Biographical Info
My earlier professional careers were that of a potter, an artist, a published writer and an educator. For the past twenty-five years I have taught and practiced in the field of mental health. I loved my earlier work and I am passionate about the work I do now. I approach my therapeutic practice with curiosity, thoughtfulness, warmth, compassion, creativity and love. I assist clients to listen to their bodies and souls as well as to their minds. In guiding people to come to know themselves intimately and honestly, and to rise above adversity and anguish I draw upon a range of counselling and psychotherapy methods.
After completing my doctorate in philosophy in the late 1990s I continued my studies, achieving a Graduate Diploma in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. The field of psychoanalysis that resonated for me was the dynamics of parent-child relationships. Early childhood development, particularly the interaction between infants and care-givers, has profound and lasting influences on the subsequent mental and physical health of adolescents and adults. Significant loving relationships and the invisible bonds created by our very early years are crucial to our capacity to grow and mature into wise, creative and healthy individuals.
All of my life experiences and training inform the way I work with clients. For many years I have explored spiritual and contemplative practices, and these ways of knowing assist people to understand how to open to love and to being loved, as well as to care for themselves and others. In doing so, they can break free from past traumas and upsets. Working together in a safe and confidential environment I help clients transform their lives from places of emptiness and distress. At the conclusion of their therapy clients typically leave with an empowered vision of who they truly are, and with an understanding of the possibilities of who they might become.
In 2017 I was accredited as a practitioner of The Richards Trauma Process (TRTP). As part of the training, I underwent TRTP as a client and that experience was life changing and deeply moving. The changes I noticed within myself were profound. A particular experience, resulting from chemotherapy and radiation, that had troubled me for many years disappeared overnight. Other positive changes became evident soon after and continue to do so. My earlier years of therapy during my analytic training (200 hrs) failed to touch on feelings and emotions connected to adverse childhood experiences. During this time, my unconscious mind had kept the associated memories below my awareness. Through the sense of safety created by the TRTP mentor, these old memories simply fell away. The subsequent relief was exhilarating.
The best indicators I have of the over-all effectiveness of TRTP are the positive results achieved for my clients over the past six years. TRTP, which is delivered with love, has liberated my clients from past traumas and upsets, and any other dreadfulness that occurred in their lives. Most clients achieve rapid change and resolution of extremely distressing symptoms in a relatively short space of time. It is both a privilege and incredibly satisfying to witness the remarkable transformation of my clients and to share with them the knowledge that they have a wonderful future to step into.
In my Nedlands (WA) based practice I work with women, men, adolescents and couples. As well as offering TRTP I also provide longer-term therapy and counselling together with supervision for students and practising professionals in psychotherapy, counselling, psychology, and other related health and educational practices. In conjunction with other highly effective psychological methods TRTP now forms a key component of my therapeutic practice.
