When: Wednesdays 9:30am – 2:30pm

Throughout this program you will explore a range of skills and topics based on the philosophy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT is an evidence based therapy which uses mindfulness techniques and other skills with an emphasis on working with your core values to improve your wellbeing.

The program will help you to:

• Develop skills of mindfulness
• Identify, clarify and live in alignment with your values
• Respond skilfully to challenging thoughts, emotions or situations in a way that aligns with your values
• Navigate belief about yourself
• Navigate thoughts and emotions
• Develop skills to manage urges to prevent relapse and
• support recovery
• Develop directional purpose an commitment towards
• living a valued and meaningful life.

The program runs for 12 weeks and is a closed group. Commitment to the program is expected. Commencement start dates can be discussed with our day program team.

When: Fridays: 9:30am - 2:30pm

This program provides a safe and affirming space for individuals from the LGBTQIA+ community to work on improving and maintaining their mental health and well-bring. The Program is recovery focused and specifically addresses the unique challenges faced by indivisuals who identify as LGBTQIA+, using a combination of psychoeducation, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and Psychodrama, with a strengths Based Approach.

This program will help you to:

• Increase understanding of the impact of minority stress and internalised stigma on mood and addiction
• Develop coping strategies and skills tailored to the LGBTQIA+ community
• Reduce risk of relapse
• Improve mental health and well being
• Enhance self-awareness and self-acceptance
• Improve communication and interpersonal skills
• Strengthen sense of community and belonging within the LGBTQIA+ recovery community.

When: Thursdays 9:30am – 2:30pm

This program aims to provide a safe and confidential space for men to come together in a supportive environment. Throughout this program you will explore a range of topics designed to encourage vulnerability, build mental resilience and to improve and foster relationships with yourself and others.

The content of this program is derived from a range of therapeutic backgrounds with an emphasis on strengths, interpersonal effectiveness, values and self-identity in recovery.

The program will help you to:

• Share and manage emotions
• Develop a sense of self-identity
• Develop the man you want to be
• Improve relationships with self and others
• Explore coping behaviours that may impact on your relationships
• Be able to ask for and accept support
• Explore grief and loss in recovery
• Improve communication.

The program runs for 6 months and is an open group where patients can join at any time. We encourage peer support and the program facilitator ensures a safe and therapeutic environment

When: Wednesday: 9:30am - 2:30pm

This program is suitable for adults experiencing a broad range of mental health concerns or past addiction.

CFR integrates compassion focused methods from Dr Kristin Neff’s Mindful self-compassion program and Dr Pual Gilbert’s Compassion Focused Therapy. The overarching foal of CFR is to address shame and self-criticism. CFR draws upon traditional Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Buddhist Psychology and Neuroscience. CFR blends psychoeducation with skills-based approach, designed to enhance the ability to apply self-compassion to both self and others and subsequently challenge unhelpful thought and behavioural patterns and regulate emotions effectively.

This program will help you to:

• Understanding the relationship between compassion and mental health.
• Understanding neuroplasticity and the benefits in changing one’s cognitive and behavioural experience.
• Developing Mindfulness skills
• Enhancing insight re: past and present experience, and opportunities for change.
• Developing the practice of self-kindness and self-compassion.
• Letting go of the inner critic.
• Understanding Emotional Regulatory Systems (Threat, Drive, Soothing).
• Identification of negative/ unhelpful thoughts. Addressing unhelpful thoughts via restructuring or defusion.
• Connecting with values and behaving in a way that is aligned with one’s values (committed action).
• Cultivating balance.
• Enhancing communication and relationships by instilling a compassionate

When: Wednesdays 9:30am – 2:30pm

This program provides an introduction to Dialectical Behavioural Therapy. This eight week program is a pre-requisite to the 6 month and 12 month DBT day programs. It introduces the fundamental principles of DBT, orienting to the language of DBT and setting expectations for the more comprehensive DBT programs.

The program covers:

• Introduction to Dialectical Behavioural Therapy
• Understanding difficult emotions and unhelpful coping behaviours
• Basic skills to tolerate emotional distress
• Mindfulness as a fundamental part of DBT
• Introduction to dialectics

The program runs for 8 weeks and is a closed group. Commitment to the program is expected.

When: Fridays 9:30am – 2:30pm

Throughout this skills based program, participants will cover the four core principles of Dialectical Behavioural Therapy over three modules. Modules cover Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation and Distress Tolerance, each beginning with two weeks of core mindfulness skills.

The program helps you to:

• Develop skills to regulate emotions
• Develop skills to tolerate emotional distress
• Communicate your needs effectively
• Increase self-awareness through the practice of mindfulness

The program runs for 6 months and is a closed group, however participants can join at the beginning of each module. Commitment to the program is expected. Commencement start dates can be discussed with our day program team.

When: Wednesday 10:00am – 3:00pm.

Throughout this skills based program, participants will cover the four core principles of Dialectical Behavioural Therapy over three modules. Modules cover Interpersonal Effectiveness, Emotion Regulation and Distress Tolerance, each beginning with two weeks of core mindfulness skills.

The program will help you to:

• Develop skills to regulate emotions
• Develop skills to tolerate emotional distress
• Communicate your needs effectively
• Increase self-awareness through the practice of mindfulness.

The program runs for 12 months and is a closed group, however participants can join at the beginning of each module. Commitment to the program is expected. Commencement start dates can be discussed with our day program team.

When: Tuesdays 9:30am – 2:30pm

This program aims to support people in improving and maintaining their mental health by providing psycho education, awareness and practical skills for managing mental health related symptoms. The program incorporates a number of therapeutic approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness.

