Our Services

Counselling for Interpersonal/Social Issues & Personality Disorders

At ST&A Psychology Manly, our clinicians are highly skilled, trained and experienced in providing therapy for you if you have interpersonal/social issues and/or a personality disorder. We care about helping you overcome the obstacles that your social/interpersonal issues and relational issues are causing you and the impacts on your life, your wellbeing and your health.

A personality disorder is a distinct mental illness, defined by personality styles that can be troubling enough to create problems with relating to other people in healthy, normal ways. Personality disorders tend to appear in adolescence or early adulthood, continue over many years and cause a great deal of distress. During that time they can cause enormous conflict with other people, cause relationships to fail or prevent them from developing in the first place, interfere with someone’s ability to function appropriately in social situations and get in the way of reaching life goals.

M. +61 403 639 580

E. reception@stapsychology.com

Book your free video consult with one of our Psychologists, tell us what you’re struggling with, what you want to change/improve and test a video session to see how we can help.

Free 20 Min Video Consult

(Dependent on Availability)

Treatment for Interpersonal/Social Issues & Personality Disorders

Psychotherapy or psychological therapy is the treatment of choice for treating Personality disorders and people with unhelpful personality traits Psychotherapy has shown more promising results than alternative treatments, such as pharmacological interventions.
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), which teaches coping skills and strategies for dealing with urges related to self-harm and suicide, regulating emotions and improving relationships.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), To recognise negative thoughts and learn effective coping strategies.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Learning to accept your reactions, choose a direction and take action. ACT teaches you skills to better Accept what is out of your personal control, stay present rather than caught up in your head with lots of difficult thoughts, and commit to action that improves and enriches your life in line with what matters to you is meaningful, valuable and how you want to be.
- The aim of ACT is to maximise your potential for a rich, full & meaningful life. You learn psychological skills to deal with your painful thoughts and feelings effectively – in such a way that they have much less impact and influence over you (these are known as Mindfulness, Diffusion, Acceptance, Present Moment, Grounding skills).
- Helping you to clarify and stay connected to what is truly important, meaningful & purposeful to you – your values – then use that knowledge and greater connection to your values to guide, inspire and motivate you to change your life for the better.
- Set Specific SMART goals in line with your values, inform others about these goals and values and Commit to these/follow through with actions.
Schema Therapy (ST). The goal of schema therapy is to help patients meet their basic emotional needs by helping the patient learn how to heal schemas by diminishing the intensity of emotional memories comprising the schema and the intensity of bodily sensations, and by changing the cognitive patterns connected to the schema. And replace maladaptive coping styles and responses with adaptive patterns of behavior. Techniques used in schema therapy including limited reparenting and Gestalt therapy psychodrama techniques such as imagery re-scripting and empty chair dialogues.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Psychodynamic therapy focuses on unconscious processes as they are manifested in the client’s present behavior. The goals of psychodynamic therapy are client self-awareness and understanding of the influence of the past on present behavior.
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT). Compassion focused therapy is especially appropriate for you if you have high levels of shame and self-criticism and have difficulty in feeling warmth toward, and being kind to, yourself and others. Such problems of shame and self-criticism are often rooted in a history of abuse, bullying, neglect, and/or lack of affection in the family. CFT can help you learn to feel more safeness and warmth in your interactions with others and yourself.

- Motivational Interviewing (MI)
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
- Schema Therapy (ST)
- Mindfulness based CBT (MB-CBT)

Signs & Symptoms of Interpersonal/Social Issues & Personality Disorders

Difficulty trusting others

Feeling insecure/low self worth

Fearful/anxious in social or romantic situations

Reject/push people away when get too close emotionally

Others frustrate or agitate you easily

Isolate from others/avoid social situations

Don't maintain friendships

Feeling misunderstood

Borderline Personality Disorder

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Dependent Personality Disorder

Avoidance Personality Disorder

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Schizoid Personality Disorder

Get matched with a psychologist

Free 20 Min Video Consult

(Dependent on Availability)

When to seek help?

Social connection and positive relationships are integral to well-being and self-confidence. When relationships are positive, they bring joy to our lives. Interpersonal, social and relational difficulties relate to issues in creating and maintaining healthy and positive romantic, professional or personal relationships. If you have interpersonal difficulties you may have difficulty relating to and bonding with other people, and/or you might find that you struggle with particular relationship types (such as the parent-child relationship, male-female platonic relationship or professional, collegial or employer-employee relationship).

