The ProActive Psychology Practice

The ProActive Psychology Practice Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The ProActive Psychology Practice, Mental Health Service, Suite 5, 12 Nelson Street, Toongabbie.

Evidence‑based therapy and assessments for children, teens and adults in Fairfield and Bankstown.

✓ NDIS‑registered | ✓ Medicare rebates | ✓ Telehealth available

Try one thing tonight.When your child walks in, ask nothing at all.Food, and quiet.That's the whole first hour.She's bee...
09/09/2026

Try one thing tonight.

When your child walks in, ask nothing at all.

Food, and quiet.

That's the whole first hour.

She's been holding herself together since nine in the morning and there's nothing left.

More questions at 3.30 push her further down.

↳ Homework can wait an hour.

You don't need a spare room for this.

In a two-bedroom flat with three kids there isn't one.

Lowering the input works in whatever room you're in:

- Turn a light off.
- Turn the TV off.
- Fewer people talking at her, if you can manage it.

What does your after-school hour look like right now?

Full article's link in the comments.

07/09/2026

In NSW public schools, your child does not need a diagnosis to get support.

You can ask for a meeting with the school's learning and support team.

No waitlist, and no cost.

If English isn't the language you'd choose for that meeting:

- Call TIS National on 131 450.
- Ask for your language.
- The operator rings the school and interprets for you.

↳ It's free, and you don't have to explain why you want one.

You can email the school on Monday morning.

Have you asked your child's school for a meeting before?

Full article's link in the comments.

If your family says you're spoiling him, you're not the first parent to hear it.Australian research is full of parents w...
04/09/2026

If your family says you're spoiling him, you're not the first parent to hear it.

Australian research is full of parents who heard the same thing, often from people who love them.

One study of Australian children already in early intervention found that families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds first became worried about their child nearly three months later than other families.

↳ Three months adds to everything else that's already slow.

Every culture has a version of the naughty child.

None of them has a good word for the child whose nervous system quietly runs out of fuel at 2pm.

Has someone in your family told you it's just discipline?

Full article's link see in the comments.

When a child goes quiet under pressure, her body is protecting her.Sometimes that protection is loud.Crying, throwing, r...
02/09/2026

When a child goes quiet under pressure, her body is protecting her.

Sometimes that protection is loud.

Crying, throwing, running for the door.

Sometimes it's the opposite.

The body drops into a low-power state that clinicians call hypoarousal.

↳ Speech is usually the first thing to go.

So questions during it make things worse.

She isn't ignoring you.

She can't get the words out yet.

Sit near her.

Offer something she can answer by pointing or nodding.

Talk to her later.

What does your child do first when she's had too much?

Link for the full article is in the comments.

A school report that says "no concerns" doesn't always mean there are none.Some children hold themselves together all da...
31/08/2026

A school report that says "no concerns" doesn't always mean there are none.

Some children hold themselves together all day at school, then stop the moment they get home.

↳ The teacher never sees it, so nobody ever suggests help.

Parents tell us it looks like this:

- She walks in at 3.30 and stops answering.
- She sits down with her shoes still on.
- An hour later she's fine again.

That's a child who has run out of what she had.

Does your child save it all up for home?

The full article's link in the comments.

28/08/2026

Going back to therapy after a bad first try can work, with a better set-up.

When people try again and it works, they usually didn't become different people.

They just got a fairer run at it.

→Enough sessions to actually finish.
→Someone checking it's working.
→A plan aimed at the real problem.
→The cost sorted before they start.

That's usually the whole difference.

What a second try can look like:

- a problem caught in week three, not month six
- a plan that fits the actual problem
- not having to stop the week it finally helps

If you went back to therapy after a rough start, what made the difference?

Full article's link see in the comments

26/08/2026

If English isn't your first language, therapy in English can be really hard.

When you have to put your feelings into another language, a lot of what you mean gets lost.

That's not your fault.

It means the service wasn't set up for people like you.

The same goes for a therapist who doesn't understand your family or your culture.

That's a real reason therapy doesn't work, and a good reason to try someone else.

Signs the therapist wasn't right for you:

- you held back instead of saying what you meant
- you never felt understood
- you dreaded going more than it helped

A different psychologist can make a real difference.

Did your first therapist really understand you?

Know more about this → see link in the comments

24/08/2026

Therapy for anxiety often doesn't work when the real problem is undiagnosed ADHD.

If you have ADHD, even undiagnosed, a lot of standard advice asks the part of your brain that already struggles to just try harder.

Plan your week.

Break it into steps.

But that advice needs focus and follow-through, the exact things ADHD makes harder.

So it doesn't work, and it feels like you failed.

One client spent three years being treated for anxiety before anyone asked about ADHD.

Worth asking about if:

- the struggle's been there as long as you can remember
- "just try harder" has never once worked for you
- the plan never seemed to fit how your brain works

Not everyone who struggles has ADHD.

But if that's the real cause, naming it changes the whole plan.

Has anyone ever looked past the anxiety to what's underneath?

The full article's link see in the comments

When you had therapy, did anyone actually check if it was working?Most don't.For years, the main Medicare psychology sys...
21/08/2026

When you had therapy, did anyone actually check if it was working?

Most don't.

For years, the main Medicare psychology system had no standard way to measure whether people were improving.

And without that, a psychologist often can't tell when someone's quietly getting worse.

So if it wasn't helping, no one may have noticed, and you drifted off.

Next time, you can ask for it.

One line does it: "Can we track whether this is working, so we'd both know if it isn't?"

What that gives you:

- a problem spotted in week three, not month six
- proof it's helping, or a clear reason to change the plan
- less guessing about whether it's worth it

Did anyone ever measure your progress in therapy?

The full article's link see in the comments.

One of the biggest reasons people quit therapy is the cost.Most sessions have a gap fee you pay yourself, and Medicare o...
19/08/2026

One of the biggest reasons people quit therapy is the cost.

Most sessions have a gap fee you pay yourself, and Medicare only covers 10 a year.

So it adds up fast, until for a lot of people it just isn't affordable.

If that's why you stopped, you're in a very common situation.

And there are cheaper ways to get help now.

Ways the cost can come down:

- free programs for eligible South Western Sydney families, funded by the local PHN
- NDIS, where most participants pay nothing themselves
- a Medicare Mental Health Treatment Plan from your GP for the rebate

Some of these don't even need a GP referral.

What stopped you last time: the cost, or something else?

Full article→ see link in the comments

Address

Suite 5, 12 Nelson Street
Toongabbie, NSW
2146

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