My approach to therapy is strongly creative arts based and draws on the value of nature, symbols and metaphor as well as existential, embodied and emotion focused work.   Importantly, it begins from a place of empathy and empowerment, whereby you are the master and expert of your own therapeutic process, directing it in a way that is meaningful, relevant and beneficial to you.  Hence, I place a strong emphasis on allowing people to work at their own pace in an empathic, compassionate and non-directive way. And as we navigate the journey together and the therapeutic process unfolds, I will invite and encourage you to explore your experiences and help you to make sense of them more deeply and in new ways by drawing on the approaches of Art Therapy, Nature Therapy and Emotion-Focused and Embodied work.

I also have strong leanings in Person Centred, Existential-Phenomenological Therapy, and Gestalt Therapy, all of which are embedded in my training and emphasise the value of relationship, the present moment and how we make meaning from the rich diversity and complexity of our human experiences.   I believe it is the process of making sense of human experience in the ‘here and now’ moments, through the co-creation of meaning in relationship with others, nature and the broader world, that distinguishes this particular approach and style of therapy as especially powerful and effective.  Through my years of working with people I have come to appreciate that while there is great value in individual psychotherapy, the group work process offers another layer and dimension of personal understanding, development and growth, particularly understanding oneself in relationship with others and the world.  I’m deeply passionate and inspired by the dynamic insights and possibilities gained by working with groups and hence, group work process is a major focus of the services Wayfarer offers.

I am a qualified Creative Arts Therapist, Psychotherapist and Social Worker with 28-years experience working in both the public and private sectors.  I have extensive experience supporting individuals, families and groups from a diversity of social and cultural backgrounds, having worked in various settings including; community and mental health, outreach work, the criminal justice and prison systems as well as alcohol and drug counselling and rehabilitation services. I have a strong interest and passion for the areas of alcohol and drug dependence, trauma, neuro-diversity and those who have found themselves in the legal, prison and corrections systems.   I work from a Trauma Informed Practice perspective and have an understanding and empathy for the complex emotional, relational and social issues that can make these particular pathways and journey’s difficult to navigate.  I greatly value the ‘therapeutic relationship’ knowing it is the building of a genuine relationship based on trust, empathy and safety that is essential to effective therapy and in facilitating real change.  My work and passion is also firmly focused on offering deep inner, spiritual and personal development work for those who may not identify themselves as experiencing mental ill-health, but rather seek therapy as a means of exploring other personal challenges or existential struggle.

Through my many years of therapeutic work and walking alongside people as they grapple with deeply personal and difficult human experiences, I have come to understand and recognizes that for some people it can be difficult to talk openly or find the words to communicate their experiences, feelings and needs.  By drawing on creative ways of exploring and working through personal struggle, trauma, grief, loss, patterns and conflicts, I have witnessed firsthand the profound and powerful effect a more creative and embodied approach can have for all people, not just children and adolescents, but adults of all identities, and from all kinds of culturally and socially diverse backgrounds facing all kinds of human and life experiences.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Social Work – La Trobe University, Melbourne Australia
• Masters of Arts Therapy – Melbourne Institute of Experiential & Creative Arts Therapy (MIECAT) Melbourne, Australia
• Graduate Diploma in Arts Therapy –  MIECAT,  Melbourne Australia
• Bachelor of Arts Psychology & Sociology – Deakin University, Geelong & Melbourne Campuses, Australia
• Wheel of Supervision 1 & 2 – Centre for Existential Practice, NSW Australia
• Diploma in Alcohol & Other Drugs
• Certificate IV Entrepreneurship & Small Business

Memberships

• Member of the Austalian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
• Australian, New Zealand and Asian Creative Arts Therapies Association (ANZACATA)