Lisa Boland Psychology

26/03/2026

What is ACT?
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an action-oriented
psychotherapy that teaches people to accept difficult thoughts and
emotions rather than fighting or controlling them. By using
mindfulness and acceptance skills alongside commitment to values-
based action, ACT increases psychological flexibility, helping
individuals live a meaningful life, even with uncomfortable
experiences.
ACT was developed in the 1980s by psychologist Steven C. Hayes, a
professor at the University of Nevada. The ideas that coalesced into
ACT emerged from Hayes’s own experience, particularly his history
of panic attacks. Eventually, he vowed that he would no longer run
from himself—he would accept himself and his experiences.
"We as a culture seem to be dedicated to the idea that ‘negative’
human emotions need to be fixed, managed, or changed—not
experienced as part of a whole life. We are treating our own lives as
problems to be solved as if we can sort through our experiences for
the ones we like and throw out the rest,
" Hayes, Psychology Today
(2009).
ACT is recognised as an evidence-based therapy by the APS
(Australian Psychological Society), APA (American Psychiatric
Society) and WHO (World Health Organisation).
Helpful websites:
https://www.lifeline.org.au/get-help/support-
toolkit/techniques-and-guides/acceptance-and-
commitment-therapy-act
https://www.actmindfully.com.au/about-act/

25/03/2026

What is Play Therapy?

Play therapy is an evidence-based, developmentally appropriate counselling method for children (although it can be used with teenagers and adults too), that uses their natural language of play to express emotions, process trauma, and improve mental health. Trained therapists use tools like toys, sand trays, and art to help children communicate struggles and develop adaptive behaviours in a safe, structured space.

While your practitioner will often use elements of play in other therapies to make it more engaging for your child, traditional play therapy uses child led play as a therapy in and of itself.

According to Maria Montessori “play is the work of the child”. Children use play to express what is on their mind, explore their emotions and process their experiences. Play should always, therefore, be central TO learning and therapy rather than a reward FOR learning and therapy.

At Lisa Boland Psychology we honour all forms of play and will never try to direct or teach a more ‘neurotypical’ play pattern.

Helpful websites:

https://psychology.org.au/inpsych/2015/june/short
https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/therapy-types/play-therapy

23/03/2026

What is CBT?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a structured, evidence based psychotherapy that focuses on how thoughts, feelings and behaviours interact. It aims to help individuals to challenge negative thinking patterns (cognitive distortions) and replace them with more helpful beliefs. This therapy also focuses on behaviour change as a core component and may involve strategies like Pleasant Event Scheduling in depression or Exposure Therapy for anxiety. CBT also comes in many forms depending on the presenting issue. For example, Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a form of CBT used to treat OCD.

CBT is one of the most researched therapies available and is considered a first line recommended treatment by health bodies such as the APS (Australian Psychological Society), NHS (National Health Service UK) and WHO (World Health Organisation).

At Lisa Boland Psychology we recognise that the roots of CBT lie in white, hetero-normative, neuro-normative ideologies and therefore aim to deliver a tailored version of CBT to each individual client using evidence from not only research but also the lived experience of our clients and our own clinical expertise. This allows us to provide therapy that is culturally responsive, neuroaffirming and trauma informed.

22/03/2026

If you come to Lisa Boland Psychology... What does a psychologist or mental health social worker actually do?

This week we'll be highlighting some of the therapies we use to give you an insight into what to expect when you visit us. First up, EMDR!

What is EMDR?

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) is an evidence based psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. Based on Shapiro’s (2001) Adaptive Information Processing Model; EMDR therapy facilitates processing of traumatic memories and other adverse life experiences. After successful treatment with EMDR therapy, affective distress is relieved, negative beliefs are reformulated and physiological arousal is reduced.

During EMDR therapy, the client attends to emotionally disturbing material in brief doses while simultaneously focusing on an external stimulus such as tracking the therapist’s back and forth hand motions. This allows the client to become desensitised to the memory and ultimately to install more helpful thoughts and emotions.

Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference.

