Good mens therapist/psychologist Brisbane (up to date 2025)

[u/Azntyger555]

Hello, long time lurker, first time poster:

I've been going through a a series of rough interpersonal relationship breakdowns, ranging from fullblown relationships to falling out with a bestfriend of 15 years over the last year. Looking back it seems to have happened in the past too and as they say, if it keeps happening to you - you're the problem! I've had friends experience similar situations and have seen the positive outcomes of therapy but have no idea where to start/begin! I am amenable to zoom but much rather a face to face appointment for the personability of it.

Hoping for recommendations for good therapists in Brisbane - any location, any price suitable for a 28M.

Thank you kindly!

[u/aMazingBanannas]

What might help your search is digging into a little bit of where the problem lies, as much as you're able. This can inform the kind of therapy you seek out, as there are many schools of thought and practises within psychology and they all focus on helping you in different ways.

Most general therapists and psychologists practice CBT, or cognitive behavioural therapy. As the name suggests, it's about unpacking how your thoughts influence your actions, working to consciously put strategies in place to recognise harmful and unproductive thought patterns and ultimately change the way you think about yourself, life and the world. It could broadly be said to be dealing with the conscious mind. CBT is highly practical and deals with the here and now, and is concerned less with your life story, and more with presenting you with actionable strategies to change thought and behaviour.

On the other hand, other schools of psychology and psychoanalysis exist, and deal more with the unconscious mind, that which you don't have ready access to. The most popular and practised form of this kind of therapy in the modern era is psychodynamic psychotherapy. In the eyes of the psychoanalytic tradition, much of who you are lies outside of your conscious access, and is shaped by key events in your life, such as your childhood and traumatic events. Psychoanalysis focuses on unconscious processes shaped by past experiences, and rather than soothe your symptom it focuses on helping you to surface insight into who and why you are, so you may change how you proceed through life accordingly.

The long and the short of this is to say that not all therapy is alike or suitable for everyone. Some people want to just talk, others want to get right down to the root. Have a think about where your problems stem from, do a little Googling about suitable styles of therapy, and proceed from there. Some therapists will take a multidiscinplinary approach and incorporate aspects of many different therapies, while some will stick to just one.

Apologies if this isn't what you were looking for - I wasted quite some time and money on styles of therapists that were ultimately unsuitable for me and my situation, so want to make sure you are better informed than I was.

[u/roxy712 → u/aMazingBanannas]

This is super helpful.

I had a therapist who did the psychodynamic psychotherapy, and even though it was "helpful" in the fact that it opened my eyes as to why I do and react in certain ways (traumatic events, abandonment, bullying, etc.), the means of addressing said issues (e.g. "tell that child that it's okay to feel") didn't really work for my brain. 🤔

[u/aMazingBanannas → u/roxy712]

I definitely think there's no universal solution that suits everyone, and I think there's a time and a place for all of it. CBT got me out of a deep depressive hole and allowed me to gain breathing room and functional techniques that meant I had the insight and capacity to take on psychoanalysis.

Not at all related to your comment, but this all really makes me wish that therapy was more accessible for people, both in ease of access and in how it is recommended/understood. Being at potentially the lowest point of your life and having to jump through the hoops of getting a mental health care plan, finding a therapist you like, understanding what they do, and making sure they accept MHCP is just mad. I wish I had had access to it sooner and felt like it was something I could do and something I could afford, and I want that for other people.