Psychologists treating insomnia and other persistent sleep difficulties, for children with their parents, teenagers, adults and athletes. We work on the habits, timing, worry and routines that keep poor sleep going, and with your GP where a medical cause needs checking first.
Sleep is part of a bigger picture? See psychological therapy, concussion or children and adolescents.
Mental health treatment plan referrals for insomnia and related sleep difficulties are welcome. We check with you that medical causes are covered, and send a letter after the initial course of sessions and at review.
Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is the first-line treatment in Australian guidance, and Better Access rebates apply with a mental health treatment plan.
We are not a sleep-medicine service. Suspected sleep apnoea, restless legs, narcolepsy or a medical cause of poor sleep need medical assessment first; we are glad to work alongside that care.
Online referral form or email, with the treatment plan attached and any sleep study result; every referral is acknowledged on receipt.
Persistent poor sleep can have medical causes, including sleep apnoea, restless legs, pain, thyroid conditions and some medications. If you snore heavily, stop breathing in your sleep, or are very sleepy through the day, see your GP first; a sleep study may be needed. We do not diagnose or treat those causes, and we work alongside the doctors who do. This is a planned service, not crisis care: if you are not safe right now, call 000, or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
A first conversation about your nights, your daily routine, light and activity, your health, and what has changed, usually with a sleep diary and a short questionnaire. For a child, this conversation is with parents; for a teenager, with both.
With your consent, we let your GP know about anything that needs medical review before the plan starts.
For insomnia, cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia, a structured programme with set components that Australian and international guidelines recommend ahead of sleeping medication. For a body clock out of step, regular sleep timing and the use of light and activity to shift it. For children, routines built with parents. For athletes, sleep planned around training, travel and competition.
Sessions are 50 minutes, weekly or fortnightly to begin with. We measure progress against your own sleep diary, adjust the plan, write to your GP where you were referred, and finish with a plan for what to do if sleep slips again.
Sleep is a particular focus of Elie Walsh's practice. Our other psychologists also treat insomnia as part of therapy for sleep and adjustment. Qualifications and AHPRA registration are on the team page.
Psychologist · Clinical Neuropsychology Registrar
Doctoral research at Monash University on sleep regularity and circadian alignment for mental health and performance, carried out with elite Australian sporting teams. Works with children, teenagers, adults and athletes. Elie Walsh's profile
No referral is needed. A 50-minute session is charged at the clinician's hourly rate of $250 to $290. Payment is taken before the appointment, and Medicare rebates are processed for you within two business days. Fees and policies.
A mental health treatment plan from your GP, paediatrician or psychiatrist brings Better Access rebates for up to ten sessions a calendar year, reviewed by your GP after six. Current rebate figures are on the fees page.
We work with the NDIS for plan- and self-managed participants where sleep treatment is a support in the plan, and with DVA, WorkCover Queensland and motor accident insurers where it is part of an accepted claim.
No. A sleep clinic or sleep physician investigates medical causes such as sleep apnoea, often with a sleep study. We treat the psychological and behavioural side of sleep: the habits, timing, worry and routines that keep insomnia going once any medical cause has been checked. The two often work together.
We do not prescribe or change medication; that stays with your doctor. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is recommended ahead of sleeping medication, and many people use it to rely less on tablets over time, in a plan agreed with their GP.
Often it is a body-clock pattern rather than insomnia: the sleep drive arrives late and the morning arrives too early, which is common in adolescence and made worse by late light and irregular weekends. Treatment works on timing, light and routine and, with your consent, we can speak with the school.
Yes, with parents doing much of the work between sessions: bedtime routines, settling, night waking and the worries that show up at bedtime. For babies and toddlers, start with your child health nurse or GP.
Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia is usually a short, structured course, and body-clock work is often shorter again. Where sleep is tangled up with anxiety, ADHD or a recent injury, it may be part of longer work. We review progress against your sleep diary and tell you what we expect.
Tell us what your nights look like and how long it has been going on. We reply within two working days, with a first appointment or with a suggestion to see your GP first.
Prefer to start by email? Write to enquiry at brainandmind.com.au. Referring doctor? Make a referral. Phone enquiries are welcome during business hours on 0452 452 262.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, guidance on the assessment and management of insomnia in general practice, which recognises cognitive and behavioural therapy for insomnia as a first-line treatment; Sleep Health Foundation, consumer information on insomnia, adolescent sleep and healthy sleep; MBS Online, Better Access items for psychological therapy.
