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Therapy for ADHD, Autism, Learning Differences, and Emotional Wellbeing

Our focus is on helping children develop the skills, confidence, and emotional wellbeing they need to navigate everyday challenges and participate more successfully at home, school, and in the community.


Grounded in a thorough understanding of your child's unique strengths and needs, therapy is evidence-informed, practical, collaborative, and tailored to their developmental stage and individual goals.


Where an assessment has been completed, therapy is informed by a detailed understanding of your child's unique profile, allowing therapy to build on strengths while addressing areas of need.

When therapy may help

Therapy may be appropriate if your child is experiencing:

  • Anxiety, including Selective Mutism and OCD

  • Difficulties with emotional or behavioural self-regulation

  • Social, friendship, or communication difficulties

  • Executive functioning difficulties (e.g. organisation, planning, and impulse control)

For younger children, therapy sessions are often play-based rather than discussion-based. Activities such as drawing, games, imaginative play, role-play, and stories are used to support emotional understanding, skill development, and learning in an engaging and developmentally appropriate way.

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Working together

Parents and carers are essential partners in therapy. Working together helps children develop practical skills while supporting families to better understand their child's unique strengths and needs, and respond with confidence across everyday settings. Therapy extends beyond the consulting room, with strategies designed to support everyday life at home, school, and in the community.

Our approach to therapy

We take a warm, collaborative, strengths-based, and developmentally appropriate approach to therapy. Therapy is individually tailored to each child's strengths, needs, developmental stage, and goals, and may include:

  • Emotional regulation strategies

  • Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and other evidence-informed approaches

  • Executive functioning and self-regulation strategies

  • Social communication and friendship skills

  • Coping strategies for anxiety and stress

  • Parent coaching and guidance

Our goal is to make therapy practical, engaging, and meaningful. Children develop skills that can be applied beyond the therapy room, while parents are supported to reinforce these strategies in everyday life.

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Examples of therapy programs

The most appropriate therapeutic approach or program is selected according to your child's individual strengths, needs, developmental stage, and therapy goals. Programs are tailored to each child and may form part of a broader therapy plan. Parent, and where appropriate teacher, involvement is an important part of many of these programs. We offer a range of structured, evidence-informed programs:

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A cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) program designed to help children (3-6 years; 7-12 years) better understand and manage anxiety. It focuses on building practical coping strategies and reducing avoidance.

Cool Kids Program
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A structured, skills-based program that supports children (8-12 years) in developing social understanding, emotional awareness, and friendship skills.

Secret Agent Society (SAS)
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A program designed to improve emotion recognition and emotion-based social understanding in children (5-12 years).

Westmead Feelings Program
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A structured, skills-based program to support children (4-12 years) to build emotional awareness, social problem-solving skills, and appropriate social behaviour in everyday situations.

Socially ME
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A play-based program designed to support early social-emotional development and foundational interaction skills (3-6 years).

Play and Learn Skills (PALS)
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A structured framework that helps children develop emotional awareness and self-regulation skills for everyday life.

Zones of Regulation
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An evidence-based program designed to improve working memory, attention, and cognitive control skills, which may support learning and classroom functioning.

COGMED Working Memory Training

What therapy looks like

Therapy is tailored to each child's individual needs and focuses on developing practical skills that support meaningful, real-world change over time. Therapy typically involves:

Initial consultation to understand your child's strengths, needs, and goals

Regular 1:1 sessions tailored to your child's individual needs

Regular review of progress and adjustment of therapy strategies

Collaboration with parents and, where appropriate, schools

Not sure if therapy is right?

If you are unsure whether therapy or assessment is the best place to start, we're happy to discuss your concerns and help guide you towards the most appropriate next step.

Enquire About a Therapy Session

Whether you are ready to book or simply have questions about whether therapy is the right fit, we would be happy to discuss your concerns.

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Acknowledgement of Country

​Dickson Psychology acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work and live, and pays our respects to Elders past and present. We extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.​​​

Please note: The content on this website is not intended to be, nor should it be relied on as, a substitute to the obtaining of professional advice. No warranties or representations regarding the quality, accuracy or fitness for purpose of any content on this site are made. Any person accessing this site shall have no right to seek any compensation for any loss or damage from any party associated with the site.

Phone:  (02) 6100 7383

Suite F1/25 Dickson Chambers, Dickson Pl, Dickson ACT 2602

Monday to Friday: 9am – 5pm

Limited Saturday appointments available.

(02) 6247 2727

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