The program will help you to:

• Develop effective coping skills
• Challenge your negative thinking
• Set boundaries and be assertive
• Communicate more effectively
• Cope with change
• Identify and manage emotions
• Look at your recovery holistically
• Explore your values
• Manage stress
• Move forward in your recovery

The program runs for 12 weeks. This program is an open group where patients can join at any time. We encourage peer support and the program facilitator ensures a safe and therapeutic environment.

Mental Health Day Program

When: Wednesdays 9:30am – 2:30pm

This program aims to support young people (ages 18-25 years) in improving and maintaining their mental health by providing psycho education, awareness and practical skills for managing mental health related symptoms. The program incorporates a number of evidence-based therapeutic approaches. Given the unique needs of this population, this program is specifically tailored to support young adults in creating a meaningful life through social connectedness.

The program will help you to:

• Develop effective coping skills
• Understand and manage anxiety and depressive symptoms
• Build awareness of barriers to social engagement and connection
• Communicate more effectively (i.e. set boundaries or enhance relationships)
• Cope with change
• Understand and manage emotions
• Explore your values
• Better cope with impacts of social media on mental health
• Support the development of a healthy identity and gain greater self-awareness

The program runs for 12 weeks. This program is an open group where patients can join at any time. We encourage peer support and the program facilitator ensures a safe and therapeutic environment.

When: Mondays 9:30am – 2:30pm

This program aims to support people in making change or maintaining abstinence from substance use. The program incorporates Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy to provide therapeutic intervention, psychoeducation and skills training. The program’s approach will be trauma informed and underpinned by the Strengths Focused Philosophy and recovery model of care.

The program will help you to:

• Understand addiction
• Develop effective coping skills
• Learn skills to manage urges and cravings
• Learn skills to manage triggers
• Challenge your negative thinking
• Learn skills to manage emotions without substances
• Look at your recovery holistically
• Explore your values in relation to substance use
• Move forward in your recovery
• Set boundaries and be assertive in relationships.

The program runs for 12 weeks. This program is an open group where patients can join at any time. We encourage peer support and the program facilitator ensures a safe and therapeutic environment.

When: Thursdays 5:30pm – 8:30pm

This program aims to support people in making change or maintaining abstinence from substance use. The program incorporates Motivational Interviewing, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy to provide therapeutic intervention, psychoeducation and skills training. The program’s approach will be trauma informed and underpinned by the Strengths Focused Philosophy and recovery model of care.

The program will help you to:

• Understand addiction
• Develop effective coping skills
• Learn skills to manage urges and cravings
• Learn skills to manage triggers
• Challenge your negative thinking
• Learn skills to manage emotions without substances
• Look at your recovery holistically
• Explore your values in relation to substance use
• Move forward in your recovery
• Set boundaries and be assertive in relationships.

The program runs ongoing. This program is an open group where patients can join at any time. We encourage peer support and the program facilitator ensures a safe and therapeutic environment.

When: Thursdays 9:00am – 2:00pm

This treatment is appropriate for people who have a diagnosis of Chronic Depression, Treatment Resistant Anxiety Disorders, Anorexia Nervosa, Avoidant, Paranoid and Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorders and Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

The program will help you build skills in:

• Openness to feedback
• Flexibility / reduce rigid thinking
• Social connection
• Interpersonal effectiveness
• Managing obsessive thinking
• Reducing need for control
• Understanding, managing and expressing emotions
• Responding to feedback
• Participation without planning
• Enhancing social signalling.

The program runs for 34 weeks and is a closed group, however participants can join at the beginning of each module. Commitment to the program is expected. Commencement start dates can be discussed with our day program team.

When: Monday 9:00am – 2:00pm

The STAIR program has been developed for those who suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and experience difficulties with emotion management and interpersonal relationships. The STAIR program is designed to help you leave behind old patterns and develop new interpersonal behaviours and emotion management skills. The focus for this program is on Psycho-education and skills development rather than the processing of trauma.

The program will help you to:

• Increase awareness of emotions
• Build coping skills to handle difficult emotions and distress
• Experience difficult emotions without them becoming overwhelming
• Review interpersonal skills to improve your relationship
• Understand relationship patterns and create healthy alternatives to unhelpful patterns
• Make decisions based on relationship goals rather than feeling states.

The program runs for 8 weeks and is a closed group. Commitment to the program is expected. Commencement start dates can be discussed with our day program team.

When: Fridays: 9:00am - 2:00pm

The Schema Therapy Day Program is a specialised group skills training program.

This program aims to help patients recover from chronic anxiety and depression through changing long standing, maladaptive schemas and subsequent coping responses. This program will assist you to change the deep-rooted beliefs you have about yourself. (Ie: “I’m not good enough”, or others – “People can’t be trusted”, or the world – “The world is dangerous”) and to provide you with adaptative coping strategies to replace the maladaptive ones.

This program will help you to:

• Identify your maladaptive schemas
• Understand the origins of your maladaptive schemas
• Understand the role played by your maladaptive schemas
• Reduce stress
• Understand the link between psychological and physiological stress and wellbeing
• Understand and manage triggers
• Build adaptive coping skills
• Develop mindfulness skills

Please arrive at The Sydney Clinic reception 15 minutes before the Day Program starts. One of our friendly administration officers will assist you with registration and any paperwork which needs to be completed.

Please take the time to read your Day Program agreement, a copy will be given to you to sign on your first day of the program.

If you have any questions regarding this, please feel free to speak to your group facilitator.

Please remember that a requirement of your attendance at The Sydney Clinic is that you regularly see one of our accredited Psychiatrists (usually every six to eight weeks).

This is an important part of your ongoing and continual care.

If you are interested in joining one of the other day programs offered by The Sydney Clinic, please contact our Admissions team on 02 9389 8888.