological flexibility through ACT at Positive Wellbeing Psychology in Melbourne means you develop genuine freedom and resilience. This is why ACT produces such lasting change.

Cognitive defusion is a powerful ACT technique that helps free you from unhelpful thoughts by changing your relationship with them. Instead of believing “I’m going to have a panic attack,” you learn to observe “I’m having the thought that I might have a panic attack”—you’re observing the thought rather than fusing with it and believing it’s true.

This simple shift reduces the emotional impact of thoughts and gives you freedom to act on your values. Defusion doesn’t require fighting thoughts or proving them wrong; you simply notice them and let them pass. Our ACT psychologists teach defusion as a core skill to help with anxiety, depression, OCD, perfectionism, and other mental health challenges.

Yes, ACT is effective for PTSD and trauma, and many psychologists combine ACT with trauma-processing techniques like EMDR for optimal results. Our trauma psychologist at Positive Wellbeing Psychology in Melbourne helps you develop acceptance of trauma-related thoughts and sensations rather than avoiding them, using defusion to hold traumatic memories differently (as memories of the past, not current danger).

You develop mindfulness to notice trauma triggers without immediately reacting and gradually rebuild engagement in valued activities and values-based living. For complex trauma from repeated or prolonged experiences, ACT is particularly helpful because it doesn’t require repeatedly recounting traumatic details. We integrate ACT with other evidence-based approaches for comprehensive healing.

Absolutely—if previous therapy didn’t help, several factors may have contributed including the therapeutic relationship, your readiness at that time, or how the approach was taught. At Positive Wellbeing Psychology in Armadale and online, we approach your situation fresh and discuss your previous therapy experience.

We might integrate ACT with other evidence-based approaches like CBT, DBT, or Schema Therapy depending on your specific needs—whether you’re seeking help with anxiety, depression, chronic pain, ADHD, or other challenges. Sometimes a small shift in approach, a different therapeutic relationship, or complementary techniques makes all the difference. Don’t give up on therapy because one approach or therapist wasn’t the right fit. We are here to help find the best fit for your needs.

Yes, many people benefit from ACT alongside medication—the combination is often most effective for anxiety, depression, ADHD, and other conditions. Our integrated care model means you can access both psychology and psychiatry under one roof at Positive Wellbeing Psychology. If medication assessment is beneficial as part of your treatment plan, our team can arrange psychiatry support. ACT and medication work well together, with therapy building psychological flexibility while medication supports emotional stability. For questions about fees and your specific situation, visit our Fees and Rebates page.