Why choose The Cortex Collective?

The Cortex Collective was created in response to the reality of increasing mental health concerns amongst young people and over-burdened, limited access to support for these people, their families and their schools. Amanda is a passionate supporter of the wrap around model and regularly connects with mental, physical and allied health practitioners, school staff, community agencies, support workers, case managers, CYMHS, ChildFIRST/Orange Door and CPS to ensure that her therapeutic work aligns with other engaged and/or future supports.

Niche Counselling Areas
Amanda works with a variety of presentations (see further below) but has several niche areas of expertise which are regularly sought out by GPs, CYMHS and Headspace, and school well-being departments.

1) School Refusal Re-Engagement, and those at risk of refusal or currently with poor attendance.
School Refusal is a complex, often misunderstood term which requires a holistic approach between client, counsellor, family and school to achieve successful outcomes. Amanda can provide a tailored approach using her youth mental health experience combined with her knowledge as a teacher in generalist, specialist, VCE and VCAL (VCE VM from 2023) classrooms with extensive experience working with disengaged youth across a variety of sectors.

2) Neurodiverse support, in particular ASD (lev.1&2), ADHD, AuDHD presentations.
There is a huge demand for individualised services to support neurodivergent young people. Whilst often connected to issues around schooling, there is a myriad of reasons for neurodivergent young folk to attend The Cortex Collective. Amanda’s lived AuDHD neurodivergent experience strongly supports greater connection in which her and the client ‘just get each other’. As a result, her retention of these clients is very high as she understands the nuances of her client’s hopes and needs. Amanda recognises the trauma experienced amongst neurodivergent clients and is trained in somatic psychotherapy to predominantly support this. She is also currently studying mediation with a research focus to improve meditation and mindfulness outcomes for neurodivergent people, an area that is historically refused by many of her clients due to previous neurotypical, non-trauma informed experiences.

Other Presentations That Can Be Seen

• Types of Anxiety
• Types of Depression
• Trauma (depending on presentation may require specialised referral)
• Emotional Dysregulation
• Social Difficulties
• Understanding Self Identity
• Grief and Loss
• Non-Suicidal Self Injury, NSSI (formerly known as self-harm)
• Bullying
• School truancy
• Low self-esteem
• Body Image and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD)

Presentations That Are Not Suitable
The following presentations require specialised care which The Cortex Collective cannot offer:

• Diagnosed eating disorders
• Diagnosed personality disorders
• Psychotic disorders
• Perpetrators of abuse
• Complex LGBTQIA+ issues
• Moderate to severe intellectual disability
• Family Interventions including family therapy, mediation etc.

Therapeutic Modalities
A person-centred model with a strengths focused approach is the most desirable way to achieve outcomes with young people at The Cortex Collective. Knowledge and training are drawn upon from the following:

• Somatic Psychotherapy (trauma)
• CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy)
• SFT (Solution Focused Therapy)
• ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
• DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy)
• Mindfulness and Meditation
• Risk Management – NSSI and Suicide