This guide outlines anxiety signs, daily impact, and practical management techniques like relaxation, cognitive restructuring, and gradual exposure, emphasizing professional support via counseling and workplace programs.
Your Mind Matters builds trust in mental health through compassionate, evidence-based, and personalized care, offering Melbourne psychologists, telehealth, ADHD/autism assessments, and workplace support programs.
Comprehensive assessments reveal neurodiverse children’s unique strengths and challenges, guiding personalized support plans. Professional, often telehealth, guidance enhances development, confidence, and independence.
In today’s busy world, accessing support has become easier with online services. A Telehealth psychologist offers the same professional, evidence-based care you would receive in person, but with the convenience of connecting from home, work, or anywhere with internet access.
Not sure if Telehealth psychology is right for you? Here are five signs you might benefit from working with a psychologist online.
For many Australians, local psychology services may be limited. A Telehealth psychologist in Australia makes it possible to access professional support without travelling long distances. This ensures you can receive consistent care, no matter where you live.
Balancing work, study, or family life can make it difficult to attend in-person sessions. Telehealth appointments save time by cutting out travel, making it easier to fit therapy into your week.
Some people find it easier to open up in a familiar environment. Meeting with a psychologist via Telehealth can provide a greater sense of comfort and reduce the anxiety that may come with attending a clinic.
Telehealth can be combined with face-to-face sessions, giving you choice and flexibility. This means you can still see a psychologist in person if you prefer, but switch to online sessions when needed — such as during busy times, illness, or travel.
Whether you are seeking an ADHD assessment online or counselling for trauma, anxiety, or relationships, Telehealth gives you access to psychologists who may not be based in your local area. This expands your options and helps you find the right professional fit.
A Telehealth psychologist provides the same standard of professional care as in-person sessions, with the added convenience of flexibility and accessibility. If you are considering support for your mental health, Telehealth might be a helpful option.
At Your Mind Matters Psychology Services, our Melbourne-based team also offers Telehealth psychology across Australia, including assessments and therapy.
📞 Get in touch today to book a Telehealth psychologist appointment.
In today’s busy world, flexibility in accessing mental health support is more important than ever. Telehealth psychology sessions allow you to connect with a qualified psychologist from the comfort of your home, school, or workplace. At Your Mind Matters (YMM), our clinicians offers secure, evidence-based telehealth services to ensure support is available wherever you are in Victoria and across Australia.
Telehealth refers to psychological consultations delivered via a secure online platform. You’ll speak with your psychologist in real time, just as you would in a clinic, but without the need to travel. Research shows that telehealth can be just as effective as face-to-face sessions for many mental health concerns, including:
Telehealth may be suitable if you prefer the comfort of your own space, live outside Melbourne, or find it difficult to attend in person. For children and young people, telehealth can work best when a parent, carer, or support worker is nearby to assist with technology and engagement.
If you’re unsure, our team can help you decide whether telehealth or in-clinic appointments are the best fit for your needs.
At Your Mind Matters, our psychologists follow strict professional and ethical standards to ensure that online sessions are safe, private, and effective. This includes:
Accessing telehealth psychology at YMM is simple:
Whether you are seeking an ADHD or autism assessment, or ongoing therapy, our telehealth psychologists are here to support you.
“I just feel like my brain never switches off.”
If you’ve ever said this—or felt it—chances are, you’re carrying a mental load. And no, it’s not just about having a lot on your plate. It’s about being the plate.
The term mental load has gained traction in recent years, especially in conversations about working parents, relationships, and burnout. But what does it actually mean—and why does it affect so many people, particularly women?
Let’s unpack it together.
What is the Mental Load?
The mental load refers to the invisible, ongoing effort it takes to manage household responsibilities, emotional needs, planning, and organisation. It’s the internal checklist that never ends.
Think of it like this:
*Remembering your child’s immunisation is due next month (and booking the appointment).
*Noticing the toothpaste is low (and mentally adding it to the shopping list).
*Planning meals, checking the fridge, cooking dinner—while making sure the family isn’t late for soccer practice.
*Juggling work deadlines, school newsletters, and the emotional wellbeing of everyone in the household.
It’s not just physical tasks—it’s the thinking, remembering, planning, and anticipating behind them.
And that’s what makes it so exhausting.
Why It’s More Than Just “Being Busy”
Busyness is visible. People can see you running from meeting to meeting or folding laundry while answering emails. But the mental load is silent and often unacknowledged—even by the person carrying it.
You might look like you’re coping just fine on the outside, but internally, your brain feels like a browser with 47 tabs open. The weight is cumulative and relentless.