Poor interpersonal relationships occur when there is an imbalance, where you or the other person struggle to have the capacity for empathy or intimacy potentially due to fear, a lack of trust, jealousy, or other strong emotions like anger, confusion, guilt, or disappointment. You or the other person may be feeling exploited for your or their own benefit, or potentially your or the other person’s needs are not being met which can lead to a lack of trust and safety.

Get to know our team.

We are here for you.

We have 10 highly skilled, experienced, professional, friendly, warm Psychologists (male and female) 30-55 ready to help you better cope with your challenges and issues, grow and improve your satisfaction with life and wellbeing.

Simon Turmanis

Principal Psychologist & Clinical Director

Simon Turmanis Principal Psychologist & Clinical Director

Mon, Tue, Wed, Thurs
20 years experience
Face to Face & Video/Phone sessions. After hours

I am an extremely caring, warm, open, helpful, respectful, supportive, encouraging, hardworking and compassionate person. I am very passionate about helping people…well. Helping people to reduce their suffering is important to me. I will want to understand the unique way you are suffering or struggling to cope. I work hard to help anyone who decides to work with me, as a client, colleague, supervisee, fellow team member or workshop participant. I have 20 years experience working with adults, adolescents, and children with various psychological problems/issues. Within this, I have 18 years’ private practice experience working with adults of all ages, couples, adolescents, children and families on a broad range of issues.

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Dr Emma Agnew

Experienced Clinical Psychologist

Dr Emma Agnew Experienced Clinical Psychologist

Wed, Thurs
After Hours
Face to Face Sessions
Video and Phone Sessions

I am an experienced, highly skilled, authentic, warm, engaging, caring, compassionate, person-centred psychologist with over 12 years experience helping people…well. If you choose to work with me, I will lean in with genuine care, compassion and understanding to build a strong relationship with you, so you feel safe to open up and explore your issues in therapy. I will take a strengths-based approach, recognising that you have the resources, skills and values that can be harnessed for change. I will be person-centred and work with you, to tailor treatment to your individual needs, issues, goals and values while being adaptive and flexible to what is occurring for you.

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Dr Matthew Gerathy

Clinical Psychologist

Dr Matthew Gerathy Clinical Psychologist

Tue, Wed, Thurs, Fri
Face to face & video/phone sessions. After hours.

Warm, friendly and approachable, I am extremely passionate about helping people live happier, more fulfilling and productive lives through raising self-awareness and compassion. I will provide a respectful, empathic space where we can build a strong relationship, use evidence based therapy, & design a treatment approach that is individual to your specific difficulties/challenges, informed by your strengths and goals, and is openly communicated, and regularly reviewed. Over the last 18 months I have worked full-time at ST&A Psychology and helped over a hundred clients…well, with a broad range of ages and issues.

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Edwina Wong

Registered Psychologist

Edwina Wong Registered Psychologist

Mon, Tue, Wed, Thurs, Fri
Face to face & video/phone sessions. After hours.

I am an extremely professional, warm, friendly, empathic and thoughtful Psychologist. If you choose to work with me, I will listen and care with interest as we work together to understand how your issues have developed over time, what’s maintaining these issues, and the best way to help you cope more effectively. I value transparency and accountability, and so will regularly invite your feedback to ensure we are on track.

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Mark Podesta

Experienced Psychologist

Mark Podesta Experienced Psychologist

Thurs, Fri, Sat
Video/phone sessions. After hours.

If you choose to work with me I will be respectful, collaborative, compassionate, supportive and empowering; to help you create positive changes, cope with challenges and difficulties, and improve your wellbeing. My clinical skills are honed through years of experience treating people from diverse backgrounds and abilities, with a wide range of presenting issues across the lifespan. In my time at ST & A psychology (18 months), I have helped close to 100 clients…well.

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Sabrina Choo

Registered Psychologist

Sabrina Choo Registered Psychologist

Tue, Thurs, Fri
Face to face & video/phone sessions. After hours.

