Counsellor and Mental Health Social Worker

(he/him)

I have over 20 years’ experience as a practising social worker and in 2023 I qualified as an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker (AMHSW). I also hold a Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy through the Australian College of Applied Psychology, and I am a qualified yoga and mindfulness teacher with training in movement, dance, theatre and performance.

I have worked across multiple sectors including youth services, HIV / STI prevention, as well as numerous roles in the SA arts sector, and with diverse communities including LGBTIQA+ folks, migrants and refugees, and Aboriginal / First Nations communities. Much of my early career was project and community development based, including a six-year stint in Northern Thailand working with various marginalised communities.

I recommenced clinical work in 2021 with the headspace Early Psychosis program until I transferred in 2023 across to their general counselling team, where I continue to work today. Whilst Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and nervous system-oriented mindfulness strategies drive my therapeutic practice, I have also completed formal Level 2 EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) trauma processing therapy training. I am also well versed in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy skills, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Person-Centred Therapy. I have a keen interest in somatic and creative arts-based therapeutic approaches and my practice remains rooted in my social work values.

I take a trauma-informed approach in all the work that I do. By this I mean that I take into account current accepted understandings of the impacts of trauma on individuals and their relationships with others and the world. I aim to promote safety, choice and empowerment in my work with you. I use evidence-based approaches to support healing and growth post-trauma, matching the therapy I use to the presentation of the person whilst also seeking to prioritise each person’s feedback, values and concerns. I believe that the use of any specific therapy ideally happens in the context of a healing relationship.

I am highly passionate about working with my own queer and neurodivergent community, including gender diverse and HIV positive folk, as well as all people from diverse and intersecting cultural backgrounds and identities. In my “spare” time I am a writer and performer who loves the theatre. I also love to dance and move. I adore anything that involves travel, adventure and nature, including camping, hiking and the beach.