Getting Here

Suite 25, Level 1, 100 New South Head Road, Edgecliff NSW 2028. A 5-minute walk from Edgecliff Station (train). Metered parking available on surrounding side streets.

Edgecliff Hours

Thursday: 10am – 5pm
Dedicated Edgecliff-only day.
Telehealth sessions may be available on other days by arrangement for maximum discretion.

Edgecliff Fees

Medicare rebate: $181.05
Private: $280
Out of pocket: $98.95
60-minute sessions. GP Mental Health Plan required for Medicare.

The Hidden Cost of High-Functioning Addiction

The most dangerous addictions are the ones nobody sees. Many of the professionals I work with at Edgecliff would never be identified as having a substance problem. They run businesses, manage teams, maintain beautiful homes, and attend every school event. The idea that they could have an addiction feels absurd — until they're honest with themselves about what's actually happening behind closed doors.

In the Eastern Suburbs, certain forms of substance use are socially embedded and even expected. The wine at every dinner party, the cocktails at the harbourside lunch, the substances at social events that everyone politely ignores. Prescription medication to manage the pressures of a high-stakes career. These aren't back-alley behaviours — they're happening in living rooms and restaurants across the Eastern Suburbs. That social normalisation makes it extraordinarily difficult to recognise when use has crossed into dependence.

You might recognise patterns like these: needing a drink before social events to "take the edge off." Relying on prescription medication to sleep. Weekend substance use that's started creeping into the working week. Success doesn't protect you from addiction — it often provides the resources and social cover to sustain it longer.

Patterns my Edgecliff clients recognise:

Using alcohol or substances as a reward or stress-management tool after high-pressure days
Increasing tolerance — needing more to achieve the same relief or relaxation
Professional performance starting to slip despite covering it up with longer hours
Using weekends or holidays to "recover" from the physical toll of substance use
Partner or family expressing concern that you've rationalised or dismissed
Feeling unable to socialise, network, or unwind without substances

Tim Carey – Registered Psychologist providing addiction support at Edgecliff, Eastern Suburbs Sydney

Meet Tim Carey, Your Edgecliff Psychologist for Addiction Support

I'm Tim Carey, a registered psychologist who has worked with addiction for over 20 years — including the kind that never looks like addiction from the outside. My Edgecliff practice at Suite 25, Level 1, 100 New South Head Road is designed for professionals across the Eastern Suburbs, Bondi Junction, Rose Bay, and Darling Point who need expert support without anyone knowing.

High-functioning addiction is my area of particular focus. I work with executives, lawyers, medical professionals, and business owners who've managed to maintain their career while their relationship with substances has quietly taken control. My approach combines ACT, motivational interviewing, and relapse prevention — frameworks that respect your intelligence and autonomy.

Sessions are available on Thursdays from 10am to 5pm at Edgecliff — a 2-minute walk from the station. I also offer telehealth sessions for clients who want the added layer of privacy that comes with attending from home or a private office.

AHPRA Registered APS Member Medicare Provider Telehealth Available

Your Career Doesn't Have to Be the Casualty

You've built something impressive. Don't let it unravel quietly. My Edgecliff practice offers strictly confidential addiction support — steps from the station, no waiting room exposure, and a psychologist who understands the stakes.

Book a Confidential Session Ask Tim a Question

Strict confidentiality maintained · Medicare rebates available · Thursdays 10am–5pm · Telehealth offered

My Approach to Addiction at Edgecliff

Support for high-functioning individuals requires a different framework — one that honours your professional obligations while examining the patterns that may be holding you back. Here's how I work.

ACT for Addiction

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy doesn't ask you to fight cravings through sheer willpower. Instead, we work on building psychological flexibility — learning to sit with discomfort without automatically acting on it, while exploring what a meaningful life looks like for you. ACT addresses the emptiness that substance use often fills.

Values-Based Recovery

Many high-achievers discover that professional success has become their only metric of worth — and substances fill the void left by neglected relationships, health, and personal meaning. We explore what actually matters to you beyond the next deal, the next promotion, or the next quarterly result.

Cognitive Restructuring

"I deserve this after the week I've had." "I can stop whenever I want." "It's not affecting my work." These permission-giving beliefs sustain addiction in intelligent people. We systematically identify and challenge the cognitive distortions that keep substance use feeling rational and justified.

Professional Functioning

You can't disappear for three months of rehab. Your clients, your team, and your reputation depend on continuity. I develop support plans that work around your professional commitments — so you can address your relationship with substances without disrupting the career you've built.

Relationship Rebuilding

Addiction erodes trust — often invisibly at first, then unmistakably. Partners withdraw. Children become wary. Friendships thin out. Part of this work involves exploring how to repair these connections with honesty and consistency, and understanding the impact substance use has had on your relationships.

Telehealth Sessions

For clients who require absolute privacy, I offer secure video sessions from your home office, car, or wherever you feel safe. Telehealth removes the risk of being seen entering a psychologist's practice — a genuine concern for many of my clients in prominent professional or social roles.

Addiction Concerns I Treat at Edgecliff

High-Functioning Alcohol Use

When social and professional drinking has quietly become dependence. The bottle of wine that's now two. The lunch meetings where you always order another round. The nightly ritual you tell yourself you could stop — but haven't. I help you examine the role alcohol plays in your life and explore alternative approaches.

Recreational Drug Use

Recreational substances that started at social events but have become habitual. The occasional use that's now a regular necessity. The cost — financial, physical, and relational — escalating while the effect diminishes. We focus on understanding what the substance is doing for you that your life currently isn't.

Prescription Medication Misuse

Medication prescribed for sleep, pain, or focus that is now being used beyond medical need. The difficulty of recognising dependence on something a doctor prescribed. I provide non-judgmental support to help you understand the difference between medical necessity and psychological dependence.

Behavioural Addictions

High-stakes gambling that started as entertainment but now threatens your financial security. Online gaming consuming entire weekends. Compulsive spending that provides a momentary thrill followed by anxiety and concealment. These behavioural patterns respond to the same evidence-based approaches used for substance addiction.

Other Services at My Edgecliff Practice

Addiction frequently coexists with other psychological conditions. I provide integrated support across these areas at Edgecliff.

Addiction Support in Edgecliff, Eastern Suburbs Sydney