Many people report that the mental load causes:
Difficulty relaxing, even during downtime
Irritability or emotional exhaustion
Trouble sleeping
Feelings of resentment or being under-appreciated
Increased anxiety or burnout
And the hardest part? It’s easy to dismiss. “Everyone’s busy” becomes a way to invalidate or minimise the impact—until your body or mind forces you to stop.
Who Carries the Mental Load?
Anyone can carry a mental load, but research and lived experience show that it disproportionately affects women—especially mothers, as they are typically the primary carers of children. Often referred to as the “default parent,” many women find themselves responsible not just for doing tasks, but thinking about and managing them, even when others help.
But it’s not just parents. Young adults caring for ageing parents, neurodivergent individuals masking or managing executive function challenges, and professionals navigating high-pressure roles often carry intense mental loads too.
The Cost of Constant Mental Overload
Over time, the mental load can chip away at self-worth, relationships, and wellbeing. You might find yourself:
*Snapping at loved ones, then feeling guilty
*Feeling like no one else gets it
*Losing joy in things you used to enjoy
*Feeling like it’s “all too much” but not knowing what to let go
This can lead to chronic stress, anxiety, or even depression if left unaddressed.
How Can Psychology Help?
At Your Mind Matters Psychology Services, we work with many clients who arrive saying, “I don’t know why I’m so exhausted.” When we explore what their day-to-day mental load looks like, it becomes clear: they’re doing the job of five people, internally.
Psychological support can help in several ways:
Increasing awareness of the mental load and how it shows up in your life
Building boundaries and assertive communication to redistribute tasks fairly
Identifying cognitive patterns (like perfectionism or guilt) that keep you stuck
Developing emotional regulation tools to reduce reactivity and burnout
Practicing self-compassion and giving yourself permission to rest, delegate, or say no
Therapy provides a space to pause, reflect, and realign your energy with your values, not just your responsibilities.
Reducing the Load Starts with Noticing It
You don’t need to be in crisis to seek support. In fact, recognising the weight of your mental load before things spiral is a powerful act of self-care.
Here are a few reflective prompts to help you check in:
What thoughts are running through my mind right now?
Am I mentally holding onto things for other people?
What would I do with one truly responsibility-free hour?
What’s one small task I can delegate, postpone, or say no to?
The mental load isn’t a personal failing—it’s a systemic reality for many. But it’s not inevitable, and you don’t have to carry it alone.
You Deserve Support
At Your Mind Matters, we help clients unpack the invisible pressures that weigh them down and rediscover what it feels like to breathe, rest, and be enough. If you’re feeling the weight of “doing it all,” we invite you to reach out.
In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has entered the field of psychology with great promise, offering to revolutionise the way mental health care is delivered. From faster diagnostic tools to personalised treatment plans and predictive modelling, the applications of AI seem vast — and growing. But while the excitement is justified, it’s also important to approach this technological wave with a critical eye.
Sharper Diagnosis or Data Dependence?
AI has shown significant capability in enhancing diagnostic accuracy. Algorithms can now analyse enormous volumes of patient data — including voice patterns, facial expressions, and even social media activity — to detect early signs of anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions. These tools can help flag concerns earlier and more efficiently than ever before.
However, while AI can detect patterns, it doesn’t “understand” them in the human sense. We must ask: Are we relying too heavily on data-driven cues at the expense of lived experience? The nuance of a client’s story, the context behind their tone or expression, and cultural factors influencing their behaviour are still best interpreted by a trained human mind.
Personalised Therapy or Algorithmic Assumptions?
Another exciting avenue is AI-assisted personalisation of therapy. By analysing how clients respond to interventions over time, AI can help practitioners fine-tune treatment approaches. It can even suggest strategies that align with a client’s unique emotional and behavioural patterns. Therapeutic chatbots, such as Woebot or Wysa, are being used as supplementary tools for between-session support. These tools are especially useful in increasing accessibility for those who may not seek traditional therapy due to stigma or logistical barriers. Yet there’s a limit to how “personal” an algorithm can truly be.
Can an AI model genuinely understand a client’s shifting emotional world, or their resistance to therapy, in the same way a clinician can? Personalisation must go beyond pattern recognition — it must include deep listening, attunement, and emotional resonance.
Predicting Crises: Progress or Pre-emption?
One of the most intriguing frontiers is AI’s potential to predict mental health crises before they escalate. By analysing trends in behaviour and mood data, AI tools can alert clinicians to early warning signs, enabling timely intervention. While this has undeniable value — especially in high-risk populations — it raises ethical and clinical questions: What happens when AI flags a “risk” that the client doesn’t perceive? Do we risk medicalising normal emotional fluctuations? And how do we avoid reinforcing surveillance-style care under the guise of support?
