About Me
Welcome! My name is Heather. I'm a professional counsellor, and a clinically registered member of PACFA. I'm a registered provider with WorkCover Queensland, the Trauma Support Directory, and also an approved provider with NDIS.
Trained and experienced in a range of evidence-based counselling and psychotherapeutic approaches, I'm also dedicated to maintaining the highest possible standard of professional practice, and care.
While using a Trauma Informed, Strengths Based, and Person Centred approach, it is my genuinely non judgmental, kind, and highly empathic nature which is always central to my practice. It is this which lays at the core of the support I provide to my clients, which helps them address their issues, meet their needs, and achieve their goals.
​
Alongside my private practice, I work as a Specialist Trauma Counsellor with a Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence, Service.
​
"People sometimes think of going to a counsellor as being a sign that something is wrong with them, or, that seeking professional assistance is an indication of weakness.   This commonly held thought is predicated on the belief that people seek professional help because they are somehow inadequate or needy.  This misconception is most likely an extension of the value our society places on stoicism and rugged independence, which rewards us for denying and hiding our emotions at times of vulnerability, rather than supporting our healthy need to reach out to our communities and healers when we need to do so.  Public expressions of the more vulnerable emotions, such as sadness and anxiety, do not necessarily result in offers of support; rather, their disclosure seems to serve as an invitation for criticism and judgment (Harris, 2009 – 2010).  As such, professional counsellors understand the courage it takes for a client to be willing to confront his or her problems head on and to expose such vulnerability, in order to work through difficult times" (Harris & Winokuer, 2016). 
Anxiety
Many people with anxiety experience symptoms of more than one type of anxiety, and may experience depression as well. I can support clients with learning about what generates their anxiety, and how to reduce, eliminate, or manage it.
Trauma
Trauma is the emotional, psychological and physiological residue left over from heightened stress that accompanies experiences of threat, violence, and life-challenging events.
Traumatic experiences overwhelm ones' capacity to cope. That same capacity is influenced by hundreds of personal variables. With this knowledge, I can support clients to process their trauma, heal, and be more empowered to manage their lives.
Relationships
Their are many types of relationships: with one's own self, with family, friends, classmates, teachers, co-workers... the list goes on. Every relationship, no matter how strong, has its ups and downs. I can support clients to explore the challenges that come with being in relationships and ways to manage them.
Conflict
Conflict is a normal part of any relationship, however, navigation of it requires good communication skills. I can support clients to learn how to communicate well/convey their point clearly, and to master the art of listening, which is also essential to effective conflict management.
Disability
Disability impacts people in various ways. As an approved NDIS provider, I can work with clients who are NDIS participants, in a range of ways, to help them address their issues, meet their needs, and achieve their goals.
Grief & Loss
Everyone has experienced grief or loss at some time in their lives and it can be a part of the grieving process that the person may experience extreme contradictions in emotion, varying from sadness, to resentment and anger and inclusive of many other emotions, which may also not make sense to the person at the time and may also feel very unexpected.
I can support clients with their experience of grief and loss.