Citypsych Melbourne

Mia Doumias

Clinical Psychologist MAPS
BA BSW Grad Dip Psych Studies Grad Dip Psychology
Dip Clinical Hypnosis

Mia is a Clinical Psychologist with extensive experience in private practice using a variety of clinical interventions including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, Cognitive Analytic Therapy, Mindfulness interventions, clinical hypnosis, Imaginal Exposure and Insight-oriented psychotherapy. Mia also has a special interest in weight-related issues and sleep problems.

Depression is a common - if unwelcome - part of human experience that can negatively impact a person's life. Some sufferers may be at greater risk if one or both parents suffer depression. Whether or not depression runs in your family, it doesn't have to control your life. In addition to medication, there are many therapies and strategies that can be used to manage depression and keep it under control. We use evidence based interventions such as Mindfulness Training, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Interpersonal Therapy (IT) to treat depression.

Anxiety is helpful for keeping us safe from harm, but many individuals suffer excessive anxiety, particularly in the aftermath of trauma. Severe and chronic anxiety can be stressful and may, though not always culminate in depression. If you experience anxiety or chronic worry you are not alone because anxiety disorders are very common. These include Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Separation Anxiety (children) Social Anxiety Disorder, Phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Various evidence-based therapies and techniques can be used to strategies to manage and reduce anxiety.

We use a number of evidence-based psychological treatments such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Training, Relaxation Training and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to treat anxiety and worry-based problems.

Diet and exercise are central to successful weight loss and psychological skills are helpful to achieving and maintaining weight loss.

Persons with social phobia (also known as social anxiety) have an excessive fear of public humiliation or embarrassment, resulting in avoidance of social events, meetings at work, authority figures and even answering telephone calls and emails. Social anxiety often begins in early childhood and is one of the most common forms of anxiety and can severely impact our careers, happiness and quality of life.

"Fight or flight" panic symptoms are the automatic response of our body to the perception of danger. When panic symptoms such as a racing heart, hyperventilation and light-headedness occur in the absence of danger, they can be very distressing, debilitating and make our lives miserable. When panic attacks occur in particular places or circumstances, they can lead to the future avoidance of such places and circumstances.

Agoraphobia (from the Greek word Agora – market place) often occurs concurrently with panic disorder and is the fear of being in crowded public places and/or open spaces. Essentially, Agoraphobia is the fear that if we need help, help will be unable to reach us, or that we will be unable to escape the crowd due to congestion. Agoraphobia can even occur on freeways during traffic jams.

PTSD symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks and unwanted, intrusive memories in the aftermath of sexual assault, serious injury or the threat of death.

Intimate relationships are an important part of the human experience and when conflict occurs it can be a profound source of stress. If you are dealing with relationship conflict, family violence breakdown or struggling to repair your relationship after infidelity, it may be helpful to seek relationship counselling, either with or without your partner.

Research into both healthy and unhealthy relationships has identified the characteristics and behaviours that are effective for building and maintaining happy and fulfilling relationships. Couples therapy can also help to resolve interpersonal difficulties. Alternatively, it can be helpful to receive objective support if you are contemplating leaving an abusive or unfulfilling relationship.

Grieving is a powerful and unavoidable aspect of human experience and can at times be complicated with other unexpected feelings following the death of a significant person in our lives. Grief and loss counselling can offer a safe and reflective environment that allows this important work to be done.

When children experience problems such as separation anxiety, sleep problems, bullying at school or exhibit challenging behaviour at home, parents often seek the expertise of a psychologist. We can offer support, information, and therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural and Behavioural Therapy to assist children and their parents.

Insomnia is a very common sleep problem affecting a large percentage of people. If you have difficulties in this area and you have previously (or are currently) using medication to help you sleep, you may wish to consider using a range of evidence-based psychological strategies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Relaxation Training as well as several other techniques to find relief from chronic insomnia. Mia has completed training in the "Sleep Better Without Drugs" program and has been successfully treating people with sleep difficulties for many years.

Hypnosis is a particular mental state in which people experience a greater level of concentration, focus and suggestibility. Mia is a Clinical Hypnotherapist with experience using hynotherapy in conjunction with other treatments to address sleep problems, weight loss, smoking-cessation, reducing anxiety, phobias and to potentially enhance performance in a variety of areas.

Coaching involves the use of a range of techniques that have been drawn from the positive psychology field and other disciplines. These techniques are designed to help clients reach goals related to personal or professional growth.

In your first appointment your Psychologist will ask you some general questions about your background and then start to discuss the reason for making the appointment.

Generally the sessions go for 50 minutes.

No you do not need a referral from your doctor to see us unless you would like to claim a rebate from Medicare for our service. Your GP can discuss this with you and if you meet the eligibility criteria for a mental health plan and you arrange this with your doctor you can claim a large proportion of the fee from Medicare.

We offer day, evening and Saturday appointments.