We currently have two qualified and experienced private psychiatrists working with us. Each of our psychiatrists has been chosen to work at Fillan for the strengths they bring to our team. We all specialise in different areas and our clinicians are fluent in a number of languages, please read our clinicians biographies to find the right person for you.
Not in Auckland? No problems, we are able to offer Skype appointments.
Understanding ADD / ADHD in adults
Both Adult Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) are gaining greater recognition as disorders that can negatively influence adult functioning (much as they do in children). Our clinic has gained a reputation of providing high quality expert assessment and treatment of Adult forms of this disorder. If you are concerned that you may have either of these disorders, we can help assess and discuss treatment options if indicated.
Life can be a balancing act for any adult, but if you find yourself constantly late, disorganized, forgetful, and overwhelmed by your responsibilities, you may have ADD/ADHD. Attention deficit disorder affects many adults, and its wide variety of frustrating symptoms can hinder everything from your relationships to your career. But help is available—and learning about ADD/ADHD is the first step. Once you understand the challenges, you can learn to compensate for areas of weakness and start taking advantage of your strengths.
Attention deficit disorder is not just a problem in children. If you were diagnosed with childhood ADD/ADHD, chances are, you’ve carried at least some of the symptoms into adulthood. But even if you were never diagnosed with ADD/ADHD as a child, that doesn’t mean you can’t be affected by it as an adult.
Attention deficit disorder often goes unrecognized throughout childhood. This was especially common in the past, when very few people were aware of ADD/ADHD. Instead of recognizing your symptoms and identifying the real issue, your family, teachers, or other parents may have labeled you a dreamer, a goof-off, a slacker, a troublemaker, or just a bad student.
Alternately, you may have been able to compensate for the symptoms of ADD/ADHD when you were young, only to run into problems as your responsibilities increase. The more balls you’re trying to keep in the air—pursuing a career, raising a family, running a household—the greater the demand on your abilities to organize, focus, and remain calm. This can be challenging for anyone, but if you have ADD/ADHD, it can feel downright impossible.
The good news is that, no matter how it feels, the challenges of attention deficit disorder are beatable. With education, support, and a little creativity, you can learn to manage the symptoms of adult ADD/ADHD—even turning some of your weaknesses into strengths. It’s never too late to turn the difficulties of adult ADD/ADHD around and start succeeding on your own terms.
Depression, Anxiety & Alcohol
Concerned about depression, anxiety & alcohol? Depression, anxiety and stress all intertwine and can impact on functioning significantly. People cope in different ways and one way is through alcohol. If you or or family are concerned about the amount that you drink, then it is possible you maybe suffering from depression or anxiety.
If so we will be able to help you.
Stress
Many of us who are leading busy lives struggle at times to focus and manage our attention due to all the distractions that we have.
Our modern 21st Century life has many distractions vying for our attention with the many platforms for communication being a good example. How many times have you dealt with simultaneous text conversations, email conversations and real time conversations at once?
If you have said to yourself ‘I wish there were more hours in the day’ you are at danger of being overloaded with stress.
Stress is a physiological response the mind/body has in response to any emotional, physical or environmental stressor that we encounter. We are programmed to do this as organisms and within the short term it is a beneficial survival response.
When faced with a threat the body releases stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) with increases the heart rate and causes blood pressure to rise. There is also an increase in blood glucose, an increase in blood lipid levels and an increase in protein breakdown of muscle and connective tissue into glucose for energy. These are all part of the flight or fight response and prime our body for action.
Chronic stress can have a negative impact on the body in association with these changes, it can lead to high blood pressure, insulin resistance due to constant high blood glucose, an increase in emotional responses (rather than thought out logical responses and decreased concentration. The decrease in serotonin levels and increase in adrenalin levels can lead to anxiety and depression.
This means that people who are chronically stressed can be irritable; suffer from mood changes, tension headaches, decreased sex drive, appetite changes and chronic fatigue.
Depression
When emptiness and despair take hold and won’t go away, it may be depression. More than just the temporary “blues,” the lows of depression make it tough to function and enjoy life.
