Getting Here

Suite 25, Level 1, 100 New South Head Road, Edgecliff NSW 2028. A 5-minute walk from Edgecliff Station (train). Close to bus routes along New South Head Road. Limited metered street parking — Westfield Bondi Junction parking nearby.

Edgecliff Hours

Thursday: 10am – 5pm
This is a dedicated Edgecliff-only day.
Telehealth sessions may be available on other days by arrangement.

Edgecliff Fees

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

When Success Doesn't Equal Fulfilment

High-functioning depression is one of the most isolating conditions I encounter at my Edgecliff practice. You're still performing — meeting deadlines, attending dinners, maintaining the house — but internally you've disconnected. The satisfaction that used to come from achievement has evaporated, replaced by a numbness that makes everything feel like an obligation rather than a choice.

In the Eastern Suburbs, there's an additional layer of pressure. The expectation to appear polished, successful, and in control means admitting you're struggling feels like a failure in itself. Social comparison is relentless — everyone around you seems to be thriving, and admitting you're not becomes unthinkable. So you keep performing, and the gap between how you appear and how you feel grows wider every week.

What I've learned after years of working with depression is that this particular form is often a values problem disguised as a mood disorder. You've been optimising for metrics — income, status, appearances — while the things that actually nourish you have been quietly abandoned. Therapy isn't about fixing what's broken. It's about rediscovering what's been buried.

This might sound familiar:

Loss of satisfaction despite career or financial achievements
Emotional flatness — going through the motions at work and home
Using alcohol, shopping, or overworking to avoid how you really feel
Difficulty remembering what genuinely makes you happy
Relationship strain because you've pulled away emotionally
Sunday night dread that extends to every evening of the week

Tim Carey – Depression Psychologist at Edgecliff, Eastern Suburbs Sydney

Meet Tim Carey, Your Edgecliff Depression Psychologist

I'm Tim Carey — a registered psychologist with over 20 years of experience working with depression, including the particular kind that hides behind professional success. My Edgecliff practice at Suite 25, Level 1, 100 New South Head Road is a short walk from Edgecliff Station, making it easy to fit into a busy workday.

I've spent two decades observing how depression manifests differently in people who are outwardly high-functioning. My approach uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and values-based frameworks to help you reconnect with what genuinely matters — not just what looks good on paper.

I see clients at Edgecliff on Thursdays from 10am to 5pm, and I offer telehealth sessions for those who prefer the privacy of remote appointments. Every conversation is completely confidential — your employer, colleagues, and network will never know.

AHPRA Registered APS Member Medicare Provider Telehealth Available

My Approach to Depression at Edgecliff

Depression in high-achievers requires a different approach. I don't start with activity scheduling — you're already doing plenty. I start with the question most people have been avoiding: what do you actually want your life to be about?

Values Clarification (ACT)

The centrepiece of my work with high-functioning depression. Many clients discover they've been chasing goals inherited from their family, their industry, or their social circle — not from themselves. ACT values work helps you distinguish between what you've been pursuing and what actually matters, so your energy flows toward fulfilment rather than achievement alone.

Cognitive Restructuring

High-achievers with depression often run harsh internal narratives — relentless self-criticism, perfectionism that sets impossible standards, and all-or-nothing thinking that makes any stumble feel catastrophic. Cognitive restructuring identifies these patterns and replaces them with perspectives that are both realistic and self-compassionate.

Mindfulness-Based Approaches

Depression pulls you into rumination about the past or dread about the future. Mindfulness reconnects you with present experience — the texture of your day, the people in front of you, the moments that pass unnoticed when you're trapped inside your head. I teach practical, secular mindfulness skills you can integrate into a demanding schedule.

Professional Identity Work

When your self-worth is fused with your job title, revenue figures, or professional reputation, any setback becomes an existential threat. I help you build a sense of identity that exists independent of your work performance — so that who you are doesn't collapse when what you do changes.

Relationship Repair

Depression quietly erodes your closest relationships. Partners feel shut out, children sense your emotional absence, friendships become performative. I work with you to rebuild genuine emotional connection — not through grand gestures, but through consistent, small acts of presence and vulnerability that gradually restore trust and intimacy.

Telehealth Flexibility

For clients whose schedules don't accommodate Thursday in-person visits, I offer secure video sessions. Telehealth delivers the same evidence-based treatment from wherever you are — your office, home, or between commitments. Many Eastern Suburbs clients alternate between in-person and telehealth depending on their week.

Depression Conditions I Treat at Edgecliff

Major Depression

Extended periods of deep sadness, loss of interest, and difficulty functioning that affect every aspect of life. Major depression is more than a rough patch — it's a persistent condition that requires structured, evidence-based intervention. With the right approach, significant improvement is achievable.

Burnout-Related Depression

When years of professional overextension cross the line from exhaustion into clinical depression. The distinction matters — burnout-related depression responds best to treatment that addresses both the mood disorder and the underlying patterns of overwork, perfectionism, and identity fusion that created it.

Treatment-Resistant Depression

For people who've tried medication alone without meaningful improvement. Antidepressants work best alongside structured psychological therapy — and for some, therapy is the missing piece. I work with clients who've been on medication for years but still feel stuck, using ACT and cognitive approaches to target the patterns medication can't reach.

Late-Life Depression

Adjusting to retirement, loss of professional identity, empty nest, health changes, or the death of a partner. Late-life depression often centres on the question of purpose — who am I now that the roles that defined me have shifted? Therapy helps you construct a meaningful next chapter rather than mourning the previous one.

Other Services at My Edgecliff Practice

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

Depression Therapy in Edgecliff, Eastern Suburbs Sydney