EMDR is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for PTSD and emerging evidence shows it can also be beneficial for anxiety, depression and OCD (among others). Since 2018 the APS (Australian Psychological Society) has included EMDR therapy as a Level 1 evidence based psychological intervention for PTSD in adults and Level 2 for children (APS, 2018).

15/03/2026

We have limited places available for our new social skills small group program on Thursday afternoons in the school holidays.

The small group runs for 2 x 2 hour sessions from 3pm on Thursday the 9th and Thursday the 16th of April (please only enrol if your child can attend both sessions). Children aged 8-12 years are invited and both private payment and NDIS (plan or self managed) can be used.

What it will include:
- Thoughtful discussion of tricky topics like: Why do we need friends anyway? Do we have to include everyone, all the time? What does it mean to be brave?
- Teaching and practice of emotional regulation skills
- Free play to put our new skills into practice and build connections

What it won’t include:
- Teaching ‘masking’ through forced eye contact or forms of communication that are not natural for the individual child
- School type ‘listening behaviours’ like the 5 L’s
- Outdated and harmful reward systems

If this sounds like something your child would benefit from please contact our office admin@lisabolandpsychology.com
0410903823

12/03/2026

A new documentary from award-winning filmmaker Louis Theroux puts the manosphere in the spotlight. We break down what it is and how we can support boys and young men to build healthy views of masculinity.

11/03/2026

We are so pleased to let you know that Lisa is now back in the office for face to face appointments! Her current availability is as follows:

Mondays: 4pm - 7pm
Wednesdays: 4pm - 7pm
Thursdays: 4pm - 7pm
Fridays: 5pm - 7pm
Saturdays: 10am - 6pm

If you are an existing client who has been hanging out for an in-person appointment you can head to our website to book. New clients are encouraged to call the office 0410903823 or send us an email admin@lisabolandpsychology.com

Online Bookings Online bookings are currently available for returning clients only. If you wish to book an initial appointment or assessment, please contact our office. admin@lisabolandpsychology.com (02) 46072839 Book Now

10/03/2026

02/03/2026

If your child has been struggling this term or you are tired of sitting on waitlists - Lisa currently has availability both in person and via telehealth in the school holidays. Please contact our office for more information on:

* Autism & ADHD Assessments
* Assessment of Learning Disability, Intellectual Disability and/or Giftedness
* Neuroaffirming psychological therapies (private or NDIS)
* Parent support and education

Lisa also offers assessment and therapy for adults so if you have been waiting for a face to face spot for yourself, now is the perfect time to book in.

20/02/2026

Some interesting research here for smart watch wearers. Tracking “body battery” can be extremely helpful, especially for ADHD/Autistic folks recovering from burnout, but it’s important to remember that a high “stress score” really just means high arousal which also occurs when you are overjoyed, excited or just active!

“In conclusion, the Garmin Stress Score reflects mood in a context- and valence-dependent way. Rather than negative stress, high scores indicate positive arousal; low scores signal calm. Misinterpreting this signal may mislead consumers and limit the device’s value for emotional tracking, pointing to the need for improved wearable metrics and deeper real-world research.”

12/02/2026

We're pleased to announce that Lisa will be returning to the office in a limited capacity this month, offering both therapy and assessments. This means that she is able to open her books to new and returning clients. Lisa will be offering telehealth appointments out of hours on weekdays (great for squeezing in before and after school/work) and face to face appointments on Saturdays.

New clients and those returning after more than 6 months can contact our office by phone or email to book admin@lisabolandpsychology.com
0410903823

Returning clients who have had appointments in the last 6 months are invited to use our online booking system https://www.lisabolandpsychology.com/online-bookings

We recommend contacting us ASAP as in our experience these spots fill up fast. Please bare in mind that we are a flexible workplace, and therefore aren't always immediately contactable, we will do our absolute best to respond to your messages as soon as we can in this busy post-Christmas break period.

04/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17pGpLUfPD/

To allow for individuals as well as groups to connect and pay their respects to Dr Jonathan, his dedication table has been moved to our second waiting room.

We continue to feel grateful for the love and kindness shown by our community towards Katey and her family.