Reduce Stress ~ Find Balance ~ Enhance Wellbeing
Modern life is fast, rushed and busy. Are you tired of constantly being on the go - worrying or thinking of the many things to do - no space to enjoy life. Counselling / psychotherapy or participation in a mindfulness based stress reduction programme will allow you to reconnect with your inner resources and restore balance.
Counselling / Psychotherapy
8 week MBSR/CT programme for groups
WHAT I CAN HELP WITH
Individuals / Couples
Anxiety
Compassion Fatigue / Burn Out
Complex Effects of Trauma
Depression
Grief and Loss (general and pets)
Living with life threatening illness (cancer, HIV/Aids)
EXPERIENCE
I am a registered counsellor / psychotherapist / mental health practitioner. Over the last 17 years I have worked in a variety of settings (Hospice, Grief Support Inc., NGOs and Community Mental Health Centre) as well as private practice. I work with individuals and couples from diverse socio-economic, cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations, as well as those whose ongoing sense of positive well-being has been disrupted or diminished by the impact of traumatic events in their lives.
COUNSELLING / PSYCHOTHERAPY
Many of us experience trying times in our lives when challenges and difficulties may be greater than usual, or our ways of dealing with them don’t seem to work well anymore. These are times when managing alone may not be the best way forward and reaching out for a safe and confidential space in which to regain balance and away from extremes of chaos or rigidity is a sound investment.
The aim of
counselling or
psychotherapy is to relieve psychological distress and promote a positive sense of well-being. The clinical terms counselling and psychotherapy are often used interchangeably. Counselling tends to focus on seeking solutions for short term difficulties about a specific issue or crisis. Psychotherapy is generally seen as a longer term engagement that offers an opportunity to reflect on and explore the full landscape of your life in a way that develops a stronger sense of self (as defined by you) with which to understand, integrate and transform difficulties so as to live more fully in the present and face the future with an open heart and curious mind.
WHAT I OFFER - THERAPEUTIC APPROACH
The biggest challenge is how to identify who and what might be helpful. There are many different models of therapy - person-centred, humanistic, psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioural, somatic, experiential, existential - all of them effective ways of working with people. Each model is a story and if you imagine hearing many separate stories about the same event, it is inevitable that each one will express certain aspects and ignore others.
This mirrors beautifully the complexity of the what it means to be a human being story.
An important part of the therapeutic conversation is to also help you make sense of your story in a meaningful way: something that hangs together. Initially, your story may have large chunks missing, or may be fragmented and chaotic. Or the story is there but may be self-condemnatory and unfair.
An integrative and interdisciplinary approach known as the Conversational Model appreciates the complexities of what it means to be a human being, and helps weave together a coherent story that is your own and helps you understand and become more fully who you are.
The Converational Model draws from contemporary knowledge and multiple theories - attachment theory, human development, trauma theory, neuroscience, mindfulness based approaches and psychodynamic - that have been tested through research and clinical practice.
Counselling or psychotherapy is different for every individual and time spent in therapy is dependant on many factors. You may choose counselling for a specific issue and only a few sessions may be required. Or you may find that the current issue is representative of many issues in your life and choose psychotherapy.
Initially, I will meet with you for between 1 and 3 sessions to discuss your specific therapy needs and to agree on 'where to from here and what happens next’.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The therapy space is confidential and offers you time to be yourself and to be fully listened to in a way that may be different from what you have experienced before. Such a process of self-reflection, self-exploration and self-discovery, although challenging at times, moves you away from being told externally what is right and wrong and closer to your own inner wisdom.
My emphasis is on creating, together with you, a form of therapeutic conversation in which you will suddenly find yourself interested in novel understandings of the events of your life, more curious about aspects of your life that may have been forsaken, or fascinated with neglected aspects of your identity, and at times, awed by your own response to the predicament of your existence.
In both short and longer term work I emphasise taking a safe, non-judgmental and empathic approach. My aim as a therapist is to be trustworthy, reliable and predictable and to ensure that the sessions are approached in a way that is most useful for you. As each person and situation is unique the content and pace of therapy is always guided by you.
MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness offers a path to well-being and tools for meeting and coping with life's inevitable hurdles.
Mindfulness Courses 2012
8 Week MBSR/CT Programme: October, February, May and August
Reimbursement for the cost of the MBSR/CT programme from your insurer may be possible if you are in a rehabilitation programme or receiving workers compensation. Please check with your insurer.
In some instances the cost of the programme is tax deductible. Please check with your accountant.
For more information send an email through my website or call my mobile.
FEES
My standard fee is $130. I hold a limited amount of spaces available for those on a low income. If you require this please email or call to enquire about availability and fees.
Medicare currently does not offer rebates for counsellors / psychotherapists. This is reflected in the lower fees set by counsellors / psychotherapists. Medibank Private Health Fund Rebates may apply.
CANCELLATIONS
I aim to be as flexible as possible to meet a wide variety of circumstances and will reschedule appointments at a mutually convenient time with sufficient notice.
A cancellation fee may apply with less than 48 hours notice.
HOURS
Saturday 9.00 am - 5.00 pm
Please check with me for appointments outside these times.
ETHICS / PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Abiding by a code of ethics is an essential element of the therapeutic relationship. Such a commitment provides protection for the client and the therapist and establishes important boundaries for behaviour and responsibilities. I maintain professional memberships as follows and abide by their Code of Ethics:
Mental Health Practitioner
CM Counsellor and Psychotherapists Association (39176)
Full PACFA Registration (21349)
Member ANZAP
WorkCover Provider No: 7366
Australian Red Cross First Aid No. 3605
For more information please look up their websites.
I also maintain ongoing professional and peer supervision as well as regular attendance at professional development seminars and workshops. And I have recently started 'Zumba' dance classes!
USEFEUL LINKS
Professional Associations
Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia
http://www.pacfa.org.au
Counsellors & Psychotherapists Association of NSW
http://www.capa.asn.au
Australia and New Zealand Association of Psychotherapy
http://www.anzapweb.com
Spiritual Directors International
http://www.sdiworld.org
Mindfulness Centre
http://www.mindfulnesscentre.com
Emergency Assistance
Lifeline 24 Hour Telephone Crisis Counselling 13 11 14
Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
QUALIFICATION DETAILSMental Health Practitioner
Red Cross Senior First Aid Workplace L2
Post Graduate Diploma of Adult Psychotherapy (ANZAP)
Post Graduate Advanced Diploma of Gestalt Therapy
Post Graduate Four Year Diploma of Spiritual Direction (Contemplative Tradition)
Bachelor of Theology
Diploma of Remedial Massage
Adv. Diploma of Applied Social Science
MAP
Counselling,
Meditation,
Mens Health,
Psychotherapy,
Womens Health
