If you have landed on my website, it means you have made an important decision to heal from distressing experiences in the past that continue to impact on you today. Reaching out and making the decision to invest in a safe place to heal is the turning point in your journey.
I have been working in the field of trauma since 1997, counselling individuals, families groups and communities who are recovering from complex trauma, PTSD and dissociative disorder.
The clients I support have been impacted by significant trauma and include sexual assault survivors, sex workers, refugees, the LGBTQI+ community and domestic abuse survivors.
Holding a Masters Degree in Clinical Family Therapy training has enhanced my ability to address the effect of that trauma within the families My work is, mainly, somatically driven, and I may need to work with ostensibly important family members to be able to provide you the best support.. My interventions are drawn from a variety of evidence-based trauma therapies. Together we will explore which interventions might feel right for you.
Depending on your needs, my interventions may involve advocacy and collaboration with your other mental health team practitioners, legal team and/or others.
The trauma field is continually evolving. As a practitioner I ensure that I provide effective therapy to my clients through best practice and engaging in continuous learning.
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you” – Maya Angelou
My philosophy as a trauma counsellor is to provide a safe space for clients to share their story. My practice is trauma informed and sits within a rights-based framework.
Your emotional safety is my priority, and my practice is non-judgemental, and compassionate. I value inclusiveness and recognise the importance of being responsive to the changing needs of each client as they move forward in their journey of healing and growth.
We may take a multi-modal approach, which will involve engaging and working with your nervous system to help release your traumatic experiences. Decision about your healing and interventions used will be made together.
The body and mind are interdependent and work together at all times. When there is a traumatic event, it overwhelms the human adaptive system. Therefore, the coding of the trauma memory is different from the normal memory. Trauma memories are fragmented, and somatically coded. If you have experienced trauma in your life, it is carried in your body’s nervous system. This is part of the reason why you feel as though you know what you should do to overcome trauma, but you find it difficult to take the right steps. It is also why you may sometimes feel as though you are stuck in the past and as though the past has become part of today.
When you visit me for trauma counselling, we will first focus on enhancing external and internal safety before we target your trauma memories and help you to reconnect with your body, emotions and sense of safety and self.
Trauma is not a life sentence. It is possible to heal and move forward from complex trauma. Your trauma does not have to define who you are. Work with an accredited trauma counsellor in Melbourne and start your journey towards living the life defined by you-not your experience of trauma.