Depression can make you feel helpless, hopeless, or empty and numb; but there’s a lot you can do to change how you feel. With help and support, you can overcome depression and get your life back.
The key to recovery is to start small and take things one day at a time.
Feeling better takes time, but you can get there if you make positive choices for yourself each day and draw on the support of others.
Family and friends are often the first line of defense in the fight against depression. That’s why it’s important to understand the signs and symptoms of depression. You may notice the problem in a depressed loved one before he or she does, and your influence and concern can motivate that person to seek help.
There’s a natural impulse to want to fix the problems of people we love, but you can’t control a loved one’s depression. If you think that someone you know has depression, you might fear that if you bring up your worries he or she will get angry, feel insulted, or ignore your concerns. You may be unsure what questions to ask or how to be supportive.
If you don’t know where to start, the following suggestions may help. But remember that being a compassionate listener is much more important than giving advice. Encourage the depressed person to talk about his or her feelings, and be willing to listen without judgment.
Don’t expect a single conversation to be the end of it. Depressed people tend to withdraw from others and isolate themselves. You may need to express your concern and willingness to listen over and over again. Be gentle, yet persistent.
Depression can be a debilitating illness and it’s treatment may involve medication, talking therapy or a combination of the two.
Anxiety
If you identify with several of the following signs and symptoms, and they just won’t go away, you may be suffering from an anxiety disorder.
- Are you constantly tense, worried, or on edge?
- Does your anxiety interfere with your work, school, or family responsibilities?
- Are you plagued by fears that you know are irrational, but can’t shake?
- Do you believe that something bad will happen if certain things aren’t done a certain way?
- Do you avoid everyday situations or activities because they cause you anxiety?
- Do you experience sudden, unexpected attacks of heart-pounding panic?
- Do you feel like danger and catastrophe are around every corner?
Anxiety is the unpleasant feeling of fear that we all have experienced at some point in our lives. It is becomes a disorder when it is frequent and becomes overwhelming.
The physical effects of anxiety may include a fast heart rate, heart palpitations, tension, nausea, chest pain, tension headaches and shortness of breath.
As the body prepares to deal with the perceived threat blood pressure, heart rate, perspiration and blood flow to the major muscles groups is increased. External signs of anxiety may include sweating, trembling and pallor.
For someone who suffers from anxiety this may lead to a panic attack during which the person feels as though they are dying or losing control.
There are six major types of anxiety disorders, each with their own distinct symptom profile: generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder (anxiety attacks), phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and social anxiety disorder.
Treatment may involve medication, talking therapy or a combination of the two.
Services
Our Mantra: We offer the best comprehensive treatment options for all your mental health needs.
We offer a variety of services (including Skype Consultations)
Whether it be a one off consultation to formulate a management plan for your general practitioner to follow or a more in depth comprehensive series of appointments involving both psychologist and psychiatric input, we are happy to see you at our dedicated clinic in St Heliers.
1. Depression and Anxiety
Research has shown that approximately 95% of people will respond to a combined psychological and medical approach. Our clinic specialises in depression, anxiety and alcohol use disorders and we will work with you to formulate a management plan that will offer you the best treatment.
2. Adult ADHD/ADD assessments
Please see our dedicated adhd page on this website for more information.
3. Skype Consultations
In recognition of the growing interest in telepsychiatry, we offer Skype consultations for initial appointments and follow up appointments.
4. Maladaptive Coping Strategies
Modern life is stressful as there are constant competing demands for our time and our attention. We all have our own coping strategies for when things get stressful and sometimes these can be destructive to our physical health, realtionships or jobs. We specialise in helping people cope effectively with difficulties they face and we can help you to work on reducing or changing any behaviours that may be causing you problems.
5. Court Reports
We are finding increasing demand for court reports and this is an area that we can help you with should you require.
Our clinicians can offer urgent appointments (within 48 hours) and uses a transcription service that offers overnight typing. This means that you can have a draft report within 72 hours of referral (and often quicker than this).
6. Supervision
All of our therapists offer professional supervision to fellow clinicians who require supervision as part of their continuing professional development.