I am a warm, caring, compassionate and empathetic person. As a Psychologist in Manly Vale, I will be committed to treating you with compassion, care and dignity and dedicated to helping you reach your goals of therapy, whatever that takes. My approach to therapy is person centred where goals and treatment plans are actively guided by your strengths, needs and circumstances. I am passionate about collaborating with you to support and empower you to create positive changes, cope with challenges and difficulties, and improve your wellbeing. I strive to create a strong therapeutic relationship where you feel safe to tell your story in an environment where you feel heard and understood.

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Tom Xia

Experienced Psychologist

Tom Xia Experienced Psychologist

Wed, Fri, Sat
Face to Face Sessions
Video/Phone Sessions

I am an experienced, highly skilled, practical, caring, invested, empathetic, and person-centred psychologist with over 8 years experience helping people..well. In therapy I aim to provide a safe space that helps you open up and explore your thoughts, feelings, your past, circumstances and life difficulties no matter how uncomfortable they are. I will aim for therapy to be experiential for you, practice-based and goal-oriented. Based on your strengths and weaknesses, we can explore and tailor a treatment plan that works for you and help you practice and develop lasting coping strategies that will help you conquer your life challenges.

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Suzanne Carmichael

Experienced Psychologist

Suzanne Carmichael Experienced Psychologist

Tue, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat
Face to face & Video/Phone sessions. After hours.

I am an empathic, thoughtful, person-centred psychologist with over 18 years experience helping people in clinical, counselling and organisational settings cope with difficult situations, at times traumatic situations, to cope, and improve their health, wellbeing and satisfaction with life. I am passionate about helping you work towards what’s important to you in your life and find and commit to direction, purpose and meaning in your life. Warm and caring, I will want to ensure you feel heard and valued.

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Jodie Gibson

Provisional Psychologist

Jodie Gibson Provisional Psychologist

Mon, Wed, Thurs
Face to face & video/phone sessions. After hours.

I am a passionate, warm, empathetic and compassionate Psychologist (full registration due January 2025). If you choose to work with me, I will strive to forge a genuine connection, and value your unique circumstances and challenges. I will be collaborative with you, working together to understand what you want to achieve in therapy, the issues you are struggling with and how we might improve your mental health and wellbeing. I will be committed and enthusiastic about your personal goals, fostering resilience and empowering you to achieve personal growth, as I believe everyone possesses inherent strengths and the potential to thrive.

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Jacob de Wet

Clinical Psychologist

Jacob de Wet Clinical Psychologist

Mon, Tue, Wed, Thurs
Face to face & video/phone sessions. After hours.

I am an extremely compassionate, professional and approachable psychologist, committed to treating you with warmth, care and dignity. I will be guided by your strengths, needs and circumstances to best support and empower you to be able to create positive changes, cope with challenges and difficulties, and improve your wellbeing. For the last 4.5 years, I have worked full-time at ST&A Psychology where I have helped many clients.

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See more of the team

Free 20 Min Video Consult

(Dependent on Availability)

How it works

Smart Match with Your Therapist

Match by personality, experience and a range of preferences to suit your needs. You can also schedule a free introduction video consult/telephone call.

Schedule Sessions face to face or by video/telephone

Book days and times for your sessions via video/telephone or face to face that work for you. Our therapists are ready to work with you to help you achieve your goals of therapy, improve your mental health and satisfaction with life.

Measure your change & Track Your Journey

Measure and track how far you’ve come, changes you’ve made – and how far you can go with your dedicated psychologist, we’re with you every step of the way as you evolve and grow and make changes to achieve what you are working towards.

Claim Medicare or Private Health Rebate

With a GP referral and Mental Health Treatment Plan you can be eligible for a Medicare rebate for 10 psychology sessions per year. Most private health insurers provide between 30-80% rebates on sessions. We process the claim on your behalf at time of session.

Free 20 Min Video Consult

(Dependent on Availability)

What we offer you.

Psychologists available now
A psychologist that’s carefully matched for you.
Saturdays & after hours appointments
Days & times that suit you.
Medicare & Private Health Rebates
Face to face or video/phone sessions from wherever you’re comfortable
Sessions booked in advance at optimum consitency for best results.
Help setting your goals of therapy, track your journey, measure changes made
Our commitment to listen & care with support & compassion & provide value each & every session.

