Areas of Work, Education and Training

Areas of Work

I have been a practicing Social Worker for over a decade in both Australia and the United Kingdom, with clinical experience in mental health and family practice. Starting out in the Out of Home Care sector and most recently working for the NHS with young people and their families as a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) Practitioner, I work with individuals and their families experiencing a range of different challenges unique to them across the course of their lives.

I realised early the potential for meaningful change that ripples across a family system when working within a whole of family context. Hence seeking out my Masters coursework just three years after graduating, and, the subsequent systemic trainings I have sought to deepen my skills and understanding. I’ve come to experience many emerging mental health presentations in young people are often the symptom of a broader family issue, yet to be acknowledged or addressed.

You are welcome to bring to me whatever you want to work through in therapy.

Some areas of focus and presenting concerns I have worked with, include:

Individuals

Children, Young People, Women & Men

  • Abandonment

  • Adult Children of Parents with (Addiction and/or Mental Illness)

  • Adolescence

  • Anxiety

  • Anger

  • Behavioural problems

  • Bereavement (Grief & Loss)

  • Bullying

  • Burnout

  • Career development

  • Childhood trauma

  • De-briefing a particular challenge or event

  • Emerging Sexuality

  • Emotional Abuse

  • Emotional Regulation

  • Fatherhood

  • Identity issues

  • Life Stage work (Developmental, Menarche, Puberty)

  • Life & work coaching (fancy terms for Goal Setting)

  • Low Confidence (low mood, low self-esteem)

  • Men and Fathers (Patresence)

  • Mental Health

  • Motherhood (Matresence, Pregnancy, Postpartum)

  • Overwhelm

  • Perfectionism (and people pleasing)

  • Personal development

  • Stress

  • Trauma

  • Work-related stress

Couples

  • Bereavement (Miscarriage, Grief & Loss)

  • Communication

  • Conflict

  • Decision Making (Children, Separation)

  • Emotional withdrawal

  • Family of Origin work

  • Identifying Values

  • Navigating Change in the Relationship (A newborn, illness, relocation)

  • Unresolved trauma showing up in the Relationship

Parents

  • Bereavement (Miscarriage, Grief & Loss)

  • Birth (Integrating a traumatic birth, de-brief, signposting and referrals)

  • Boundaries

  • Child Developmental Psychoeducation

  • Communication

  • Conflict

  • Co-Parenting

  • Inner Child work

  • New Parenthood & Identity shifts

  • Parenting Challenges

  • Relational Issues

  • Unresolved trauma (childhood, birth)

Families

  • Bereavement (Grief & Loss)

  • Blended families

  • Boundaries

  • Carer Support

  • Child related issues (behaviours, mental health concerns)

  • Communication

  • Conflict

  • Co-Parenting

  • Estrangement

  • Intergenerational trauma

  • Parent related issues (behaviours, mental health concerns)

  • Roles within the family system

  • Separation

  • Unresolved trauma (childhood, birth, generational)

Education and Training

  • Bachelor of Social Work University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

  • Master of Family Studies (Specialisation in Intensive Family Practice) University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia

  • Diploma of Family Constellations Hypnotherapy Training Australia

  • Family Constellations: The Individual Session Hellinger Institute

  • Systemic Family Therapy Fundamentals Sydney Family Therapy Training Institute

  • Systemic Approaches to Family Sensitive Engagement The Bouverie Centre

  • Inherited Family Trauma with Mark Wolynn of The Family Constellations Institute

  • Brene Brown’s Dare To Lead Leadership program for developing brave leaders and courageous cultures at work 

  • Acceptance & Commitment Therapy with Russell Harris of ACT Mindfully

  • Certified Clinical Resource Therapist by Resource Therapy International

  • Circle of Security Parenting Facilitator with Glen Cooper of Circle of Security International

  • Love Bites Respectful Relationships Program Facilitator NAPCAN

  • Postpartum Doula with Julia Jones of Newborn Mothers

  • Non Violent Resistance (NVR) Parenting approach, Partnerships Projects  

  • Staying Connected When Emotions Run High NSW Health

  • Treatment of Personality Disorders Workshop Project Air Personality Disorders Strategy

  • Art and Play Therapy with Children Centre for Community Welfare Training

  • Seasons for Growth: Grief and loss training for children and young people Good Grief and Mackillop Family Services

  • The New Frontiers of Interpersonal Neurobiology with Dan Siegel

  • Enhancing Outcomes in Complex Trauma: The Integration of Evidence-Based Neurobiological Methods with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk

  • The Developing Brain: Strategies for Best Practice with Nathan Wallis

  • Mental Health First Aid with Lifeline, Australia’s national charity for crisis support and suicide prevention

  • Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) Living Works

  • Becoming A Social Work Supervisor with Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)

  • Social Work Supervision Workshop with AASW

  • Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Bernie Clark of Yoga International

  • Yoga Teacher Training: Vinyasa Yoga, Asana, Pranayama & Meditation Being Yoga

Professional Memberships

  • Social Work England (SWE)

  • British Association of Social Workers (BASW)

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to all of the mentors that have shaped the therapist I am today. I carry your teachings with me, standing on your shoulders and offering the gifts of all that I have learned to my clients.

I give thanks to my parents and ancestors for the gift of life and for the opportunity to do this work. I am grateful for the love and support of my husband, and for our son - who is my greatest teacher yet.   

I also acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. I pay my respects to, their Elders past, present and emerging. I recognise Aboriginal peoples as the oldest continuing living culture.