What can I expect from a counselling session with you?
Whilst my approach to counselling and therapy will be adapted to the needs of the individual, you are likely to experience the following:
Your first session is a chance for me to get to know you and your concerns. (If you are booking in a child or young person, the initial assessment may require both of you to attend or a longer assessment session can be booked to allow time for both yourself and the child to speak with me about concerns). This will help form an assessment and plan for us to work together on. This plan may change over time but will help bring focus to the issues you would like to address.
After this initial meeting we will meet regularly. Depending on your individual needs and goals our focus may be on (but not limited to) your history, relationships, current experiences/hurdles, and strategies for overcoming challenges. If your needs are complex, ongoing or require long-term intervention we will review the plan made at the first meeting.
Please note I also offer online counselling if required. For further information about this you can write to me via my contact page.
What can i expect from supervision with you?
Whilst your individual goals for supervision need to be agreed upon during initial sessions, my core approach remains consistent with all. With years of experience supervising people at all stages of their careers from students and new graduates through to those in senior management positions.
I bring to each supervision session
a warm and attentive atmosphere, actively listening to ensure an open and supportive environment.
knowledge of many organisational structures both private, not for profit and government
practical skills and approaches to take to sessions with clients
space for reflection on ethical, organisational and personal challenges in your work
strategies for avoiding professional burnout and compassion fatigue
What can I expect from an art therapy session with you?
All you need to bring is yourself (unless requested before the session). I will bring all materials and resources required. Your/your child’s art might be collected by me at the end of each session to then be presented to you as a record of everything you have explored in session when therapy is completed. Alternatively, you may prefer to keep your work each time. There might also be times you choose to dispose of the work and together we can come up with strategies for doing this. For more information regarding how a session with me might look, please refer to ‘What can I expect from a counselling session with you?’ or write to me via my contact page.
What is art therapy?
For some people, verbally exploring their experiences and challenges comes easily and traditional talk therapies make sense to them. For others, delving into ‘what’s wrong’ is a harder question to tackle. The words might not come easily. Together we can use fine art materials and creative methods to unlock parts of yourself and your challenges to gain a better understanding of who you are. Art and creativity can open parts of ourselves we cannot always easily access. Our words and inner thoughts can be strictly controlled,manipulated and deceptive (predominantly this occurs in the left hemisphere of the brain) but in opening our inner artist (the right side of the brain) the patterns and hurdles that hold us back are shifted and we can move forward.
What if I’m not artistic?
As we grow older we generally find ourselves being categorised into ‘arty’ and ‘not arty’. This worsens when we compare the outcomes of our art projects with others’ work (or the final product we imagined before we began) and deem it to be ‘no good’. In our sessions together the end product is not nearly as important as what comes about during the creation of the work. There is no right or wrong/ good or bad. If you can make a mark on a page or on some clay, you can participate in art therapy.
Other services offered
As an experienced facilitator and presenter, I’d be happy to discuss a tailored program or presentation for your school, workplace or community group. Please reach out with any questions about therapeutic or skills groups and training.
Confidentiality and the security of your information:
As with all legal and ethical concerns, I strictly abide by the requirements and guidelines set by the Australian Association of Social Workers (The AASW Code of Ethics of the Australian Association of Social Workers, 2010).
If you have any concerns or questions about how I store your information or how I maintain confidentiality, please enquire via my contact page.
Fee structure
Please note that if you have a mental health care plan (MHCP), you will be eligible for a rebate of $85.20 from medicare, up to 10 sessions per year. The full fee for a session of 50 minutes is $195. This means that the total out of pocket expense per session will be $109.80 if you have a MHCP. If you are genuinely experiencing significant financial hardship, please feel free to discuss it with me as we can offer financial relief to clients. The fees for couples sessions, assessments and reports may vary, so please contact me for details. You do not need a doctor's referral to see an AMHSW, but you will need one to access the medicare rebate.
50 min therapy session (includes Art therapy) …………………….. $195 (rebates and discounts may apply, see above)
50 min professional and student supervision session ……………. $195
Couples sessions, groups, assessment and report writing……….. Please inquire for pricing
Tailored programs and presentations ……………………………... Please inquire for pricing