Why I do this work…

My life has continued to become more rich, joyful, and beautiful in the most simple and ordinary ways since I began therapy and healing work two decades ago.

The freedom to have a quiet mind and feel beauty on a hike. To sit on the couch and truly enjoy a morning coffee. To quickly feel compassion instead of threat when I become defensive or people become defensive around me. To have my own back and feel much more secure even when I know people will reject me.

These are palpable freedoms that make life wonderful and foster a sense of trust and belonging in the world.

It took many therapeutic approaches and explorations to process and realise I had complex generational trauma. A lot of the therapeutic work I have done was through changing patterns in romantic and familial relationships.

I had an unstable childhood and parents who weren’t able to meet all the colours of who I was. I thought that if I could just be successful enough, adventurous enough, and pretty enough, things would get better. That didn’t work. Slowly welcoming back the colourful shades of me that I hid from myself has allowed my nervous system to rest deeply and feel safety and belonging almost anywhere I go.

I had no idea what boundaries were, how to communicate effectively, how to allow others to have a ‘no’ and reject me, or how to know what I wanted and needed. All of these things are required to embody that word ‘authenticity’ that is commonly spoken about.

Qualifications…

I have a university Master’s degree in Counselling and a Bachelor’s degree in Nutrition. I created and ran a cleaning business with staff, which has given me real world problem solving skills and people skills. I have done additional studies in Schema Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and Compassion Focused Therapy. I have previously run mindfulness workshops for a mining company and have been in the wellness sector for close to a decade. These formal studies have been incredibly helpful, and I also believe most of my value and expertise comes from a long personal dedication to healing work that includes countless retreats, hours meditating, therapy and other healing modalities that have enabled the development of a calm and holding nervous system.