Alana Anibaldi, Psychologist
Alana is a caring and compassionate psychologist whose friendly, kind manner makes it very easy to connect with her. She helps people grow and overcome difficulties by understanding the way their life stories shaped them. Her intuitive, gentle insights guide her clients to wellness and to becoming the best versions of themselves.
Alana helps teens and adults with challenges including anxiety, depression, stress, emotional regulation, trauma, behavioural concerns, attention difficulties, interpersonal relationships, life transitions and neurodiversity.
Ages 16 years and older.
Alana is available for appointments on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Therapy with Alana
Alana is a kind therapist who welcomes clients from all backgrounds and orientations. Her communication is always warm, sensitive, authentic and non-judgemental. She employs her empathetic nature to provide comfort, understanding, and practical solutions. She always remains client centred, drawing on her experience and incorporating strategies from different modalities as needed.
Alana's warmth and kindness accompany a practical, solution focussed therapy style. She has successfully helped many who felt stuck and unable to untangle themselves from life and emotional challenges. She helps individuals identify and challenge unhelpful thinking patterns, develop effective coping strategies, and build resilience. By empowering individuals with a better understanding of their thought, emotional and behavioural patterns, she also provides them with the tools to build resilience, become happier, and to ultimately thrive.
Schema Therapist
Alana is trained in many evidence based therapies such as CBT and ACT. In addition, she enjoys utilising Schema Therapy to help clients overcome deep-rooted, self-defeating emotional patterns and beliefs usually originating from unmet childhood needs. These patterns can have a chronic and sometimes devastating effect on a person's self concept and relationships lasting well into adulthood.
Schema Therapy is an integrative psychotherapy which combines principles and techniques from various effective therapeutic models such as Attachment Theory, Gestalt Therapy and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. The therapy aims to unearth and understand beliefs that were formed in childhood that have become self-defeating or dysfunctional, leading to mood or relationship struggles in the present that keeps coming up for a person. These belief constructs are called "Schemas".
Schema Therapy works on healing harmful schemas by diminishing the intensity of emotional memories of the schema and changing the cognitive patterns connected to the schema. Schemas such as feeling inwardly flawed and defective, feeling isolated and different. or believing that your need for love will never be met adequately, are explored gently. Recognising how these schemas caused certain patterns of behaviour throughout life, called "modes", brings great self-insight and the potential to change patterns of thinking and behaving.
Eventually healthy habits are learned and practised such as fostering healthy and fulfilling relationships, seeing things through, taking care of one's physical health, and valuing oneself. The Healthy Adult forgives the past, no longer sees themself as a victim (but as a survivor), and expresses all emotions in ways which are healthy and cause no harm.
Areas of Practice
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Significant Life Events and Transitions
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Workplace Stress and Conflict
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Perfectionism
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Attention difficulties
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Relating difficulties