My Services

Gestalt Therapy

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 -  a safe, confidential space to talk about anything. 

Humanistic approach 

This could also include NLP, EFT Tapping, Focusing ect 

Equine Assisted Therapy 

Horses and humans working together (all ground work). 

Studies show that oxytocin levels rise (feel good chemicals), stress, anxiety and PTSD symptoms decrease with equine assisted therapy. 

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 Therapy 

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.

Sandplay  is a safe and simple therapy. 

Reported benefits include:  help to create a sense of safety, uncover resources and help with emotional regulation. 

Family Constellation

"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 

Workshops, Individual and Couple Counselling 

Burleigh Waters and The Therapy Pod - Tallebudgera Valley