My Approach
Therapy can be a place to understand not only what has happened, but how those experiences continue to affect the way you feel, respond to situations, relate to other people and see yourself.
My approach is trauma-informed, relational and collaborative. This means we pay attention to what is happening in your life now while also considering the experiences and patterns that may have shaped it.
You don't need to arrive with a clear explanation of what is wrong or a complete account of your history. We can begin with what feels most relevant or manageable and develop an understanding of it together.
Practical details
Sessions are available in person in Murrumbeena, Melbourne and online across Australia.
Standard counselling sessions are 60 minutes, with 90-minute extended sessions also available. Longer sessions may sometimes be useful for EMDR or other trauma-focused work.
NDIS: Self-managed and plan-managed clients are welcome.
For fees, availability, and common questions: Fees & FAQ
Learn more about NDIS counselling support
Starting therapy
You don't need to prepare for your first session or decide in advance exactly what you want to work on. The initial session gives us time to understand what has brought you to counselling, what is currently having the greatest impact, and what you would like to be different.
We can also consider what kind of therapeutic approach is likely to be most appropriate, including whether EMDR may be useful if that is something you're interested in.
What sessions look like
I'm actively engaged in the work with you. I'll ask questions, reflect what I'm noticing, help you make connections and, where useful, gently challenge patterns or assumptions that may be keeping you stuck.
Sometimes we might focus on a particular situation or relationship. At other times, we may slow things down to notice what is happening beneath the immediate thoughts: emotions, physical responses, expectations of other people or familiar ways of responding when something feels difficult.
The work often involves both the present and the past. Depending on what brings you to therapy, we might explore relationship and attachment patterns, self-criticism and shame, boundaries, grief, nervous system responses, or the ways earlier experiences continue to influence how you understand yourself and others.
You won't be expected to tell your whole story at once. We can approach difficult experiences gradually, and I'll pay attention to whether the pace of the work remains manageable for you.
If you'd like to understand more about how trauma-informed therapy works in practice, including what we focus on in sessions and how the pace is guided, you can read more here: Trauma-Informed Therapy in Melbourne
The approaches I use
I don't work from a single therapeutic model. I draw on trauma-informed and attachment-based approaches and adapt the work according to what we are trying to understand or change.
This may include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Emotionally Focused Individual Therapy (EFIT), somatic and nervous system work, psychoeducation, and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing).
EMDR can be particularly useful when distressing experiences continue to have a strong emotional or physical impact despite understanding what happened. I integrate EMDR into the broader therapeutic work where it is clinically appropriate, rather than using it as a stand-alone technique.
→ Learn more about EMDR therapy
You don't need to understand these approaches or decide which one you need before starting therapy. We can work that out together.
Is this the right space for you?
Much of my work is with adults experiencing the effects of difficult or harmful relationships, emotional abuse, childhood experiences and complex trauma.
Therapy with me may be particularly relevant if you:
find yourself replaying interactions or questioning your perceptions
have difficulty trusting your own judgement after a harmful relationship
feel responsible for keeping the peace or managing other people's responses
notice recurring patterns in relationships that you want to understand or change
struggle with shame, self-criticism or persistent self-doubt
experience hypervigilance, shutdown, overwhelm or other trauma-related responses
understand intellectually what has happened but find that your emotional or physical responses haven't shifted with that understanding
You don't need to identify with a particular diagnosis or have a clear label for what you've experienced. If you'd like to explore the kinds of difficulties I commonly work with: Areas of Support