The Lane Cove rooms are at 2 Austin Street, directly opposite the Lane Cove Library and a few metres from Longueville Road. If you are coming from the village it is a walk of two or three minutes, and the parking behind the library is the easiest option in the middle of the day.
Lane Cove sends a particular mix of problems through the door. There are the desk-and-commute necks and low backs from St Leonards and the city, the shoulders and elbows of a suburb that plays a lot of tennis, and the knees and Achilles tendons that come with living on a hillside — the stairs down to Tambourine Bay and the streets off Burns Bay Road are their own kind of training load. Lane Cove also has a lot of people in their thirties and forties carrying small children, which is its own demand on a back.
A first appointment is mostly questions and movement testing: where the pain is, what makes it worse, what it stops you doing, and how it has behaved over weeks rather than days. From there you should leave knowing what is proposed, roughly how long it is expected to take, and what would mean changing the plan.
Worth bringing: any imaging or specialist letters you already have, a list of medications, and the shoes you actually walk or train in. If the pain is new and severe, follows a significant fall, or comes with numbness, weakness, fever or any change in bladder or bowel control, see a doctor first — that is a medical assessment, not a treatment question.
The nearest alternative if Lane Cove does not suit you is the Freshwater side, about 14 kilometres away across the Spit.
Reading about attachment can help name patterns in relationships, which often come under strain when someone lives with ongoing pain.
Persistent pain does not only affect the body. It can change how much you rely on others, how you feel when plans are cancelled and how comfortable you are asking for help. Reading about attachment can offer words for patterns you have noticed, such as worrying when a partner seems distant, pulling away when you feel low or struggling to trust closeness.
It can be tempting to read an article and decide you have a particular attachment style. A more useful starting point is a recent, concrete situation. What happened? What were you expecting from the other person? How did you react, and how did you feel afterwards? Perhaps it was a day when pain flared and you cancelled dinner, then felt guilty or resentful.
Exploring these situations is part of the work Dr Christine Shen, Acupuncturist, does with clients, drawing on her psychotherapy qualifications. Talking through specific moments can help clarify what you want from psychological work, while leaving space for complexity. People are rarely just one pattern, and relationships can change over time. The aim is understanding, not a permanent identity.
Your priorities should shape the work. You might want to understand why certain situations feel so charged, or how to ask for support without feeling like a burden. Think about how you would recognise progress in daily life. Ask Christine when you will review the direction together and what support is available if things become harder between sessions. If pain itself is changing, keep your GP informed too.
Many people find it easier to begin with one recent interaction than with their whole history. Bring that example to a session at the Freshwater clinic and let the conversation grow from there at a pace that feels comfortable.
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