Life transitions are significant changes that alter a person’s roles, relationships, routines, or identity. They may be anticipated (retirement, becoming a parent) or unexpected (job loss, divorce, health diagnosis). All transitions involve loss as well as possibility — and many people underestimate the psychological demands of even desired changes (Schlossberg, 2011).
Common transitions we support include:
A life transition may benefit from support when you experience:
Adjustment disorder — a clinically significant emotional or behavioural response to an identifiable stressor — affects up to 35% of people experiencing major life events (American Psychiatric Association, 2022).
Major transitions disrupt the four key resources that support psychological wellbeing: situation (circumstances), self (identity), support (relationships), and strategies (coping repertoire) (Schlossberg, 2011). When multiple resources are affected simultaneously — as is common in major transitions — psychological distress often follows.
Effective support addresses:
Narrative therapy and ACT are particularly well-suited to identity reconstruction and meaning-making during major transitions (White & Epston, 1990).
Our psychologists use approaches tailored to the specific demands of life transition:
Helps clients accept the losses inherent in transition while clarifying what matters most and committing to values-based action in the new chapter. ACT is particularly effective for the identity disruption and existential questions that arise during major life changes (Hayes et al., 2012).
Supports people in re-authoring their story — understanding the transition as part of a broader life narrative and constructing a coherent, meaningful identity across the change. Particularly useful for retirement, role loss, and post-trauma transition (White & Epston, 1990).
Addresses the cognitive appraisals (catastrophising, all-or-nothing thinking about the future) and behavioural responses (avoidance, withdrawal) that amplify distress during transition (Casey, 2014).
Many transitions involve grief — for a relationship, a role, a version of the future, or a part of the self. Our psychologists are experienced in supporting grief across all its forms, including anticipatory grief and ambiguous loss.
Treatment is tailored to your specific transition, its personal meaning, and what you need to move forward.
Your first appointment explores the nature of your transition, what you’ve lost, what is shifting, and where you want to land.
We work collaboratively — drawing on your strengths, values, and support network alongside clinical skills.
Many people navigating life transitions benefit from 8–16 sessions. Some transitions — particularly complex grief or identity reconstruction — benefit from longer work.
We offer appointments in-clinic at our Mooroolbark, Wheelers Hill, Reservoir, and Melbourne CBD locations, as well as Telehealth sessions from anywhere in Australia.
WorkCover, NDIS or TAC approved? YOU PAY NOTHING.
If your claim has been approved, we bill your funder directly. Zero out-of-pocket cost — no gap, no upfront payment, nothing.
Transitions are hard. You don’t have to find your way through alone.
Our psychologists are trained in a wide range of evidence-based approaches across many presentations. Browse our full directory of conditions and therapies we work with.
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). APA. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787
Casey, P. (2014). Adjustment disorder: New developments. Current Psychiatry Reports, 16(6), 451. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-014-0451-2
Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K. G. (2012). Acceptance and commitment therapy: The process and practice of mindful change (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Schlossberg, N. K. (2011). The challenge of change: The transition model and its applications. Journal of Employment Counseling, 48(4), 159–162. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1920.2011.tb01102.x
White, M., & Epston, D. (1990). Narrative means to therapeutic ends. W. W. Norton & Company.
