How To Connect

UNLEASHING POTENTIAL

How To Connect With Me

I create a supportive, safe environment with nothing but compassion and trust. You can connect with me over three main options:

Face To Face Counselling

Online Therapy

Walk & Talk Counselling

I can’t wait to hear from you to confidentially discuss how I can help. Simply click on the link below to Contact Me or Book A Session.

Helping others to help themselves

“A supportive, safe environment with nothing but compassion and trust.”

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it Confidential? Who will Know?

Below is the extract from our confidentiality policy which forms a contract we make with you.

1. Confidentiality and Record Keeping

In general, the information that you share with me will remain confidential. This means that I must protect your privacy and not share information about you with others. This applies whether the information is given to me verbally or in written form and extends to the fact that you have attended or are going to attend counselling with me. I have a legal obligation to protect this information, and I do so by ensuring that all paper records are kept in a secure filing cabinet to which nobody else has access; that all electronic records are kept in secure documents to which nobody else has access; and that I keep information with your identity (such as you intake form) separate from your session/contact notes.

I will keep your counselling records for at least seven (7) years, and in some cases I may be required by law to retain records for a longer period.

2. Limits of Confidentiality

It is important that you understand, however, that there are certain circumstances under which I will share information about you or about what you have told me. These situations are:

Where you have explicitly given me permission to share information, such as informing your emergency contact of an emergency situation or when you have signed your permission for a referral.
Where I consider you to be at risk of harming yourself or someone else.
Where I consider a child to be at risk.
In some cases where a significant crime may be or has been committed.
Where your counselling records, or part thereof, have been requested by a court of law.

At times, I may also discuss aspects of our work together with my professional supervisor. This is an important part of meeting my professional responsibilities. I will not provide information that could identify you in the course of these discussions.

What if I’m under 18? See next FAQ.

What confidentiality is there for me if I’m under 18?

Content Pending…

What happens to confidentiality if you’re underage?

The laws about confidentiality when you’re underage differ between states and territories.

Automatic Confidentiality

‘Automatic confidentiality’ means that unless you’re likely to be seriously harmed or your life is at risk, a doctor or other health professional is required by law to keep what you say private, even from your parents or guardian. The age by which you have automatic confidentiality rights is:

14 years and over in the Northern Territory
16 and over in New South Wales and South Australia
18 and over everywhere else in Australia.

Pre-Automatic Confidentiality

Even if you’re below the age of having automatic confidentiality in your state, most things you say to a doctor, including things about sex, drug use and other difficult stuff, will generally remain private. The best way to know for sure is to ask the doctor, psychologist, counsellor or nurse at the beginning of a consultation or session what information about you will be kept private and what won’t.

What happens to confidentiality if you’re unsafe?

If a doctor or other healthcare professional has concerns for your safety, they’re legally required to tell the appropriate people. These situations usually include those where there is a threat of harm to yourself or others.

For example, if you’re under 16 and someone has harmed or abused you, health-care professionals must tell the authorities, such as the police or Family and Community Services. This includes abuse that has happened in the past, as well as current abuse. If health-care professionals don’t report the abuse of someone under 16, they’re breaking the law. If you’re 17 or 18, it’s up to the health-care professional to decide whether or not to report the abuse, and they’ll likely discuss with you what is the best course of action.

Another situation might be where someone talks about harming or killing themselves or someone else. Health-care professionals have a legal obligation to keep you safe and to get you help if you’re having any thoughts of harming yourself or someone else. It’s important to remember that in these situations you aren’t getting into trouble. Health-care professionals should work with you to decide on the best way to tell your parents about things like self-harm.

When can you make your own choices about medical treatment?

Have you wanted to make your own decisions about medical or mental health treatment without involving your parents? Examples could include wanting to get a prescription for the contraceptive pill or seeing a counsellor.

