My Services
Meet Harley – Our Therapy Dog
Harley is a gentle and intuitive Swiss Shepherd who plays a vital role in our therapeutic environment. With her calm demeanor and affectionate nature, she provides comfort and support to clients, helping to create a safe and nurturing space for healing. Harley’s presence encourages connection and trust, making her an invaluable member of our team.
Her playful spirit brings joy, while her sensitivity to emotions allows her to respond effectively to the needs of those around her. Whether it’s a comforting nudge during a difficult moment or a joyful play session, Harley’s ability to connect with people is truly remarkable.
Together, we aim to foster emotional well-being and resilience, making each therapy session a unique and enriching experience.
Gestalt Therapy
Gestalt therapy assists clients by fostering self-awareness and personal growth. It emphasizes the present moment and explores how past experiences influence current thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Through the paradoxical theory of change, clients are encouraged to accept themselves as they are, which allows transformation to occur naturally. Instead of forcing change, Gestalt therapy helps clients recognize and embrace their current state, leading to authentic growth.
This approach supports clients in developing healthier ways of relating to themselves and others. By integrating mind, body, and emotions, Gestalt therapy facilitates healing, helping clients experience a sense of wholeness and live more authentically.
Gestalt (meaning whole) therapy is a holistic approach, that focuses on what is happening for you in the here and now, helping to build awareness of your unique experiences.
Developed by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls and Paul Goodman in the 1940's.
Gestalt therapy places great value on the therapeutic relationship and building awareness.
4 Pillars of Gestalt Therapy
1. Phenomenology - bracketing- putting beliefs, judgements and assumptions aside as much as possible; description, describing what is happening without making meaning; horizontalism - everything is given equal importance; Active Curiosity
Client and therapist stay as close as possible to the clients unique experience.
"The body holds information that is not readily accessed through words. It is our job to bring this material into awareness" - Gillie
2. Dialogical relationship - Presence, confirmation, inclusion and open communication.
Counsellor is authentic, fully present, understanding and validating .
"The human heart yearns for contact - above all it yearns for genuine dialogue... Each of us secretly and desperately yearns to be "met" - to be recognised in our uniqueness, our fullness and vulnerability" - Hycner and Jacobs
3. Field Theory - field or situation basically means everything that could be influential. Mind, body, cultural, social, historical, economic, emotional influences, we are all inter -connected and influences are always present - Joyce and Sills.
"In order to understand a man, we must know how he is related to the world and how his relationship to it works" - (Wertheimer, 1978, p.145)
4. Experimentation - such as body movement, somatic mindfulness, meditative experiments, checking in with self, "empty chair" are used to support you.
The goal of experimentation is greater awareness -
Most importantly, the exploration aims for self-recognition and self-acceptance, and not self-denial, self-rejection, or self-hate (Yontef, 2005, p. 83).
"Attunement to the senses can limber up the stiffened belief and gentle the hardened outlook. It can warm and heal the atrophied feeling which are barriers that exile us from our selves and seperate us from each other "- John Donohue
Traditional Counselling
Talk therapy, is a compassionate and collaborative process where individuals explore their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors . In my practice, I provide a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental space, allowing clients to share their challenges, gain deeper insights, and work toward emotional well-being.
Whether you’re dealing with trauma, relationship issues, stress, or mental health concerns, talk therapy can help you gain clarity and develop healthier coping strategies.
This could also include NLP, EFT Tapping, Focusing ect
Equine Assisted Psychotherapy (EAP)
EAP combines the healing presence of horses with therapeutic practices to facilitate emotional and psychological growth. Horses, being intuitive and highly attuned to human emotions, mirror our inner world, providing instant feedback that can bring unconscious feelings and patterns into awareness.
Interacting with horses has a calming effect on the nervous system. Their grounded energy can help clients regulate their emotional states, fostering a sense of safety and connection. This process allows individuals to experience their feelings in a supportive environment, enabling them to build emotional resilience and self-awareness.
In EAP sessions, clients engage in ground-based activities with horses, which can lead to powerful insights into personal challenges and relationships.
Horses value connection and build authentic, trust based relationships.
"Horse-Human Connection Sessions are a wonderful way to return to the joy of being in relationship with your horse where the connection is aware, mindful, and grounded in somatic, emotional and social intelligence mutually beneficial for both horse and human" Meg Kirby
Sandplay Therapy
Trauma - Informed Sandplay & Symbol Work
In trauma-informed sandplay and symbol work, we create a safe and supportive space for clients to explore their inner worlds. This therapeutic approach allows individuals to express emotions, memories, and experiences that may be difficult to articulate through words alone. Using a tray of sand and a variety of symbols, clients are encouraged to create scenes that reflect their inner experiences. The process can gently reveal hidden or repressed feelings, facilitating healing and self-discovery.
By combining Sandplay with a trauma-informed lens, I ensure the process honours the client’s pace and capacity, avoiding retraumatisation while promoting safety and empowerment. This method is especially beneficial for individuals recovering from trauma, as it engages both the conscious and unconscious mind in a way that supports emotional release, integration, and healing.
Through the sandtray, barriers can be torn down and healing paths created where no such thing previously existed - Amy Flaherty
Sandplay is for everyone children, adults and adolescence.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) - coming soon
A psychotherapy approach designed to help individuals heal from trauma or other distressing life experiences. It works by allowing the brain to process traumatic memories in a way that reduces their emotional charge. EMDR incorporates guided eye movements, tapping, or sounds to help the brain reprocess painful memories, enabling clients to move past the impact of trauma and regain a sense of balance.
Many people find it effective in treating PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other emotional challenges. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR doesn’t require individuals to deeply revisit traumatic experiences but instead focuses on releasing the emotional hold that these experiences have.
It can be particularly helpful when integrated into a holistic therapeutic approach, working alongside other modalities to support deep and sustainable healing.
Family Constellation
Family Constellation is a powerful therapeutic approach that helps uncover the hidden dynamics within family systems. Often, patterns of behavior, trauma, or unresolved issues are passed down through generations, influencing our lives in ways we may not be consciously aware of. Through this process, clients can gain insight, heal relationships, and find resolution to longstanding issues.
In a Family Constellation session, individuals and representatives are placed in a group setting, either with real people or symbolic placeholders, to represent key family members or important figures in the individual’s life. As the constellation unfolds, the dynamics and influences within the family system are revealed, often bringing to light deep-seated issues that might be affecting the client’s present life.
Benefits of Family Constellation Therapy:
• Healing generational trauma
• Improving family relationships
• Releasing emotional burdens
• Gaining clarity on life’s challenges
• Connecting with one’s authentic self
In my approach, I integrate Family Constellation therapy with other holistic practices, creating a supportive and compassionate environment where clients feel safe to explore and resolve the complexities of their family dynamics. Through this work, you can find a deeper understanding of yourself and your place within your family system.
"When we look at our parents, then we see that behind them are their parents, and behind their parents are other parents, and so on through the generations. The same life flows through all of them until it reaches us" Bert Hellinger
Belonging, order and balance - orders of love
Walking Counselling
Walking along Burleigh Heads foreshore and Burleigh Hill.
Exercise in nature has so many health benefits - stress relief, reduced pain, reduced autoimmune symptoms, improves memory, boosts immune system, reduces cortisol levels, vit d ................
Workshops and Individual Counselling
Burleigh Waters and The Therapy Pod - Tallebudgera Valley