Individual Counselling

People come for many reasons. Often it is difficulty in a relationship, whether with a partner, family member or friend, but just as often it is a wish to understand themselves more clearly: recurring patterns in how they relate, anxiety, low self-worth, difficulty with closeness or trust, a significant transition, or grief and loss. You do not need to arrive with a clearly defined problem. A sense that something is worth paying attention to is enough.

Not at all. While much of my work centres on relationships, individual counselling is for anyone wanting to understand themselves and the way they relate, whether or not they are currently partnered. Many people come between relationships, or to make sense of patterns that have followed them across several, or simply to understand themselves more deeply.

Uncertainty is completely normal, and it is not something you have to resolve before reaching out. Many people feel unsure whether their difficulties are significant enough, or whether talking will help. A first conversation is a low-pressure way to get a sense of how it feels to work together and whether it feels right for you. There is no obligation to continue.

Both support mental health and wellbeing, but through different training and frameworks. Psychologists are registered with AHPRA and often work with diagnosed conditions and structured, evidence-based interventions. Counsellors focus on the therapeutic relationship and on helping people explore experience, emotion and meaning over time. My own work is relational and depth-oriented, concerned with understanding the patterns beneath difficulty rather than only managing symptoms. If you are unsure which is the better fit for you, I am happy to talk it through.

Counselling sessions are generally not claimable under Medicare, as counsellors are not currently eligible providers under the Better Access scheme, which applies to psychologists and some other registered practitioners. This means sessions are private and not rebated through Medicare. If you have private health insurance with extras cover, it is worth checking with your fund whether counselling is included, as this varies between policies.

My work is attachment-informed and integrative, which means I draw on several approaches rather than applying a single method. These include Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), psychodynamic and PACT-informed thinking, and narrative approaches. In practice this means paying close attention to the emotional and relational patterns beneath what brings you to therapy, and shaping the work around you rather than around a fixed technique.

EFT is grounded in attachment theory, the understanding that our need for connection and security shapes how we relate throughout life. Though it is well known in couples work, its insights apply just as powerfully to individuals. In individual therapy, an EFT-informed approach helps you understand your emotional responses and the attachment patterns underneath them, so that difficult or stuck feelings can be understood and, over time, held and worked with differently.

Yes. Our early experiences of closeness and care shape the attachment patterns we carry into adult relationships, often outside of conscious awareness. These patterns influence how we seek connection, respond to conflict, and protect ourselves when we feel vulnerable. Understanding your own patterns with compassion, rather than judgement, can be a powerful part of individual work, and can open up new ways of relating both to yourself and to others.

Yes. Sessions are available in person in Thornbury and online via secure telehealth for clients across Australia. Online sessions are just as effective for most people, and can make it easier to find a time that works, or to continue consistently through travel, illness or a busy period.

Yes. What you share is kept confidential, within the limits set out by law and professional ethical guidelines, which I will explain clearly at the outset. Confidentiality is fundamental to therapy, and creating a private, trustworthy space is part of the work.

Individual sessions are $220 for 50 minutes. There is no fixed number of sessions, as it depends on what you are working through and what you are hoping for. Some people come for a short, focused period, others for longer, and we check in along the way about how things are progressing, so the work stays shaped around your needs.