Dr.Mary Ivers on her specialist area – Health Psychology

My specialist area of interest is Health Psychology. Topics I have a special interest in are cancer survivorship and self-care in the caring professions. Cancer as an illness and cancer treatment both impact on physical health, but they also impact on emotional wellbeing. My doctoral work involved a number of studies investigating life after cancer treatment and found that while most people do really well there are some who need support to help improve their physical and mental quality of life and reduce further health risks. I found quite striking levels of anxiety in many cancer survivors, even several years after completing treatment. Many psychotherapists provide a wonderful service in many cancer support centers around the country for those experiencing anxiety. This brings me to the other area I am interested in which is self-care. Many caring professionals, including psychotherapists, are in danger of becoming emotionally exhausted from the type of work they do. The profession of psychotherapy is very cognizant of this and through training and support encourages psychotherapists to have high levels of self-awareness, engage in good self-care strategies and avail of supervision to support them in being the best they can be for their clients.

Dr. Mary Ivers, BA Psych (Hons); M.Litt., Reg.Health Psychol. Ps.S.I., C. Psychol.