Psychologists available now

A psychologist that's carefully matched for you.

Saturdays & after hours appointments

Days & times that suit you.

Medicare & Private Health Rebates

Face to face or video/phone sessions from wherever you're comfortable

Sessions booked in advance at optimum consitency for best results.

Help setting your goals of therapy, track your journey, measure changes made

Our commitment to listen & care with support & compassion & provide value each & every session.

Unlike other practices with long wait lists, we have psychologists in our team ready to work with you now and help you achieve your goals of therapy.

We understand the importance of getting the fit between you and your psychologist right, thus we’ll take the time to help you work out what you’re struggling with, what you want to change/improve/work on & book you in with the right psychologist based on their skills, experience & therapy style.

We offer sessions on Saturdays and before and after school and work in the mornings and evenings.

With a referral from your GP and a mental health care plan, you may claim up to 10 Medicare rebates per calendar year for 10 sessions. Also, you may claim rebates from your private health insurance.

You may choose to come into our practice, meet our client liaison officers and experience therapy in one of our four therapy rooms and/or have sessions via video/phone in the comfort of your home, office or car.

Based on research of what is the most effective therapy, clients need consistent sessions over a required duration to achieve all their goals of therapy in the most efficient way. Thus we work with you to schedule your appointments weekly to fortnightly in advance at times that suit you.

Based on the research of what is the most effective therapy and what will help you reach your goals of therapy, we’ll help you set specific realistic achievable goals, walk you through how you can achieve them and consistently measure your progress along the way.

Each of our psychologists are committed fully to helping you perceive value from each and every session with care and compassion.

Book an appointment this week.

Free 20 Min Video Consult

(Dependent on Availability)

Results

We’re proud of our clients’achievements.

NB data comes from 625 patients who attended 15 sessions of therapy on average between 2006 and 2023.

83-87% of Clients reduced their symptoms of Depression, Anxiety & Stress as measured by the DASS

73% improved their Satisfaction With Life as measured by the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)

61% of Clients rated therapy as ”Extremely Effective”, 34% “Moderately Effective”, 5% “A Little Effective”, 0% rated “No Effect”.

Goals of therapy achieved.

Progress reported

Percentage of clients reporting they made progress since
commencing therapy.

Symptoms reduced & satisfaction improved.

Clients rating of therapy.

Free 20 Min Video Consult

(Dependent on Availability)

What we can help you with.

Our Manly Psychologists and North Sydney Psychologists help adults, children, parents, adolescents and couples with a mix of presenting issues & challenges

Anxiety Counselling/Treatment

Depression Counselling

Couples Counselling

Child and adolescent therapy

Recovery treatment

Personality Disorders & Interpersonal/Social Issues

ADHD and ADD Counselling

PTSD/Trauma Counselling/Treatment

Free 20 Min Video Consult

(Dependent on Availability)

Other issues, diagnoses and presentations we work with:

Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Anxiety, Specific Phobias, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Social Phobia, Worry, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder. Personality Disorders (Narcissistic, Borderline, Dependent, Obsessional, Paranoid etc.), Problems Relating to others (including couples therapy), Specific Relationship Problems, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Attention difficulties.
Dissatisfaction with life, Sleep problems, Body image issues, Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Pain, Chronic Fatigue.
Addictions and Abuse problems, Child-Parent relational issues, Child Behavioural Problems, Adolescent Issues, Parent Skills Training, Oppositional defiant disorder.
Child parent relational issues.

We also help people with:

Stress management
Self esteem issues and building self worth
Adjustment to life change
Perfectionism
Grief and loss
Procrastination and Improving Motivation
Assertiveness and Emotion management (Anger etc.)
Goal Setting and Achieving
Weight management and physical health
Problem Solving
Bulimia Nervosa
Career and vocational guidance
Sexual orientation
Pain management and psychological effects of physical injuries

Still have questions, not sure who to work with or how we can help?

We’ll call you and have a confidential no commitment chat about what you’re struggling with, what you want help with and want to change, who in our practice might be able to help, how therapy can help and answer any questions you might have.

Counselling for Interpersonal/Social Issues & Personality Disorders

Treatment for Interpersonal/Social Issues & Personality Disorders

Signs & Symptoms of Interpersonal/Social Issues & Personality Disorders

When to seek help?