Dr Chris Westinghouse

Chris is a Clinical and Forensic Neuropsychotherapist and a Registered Counsellor who deals with a wide variety of mental health issues; from the day-to-day stresses of lifestyle and living to the more debilitating conditions that rob patients of their enjoyment of a fulfilled and self-directed life.

As a Psychopathologist he is alert to more serious disorders and makes referrals to specialists where necessary. Chris is currently working on an MSc in Clinical Psychiatry, but prefers working as a Psychotherapist and Counsellor. He is a certified Applied Neuroscience Practitioner and his practice is informed by neuroscience.

He began his work in the psychology field thirty years ago in South Africa but never practiced, doing many other things, including political work promoting South Africa's transition to democracy from within the Government, serving as a Presidential spokesperson, being Chief of Staff for Communications in the Ministry of Defence, and serving as global GM for Marketing and Communications of the prestigious BoE.

He left South Africa 20 years ago and has lived in Australia since 2006. He returned to the mental health arena in 2015.

Chris works with individuals and couples of all ages, and describes his practice as 'a little bit of 'kiss-it-better' and a lot of 'so what are we going to do about it?'

Do I need a doctor to give me a referral to see you?

No, you don't.

What does a psychotherapist / counsellor actually do?

There's a lot of confusion about what a psychotherapist does, what a counsellor does, what a psychologist does, and what a psychiatrist or psychopathologist does. In common language we're all referred to as 'shrinks.'   We work in different ways, though there is a bit of an overlap. We're all involved in providing mental health care of one kind or another.

I'm a psychotherapist and a counsellor, and what people like me do is often described as 'talk therapy.' I'm not a registered psychologist or a psychiatrist. More particularly, I am a neuropsychotherapist, sometime referred to as a reconstructive psychotherapist, because a lot of what I do is aimed at changing the way different parts of your brain talk to each other. These are not things you need to know - they are things that I need to know in order to be helpful to you.

People usually try to solve their own problems, but sometimes they just can't get it right, no matter how hard they try. Often they don't even know how to define 'what's wrong,' or where to start. That's usually when they come to see a professional. Therapy may take a few weeks and a few therapy sessions, but it often takes much longer to achieve the desired results.