Since 2000 I have worked full time as an individual, couple and family therapist for various agencies in Sydney and the Northern Rivers NSW. Over this period, I have spent thousands of hours meeting with adults, children, adolescents and couples concerned about their mental and emotional health, such as depression, anxiety, stress, anger, grief, trauma, relationships, parenting, intimacy, communication, trust, betrayal, life transitions, gender roles, power, step and blended family difficulties. 

Over the last 20 years I have developed specialised skills in treating relationship trauma in the context of:
– Child protection
– Domestic violence
– Adolescent/ family mental health
– Couple therapy
– Family therapy
– And the the individual treatment of PTSD and CPTSD.

For an extensive list of professional development trainings I’ve completed over my career CLICK HERE

After leaving school I worked as a roof tiler for 10 years which funded my travels and studies.

In the late 90’s I started volunteering as a telephone counsellor, youth worker and then as a group facilitator of mindfulness meditation, distress tolerance and emotion regulation at a residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation program for woman and children
I then worked as a counsellor and group facilitator at a private hospital/ residential treatment program for people experiencing addictions, eating and mood disorders and relationship difficulties.

In the early 2000’s I developed advanced skills in working with couples in high conflict and those struggling to protect their children from acrimonious post separation/ family court disputes.

In 2007 I worked as an adolescent family therapist within a specialist family therapy and professional training service of Relationships Aust. NSW, called “RAPS” . This work utilised innovative methods of clinical intervention with adolescents and their families. Our work was to prevent family breakdown, youth homelessness, truancy, family violence, substance abuse and adolescent behavioural and mental health problems. The primary aim was to facilitate corrective attachment experiences in families and strengthen secure family relationships.

From 2008 to 2012 I worked in a family support service called “The Family Centre” supporting families needing assistance with life transitions, parenting and couple conflict, child and adolescent emotional / behavioural difficulties and relationship security. In my role as team coordinator, I also provided staff supervision and program development. A significant part of this work involved intensive intervention with families at risk of child abuse and neglect.

Working at The Family Centre involved intervening at “the pointy end” of relationship trauma. In response to a clear community need in parenting traumatised children, I developed and implemented a program called “Parenting the Hurt Child” for parents and carers of children who had experienced trauma and/ or attachment disruption. I delivered this group program over a 4-year period, including information on child/ parent attachment, trauma, brain development and parenting practices suited to support vulnerable children, and often very different to mainstream parenting practices. This course was also adapted and delivered to 100 foster carers at a respite camp, health professionals at a family services conference, community services events and an in-house presentation for Interrelate, Lismore.  

In addition to running other group programs for parenting, parenting teens and men’s groups, I also co-facilitated a behaviour change course for men called “Men Aware”, for men who use power, control and violence in their relationships. The far majority of these men were also once victims of violence, often from their fathers. This intensive course included the comprehensive ongoing assessment of risk, and contact with the men’s partners during the course to monitor risk through the involvement of a local women’s centre. I provided this service over a 4-year period. 

From 2012 to 2018 I worked in another adolescent family therapy and mediation program called “Reconnect”. This work involved individual, family therapy & mediation, parent support/ coaching, and group work to prevent the breakdown of relationships and the risk of youth homelessness, truancy, family violence, substance abuse and behavioural and mental health issues. The primary aim was to facilitate corrective attachment experiences in families and strengthen secure family relationships.

I started working in private practice in 2008, full time since 2018, and these days predominantly provide:

• Individual Therapy – self referred and GP referrals of clients with a mental health care plan, EMDR to resolve disturbing memories and PTSD, and consultant trauma counselling to NSW Victim Services, victims of crime.
• Couple Therapy – couples seeking support for challenges with conflict, communication, intimacy, sex, betrayals, equality, parenting, boundaries, negotiating life transitions, balancing self needs and relationship needs and generally trying to get unstuck from repetitive reactive behaviour loops and triggers. 
• Family Therapy – families struggling to move through difficult transitions, parents concerned about their child or adolescent’s mental health and behaviour, adult family members wanting to repair relationships and resolve past hurts, facilitate corrective attachment experiences and strengthen secure family relationships.

Since 2015 I have been providing Systemic Family Therapy supervision / training / consultation. As a registered supervisor of the Australian Association of Family Therapy (AAFT), I support family therapy trainees (who are already experienced health professionals) complete their supervision requirements for clinical membership of AAFT.
I have been contracted to provide training/ supervision by the following agencies: 
– The Child and Family Counselling Team of Catholic Care Northern Territory
– The Child and Family Counselling Team from NSW Community Health, Goonellabah.
– The Youth and Family Mental Health Teams from the NSW Health, Northern NSW Local Health District
– Primary and secondary School Counselling Team of the Catholic Schools Office – Diocese of Lismore 
– 50 staff of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), Northern NSW Local Health District

To view my professional registrations click the links below:

Clinical member of AASW – CLICK HERE
Clinical member of AAFT – CLICK HERE
Registered Supervisor of AAFT – CLICK HERE 
EMDR Accredited – CLICK HERE
Approved Counsellor (Tier 2) of NSW Victim Services – CLICK HERE
ABFT Therapist (Level 2), Attachment Based Family Therapy for Depressed and Suicidal Adolescents – CLICK HERE
Accredited Parent Coach of Parent Hope Project and Parent Confidence Project – CLICK HERE