Revolutionising Research — ResponsiblyAI is already transforming mental health research, making large-scale data analysis faster and more efficient. It also allows for real-time feedback to clinicians based on evolving research findings — a huge asset in a field where evidence-based practice is essential.
However, we must guard against the “solutionism” trap — the idea that every complex mental health issue has a data-driven fix. Psychological healing is not always linear or measurable, and our research tools must reflect the complexity of human experience.
Ethics and Empathy: A Necessary Tandem
Perhaps the biggest challenge in integrating AI into mental health care is preserving the ethical and human foundations of therapy. Data privacy, informed consent, and transparency must remain at the forefront. Clinicians also need to feel confident in questioning AI recommendations — especially when they conflict with clinical judgment or the client’s narrative.
Importantly, AI can’t replicate the therapeutic alliance — the healing power of being seen, heard, and validated by another human being. AI may assist us, but it should never attempt to replace the therapist’s role in providing a safe, relational space.
Final Thoughts
AI is undoubtedly reshaping the landscape of psychological practice. It offers powerful tools that can enhance assessment, personalise treatment, and support prevention efforts. But like any tool, its value depends on how we use it.
At Your Mind Matters, your clinician may use AI to help take notes, create guided imagery scripts, or – my favourite – challenge my diagnostic impressions against the DSM-5 (our diagnostic manual).
We won’t be replaced by AI, but if there is a way to enhance client care, it is certainly something we will integrate!
PS- any AI we use is compliant with Australian privacy standards of course!
This blog was written by Laura Forlani, Clinical Psychologist and Director at YMM
Fact checked by ChatGPT 🙂
People can be scared of many different things, such as dogs, airplanes, needles or insects. And the degree to which we’re fearful of these things can also vary. For example, I personally am scared of birds (this is also known and ornithophobia). Yes, I know…terrifying. However, it’s a mild fear, as this does not stop me from walking through a park where I know birds will be present, or walking down the sidewalk when I see them on the footpath in front of me. I may not like it, but it doesn’t interfere with my life. Unfortunately, this may not be the case for everyone, because, as mentioned above, the degrees of fear can vary. Many individuals will go out of their way to avoid that which causes fear. Some may never go on a desired holiday, or see family interstate due to being frightened of flying. Others may avoid going outside in spring and summer due to their fear of bugs. In these circumstances, seeing a psychologist can be helpful, in order to help tackle this issue.
One way to do this, and my preferred way, is through systematic desensitisation. This involves gradual exposure to that which causes fear and discomfort. To start off, I work with my clients to develop a hierarchy, starting with what causes the least amount of fear, or anxiety, and building up to that which causes the most fear. It’s important that clients follow these steps in an environment that is safe and predictable. Let’s use fear of dogs as an example. Depending on the severity, step one may be just talking about dogs. Believe it or not, this alone can be enough to cause uneasy feelings for some. I ask my client to rate their anxiety level for step one (1-10). The idea is that the more the client is exposed to this step, they will become desensitised, leading to their self-rating to drop over time. Once the client is comfortable and essentially bored with this step, we then move onto step two. Step two may involve looking at pictures of dogs. For example, I would advise against going to a dog park to observe dogs there, as this is an unpredictable environment, as we cannot control or stop a dog from running up to the client, which could lead to more distress. Moving, on, step three may involve looking at videos of dogs. Once again, the client would continue to rate their level of discomfort, and eventually, once this drops to an extremely comfortable level, we move on to the next step. Eventually, the aim and goal would be to have the client comfortably sitting in a room with the dog, and even interact with a dog.
In addition to a hierarchy, it is beneficial to work on breathing strategies in sessions as well. These help ease some of the discomfort within each step. Learning to challenge unhelpful and unrealistic thoughts via CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is also very helpful, as often, we overestimate the level of threat, and are more fearful of certain things than necessary.
If an individual has an animal-related fear, such as the above, it can be beneficial if the psychologist they are working with utilises animal-assisted therapy. Therapy dogs are generally quite well-trained and love people. Exposure to therapy animals is done in a safe and predictable environment, and it’s reassuring to know that the specific dog is friendly, and that the handler (in this case, the therapist), has an understanding of the client’s fear, and can work with the client in a manner in which they are comfortable. As opposed to attempting to interact with a dog at a dog park, or on the street, which is less predictable. However, it is important to ensure that the psychologist and therapy animal you choose to work with are suitable for your own level of fear, as some dogs can be more excitable than others and may not be suitable for someone who has trouble even being in the same room as a dog.
*blog featured image: <a href=”https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/phobia”>Phobia Vectors by Vecteezy</a>
If you think working with a psychologist would help you tackle your fear, give us a call to find a psychologist that is suitable for you. Please note that Johana is able to assist with clients who have a moderate fear of dogs, as Luna is an excitable dog.
