Grace is a registered psychologist specialising on the impact of ADHD on families. She works with children of all ages, their parents and families, as well as partners of individuals with ADHD.
As a parent to a child with ADHD, she recognised the need for greater knowledge and education about the condition and the need for interventions that target not only the individual but the family as a whole.
Grace is skilled in a range of therapeutic approaches including Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, and Acceptance Commitment Therapy. She mostly adopts an eclectic approach – understanding each client as unique with their own particular presentation and then selecting from evidence-based techniques across different approaches in order to help the client develop a better understanding of their challenges and grow in a personally meaningful way.
Grace is the author of What Lies Beneath Matters, a series of self-help workbooks for children and adults with ADHD, as well as for parents. Her co-author is her daughter, GP Madalena Bennett.
OnTrac, developed by Grace, is a CBT-based group program originally designed for Tweens and Teens with ADHD, which now encompasses all ages. These programs are delivered through ADHD WA in collaboration with third-year medical students from UWA who choose OnTrac as their Services Learning Project.
Safe Zone Counselling provides professional and personalised Individual Counselling Sessions with Grace da Camara, a registered psychologist with 10 years of experience in the field of ADHD. Grace specialises in all ADHD-related issues and co-occurring conditions in children and adults. She also works with parents of children with ADHD.
Grace is currently offering individual counselling sessions as telehealth appointments via Zoom. Simply email Grace to book your individual counselling session today: SZcounselling@gmail.com
Research highlights high rates of co-occurring mental health and learning disorders among people with ADHD; comorbidity occurs in more than two out of three people with the disorder.
Common comorbid conditions in children include disorders of mood, conduct, learning, motor control and communication, ASD, social communication disorders, and anxiety disorders and the relative risk for these disorders persists into adulthood. ADHD is also associated with a greater risk for substance use disorders later in life.
About 20% of individuals diagnosed with ADHD also meet the criteria for a tic disorder, and about 55% of individuals with Tourette Syndrome have comorbid ADHD.
In adults, personality disorders, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and substance misuse commonly occur with ADHD. Within a clinically referred sample, psychiatric comorbidity was found to be more common in the combined and inattentive subtypes.
Children and adolescents with ADHD are more likely to experience accidental injuries, academic difficulties, conduct problems, and peer and familial problems. Adolescents are also more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour. Adults with ADHD have higher rates of employment and budgeting problems, relationship problems, self-harm, suicidal ideation and attempts, incarcerations, and hospitalisations.
ADHD in adults is associated with high levels of couple dissatisfaction and distress, including greater levels of conflict, violence, and divorce. These problems seem to specifically stem from impaired interpersonal behaviours and other social difficulties related to risk-taking behaviour and poor planning (e.g. driving and managing money).
Alcohol and substance use disorders involve changes in brain chemistry that create a dependence on the substance being used. People with these conditions may experience dependence, withdrawal symptoms, and impairments in their personal or work lives that are related to substance use.
Anger is a natural, instinctive response to threats. Some anger is necessary for our survival. However, anger becomes a problem when you have trouble controlling it, causing you to say or do things you regret. Uncontrolled anger is bad for your physical and mental health. It can also quickly escalate to verbal or physical violence, harming you and those around you.
Often, anxiety disorders involve repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes (panic attacks). However, people with anxiety disorders frequently have intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a condition related to brain development that impacts how a person perceives and socialises with others, causing problems in social interaction and communication. The disorder also includes limited and repetitive patterns of behaviour. The term "spectrum" in autism spectrum disorder refers to the wide range of symptoms and severity.
Bullying may seriously affect the mental health and well-being of children and youth. Bullying is when a person repeatedly and deliberately hurts someone else. Children and youth who are bullied over time are more likely than those not bullied to experience depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. They also are more likely to be lonely and want to avoid school. There are many ways that parents and youth-serving adults can help address bullying.
There are different types of depression; each of them has specific symptoms and might have different options for treatment. Symptoms may include lingering sadness, despair, lack of energy, and emotional numbness. You might also experience depression as a thick fog that leaves you feeling empty, exhausted, and entirely unlike yourself. Though they can become overwhelming, depression symptoms are manageable and treatable. Learning more about major depressive disorder can help you shine a light through the fog.
Gambling disorder involves repeated, problem gambling behaviour. The behaviour leads to problems for the individual, families and society. Adults and adolescents with gambling disorder have trouble controlling their gambling. People with gambling disorder can have periods where symptoms subside. The gambling may not seem a problem in between periods of more severe symptoms. Gambling disorder tends to run in families. Symptoms can begin as early as adolescence or as late as older adulthood. Men are more likely to start at a younger age. Women are more likely to start later in life.
Though our need to connect is innate, many of us frequently feel alone. Loneliness is the state of distress or discomfort that results when one perceives a gap between one’s desires for social connection and actual experiences of it. Even when you are surrounded by others throughout the day or are in a long-lasting marriage, you may still experience pervasive loneliness. Research suggests that loneliness poses serious threats to well-being as well as long-term physical health.
Online environments bring many positive benefits for identity, education, social connection, creativity and communication. However, there is potential harm when not used responsibly. There is growing concern about the amount of time children spend online, the type of material they can access, the personal information and images they share with people (particularly with strangers), and the risks of being harmed by people they come into contact with online. Being aware of potential sources of harm and knowing some strategies to use with children are important ways parents can help their children to stay safe online.
Disagreements and conflict occur in most close relationships. However, chronic relationship conflict and stress is a serious issue. It has been linked to poorer mental and physical wellbeing and can affect other areas of life such as relationships with family and friends, and work colleagues. Children also suffer when exposed to high levels of conflict at home, and are at greater risk for anxiety, depression, behavioural problems and poorer health. Learning effective and respectful ways to communicate differences is an important step in building a healthy, fulfilling relationship, and which can benefit our overall wellbeing and those around us.
This objectification of girls and pressure to fit into society’s can affect their psychological development and mental health. These start when girls are very young, and not all of them are healthy messages. Girls get many messages about how they should look and behave. It is important to help girls develop a positive self-image and good self- esteem, value themselves and learn to question messages that sexualise or objectify girls and women.
Sleep disorders affect the quality and amount of sleep you get. The symptoms usually involve distress during the daytime and can interfere with your ability to function in day-to-day life, especially in your ability to concentrate. Important to note that what ‘a good night’s sleep’ means for one person might be different for another. Some people might need more than 8 hours of sleep to feel rested while other people might need less. Good sleep hygiene is one of the soft approaches to managing sleep problems.
Sigmund Freud
Grace da Camara | Registered Psychologist SZCounselling@gmail.com M: +61 433 908 802
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