Dr Rachel CallaghaN

Areas of Support

Broadly speaking, psychologists are trained to work with a variety of psychological conditions and the factors that inform this. When working with a client, a part of the psychologist's role is evaluating their suitability for a client's identified support need/s. Where another clinician may be better suited to support the client, a psychologist will discuss any recommendations for on-referral with the client. Our team has experience in a range of clinical concerns and /or support needs. Examples of this include, but are not limited to:

• Mood (e.g., adjustment, depressive, bipolar and schizoaffective disorders)
• Anxiety (e.g., generalised anxiety, separation anxiety, phobias)
• Neurodevelopmental Matters (e.g., Autism, ADHD)
• Cognition & Learning (e.g., intellectual and/or developmental concerns, learning difficulties)
• Grief, Loss & Bereavement
• Stress-Related Concerns (e.g., burnout, relationship breakdown, employment-related and/or job loss, communication skills, navigating interpersonal challenges, conflict resolution)
• Posttraumatic Stress (e.g., PTSD, acute stress)
• Personality Disorders (e.g., BPD)
• Psychotic Disorders (e.g., schizophrenia and related concerns)
• Chronic Pain & Health-Related Matters (e.g., managing wellbeing concurrent with physical conditions, pain management, sleep hygiene)
• Parent Support (incl. pregnancy, birth, attachment, and child-development related matters)
• Substance-Use & Related Concerns

In addition to providing supervision and support for our clinical team, Rachel enjoys working with individuals, groups and organisations to learn more about psychology and/or upskill in relevant areas by offering training and professional development. She also values involvement in preventative initiatives and draws from principles of positive psychology, resilience and mindfulness to develop the skills of the people and stakeholders that she works with. 

Therapeutic Models & Intervention Frameworks

• CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
• DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy)
• ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
• IPT (Interpersonal Therapy)
• PMT (Parent-Management Training)
• SFT (Solution-Focused Therapy) & Motivational Interview
• Mindfulness & Positive Psychology
• Play-Based Therapy
• Creative & Expressive Therapies/Approaches

Assessment Services

Psychologists are trained to assess for clinical concerns, some of which can pertain to diagnostic conditions as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fifth edition, text revision (DSM-V-TR, 2022). However some assessment queries require additional training and resources (i.e., psychometric measures) to evaluate and assess. At Ability, we have a broad range of diagnostic testing tools and measures available to evaluate many, common assessment queries. Our team can offer assessments including but not limited to:

• Assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD, Autism) (All Ages. Administration of Relevant Measures e.g., ADOS-2, MIGDAS-2, ADI-R, Sensory Profile, clinical observation)
• Assessment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (All Ages. Administration of Relevant Measures e.g., Conners Scales, DIVA-5)
• Assessment of Intellectual Ability, Cognition, Executive Function and Learning (All Ages. Administration of Relevant Measures e.g.,  Wechsler Intelligence Scales, Tests of Nonverbal Intelligence, ToPF, MoCA, BRIEF-2, achievement-testing)
• Assessment of Adaptive Behaviour and Functional Capacity (All Ages. Administration of Relevant Measures e.g.,  ABAS-3, Vinelands, WHODAS 2.0)
• Assessment of Memory (All ages. WMS-IV)
• Other diagnostic evaluation of psychological concerns and/or disorders (DSM-V-TR)