Again, your right to make these decisions depends on your age and the state or territory where you live. You have to be:

14 years or older in the Northern Territory
16 or older in New South Wales
16 or older in South Australia, as long as two doctors sign off on a specific course of treatment
18 or older everywhere else in Australia.
These rules apply unless it’s been decided, for some reason, that you aren’t able to make informed decisions about treatment.
What this means is that, if you meet the age requirement where you live, you can take full responsibility for making decisions about your own medical and mental health treatment. For example, you can be prescribed the contraceptive pill without having to involve your parents at all.

What happens in the first session?

It’s very normal to feel a little anxious about how the first counselling session will go…most people including us counsellors are! Try and put aside every pre-judgement about how its going to go and instead try to focus on feeling better as a result of our time together, relax and breathe. There is no pressure to do anything, to say anything, all you need to do is show up.

I will ask you about what brought you to therapy and what it is you would like to get out of our time together. We can start to explore this and work on a plan of how we might move you towards your goals. I will always aim to provide you with some sense of relief in this session and where possible some tools right away so you can start the process of moving forward.

Ensuring you feel safe and protected we will go through some important information around confidentiality and privacy, what you can expect in our sessions and any limitations around confidentiality (see also FAQ on confidentiality).

What if I’m Running Late for my session?

Please do your best to arrive 5-10 minutes early for your session. If you are running late you may have a reduced session time.

What if I forget, need to cancel or reschedule my session?

Please see our cancellation, rescheduling or missed session policy

What happens if it's raining and I’m booked in for a ‘Walk & Talk’ Session?

Certainly, it’s best to come prepared for the forecasted weather and if it’s only light rain then we should be able to stick to our plan. We will contact you at least 15 minutes prior if the weather is questionable and confirm if we can ‘walk & talk.’ If the weather will not permit this then we will meet at the counselling studio at Mermaid Waters.

Do I need to wear anything special for a ‘Walk & Talk’ session?

Not really. Whatever is comfortable for the climate and forecast weather. Maybe a hat and or sunscreen to keep the sun off. If you have chosen to walk the beach then whatever footwear (or not) that is comfortable for you. If you have chosen to walk the park then a comfortable shoe, runner. The park walk gives me an excuse to put my casual shoes on so please feel free to do the same. If its forecast rain see the FAQ on this above.

What happens if I see someone I know during a Walk & Talk Session?

If there is a possibility of this for you at one location and something that would be uncomfortable for you we could either go to the other location or you might just tell the person we run into that I am your … friend, colleague, coach -whatever feels comfortable for you. We can talk about this in our first session in the studio before we meet.

What therapeutic approaches will you use?

The right approach is very much dependent on what comes up when we are together but could include:

Person-Centred Approach
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

What if I really need to speak to someone right now?

If you find yourself in crisis please call lifeline immediately on 13 11 14. If your safety is in jeopardy please call 000 (Police, Fire, Ambulance). Our service may not be able to respond immediately due to a host of reasons including us being with other clients or it being out of hours, however, if you send us a message and we will respond as soon as we can. Please be sure to utilise lifeline or 000 if you need immediate help.

What if I don’t feel like it's working for me?

You have the choice to end counselling whenever you like. In some circumstances either yourself or your counsellor may identify an impasse or something may be revealed that another therapist may be better equipped to help you with. This is ok and the key to it is open communication between you and the counsellor. We want the best for you and it could be that it might be somewhere else.

We will review how things are going for you throughout the process of multiple sessions either via a formal feedback form or just by asking you.

What, who can I speak to If I have a complaint?

Please contact our office in the first instance if there are any concerns you have. If you feel that this has not been able to resolve your concern you may take your complaint to the ACA (Australian Counselling Association) who have a thorough complaints process. See excerpt from ACA Complaints Policy & Procedure Guidelines 2018.

“Before making the complaint, the Complainant is advised to attempt to resolve the issue with the Individual or Organisational Respondent. The Complainant may contact the ACA for guidance on how to go about this. An attempt should be made to use available informal channels or, in the case of organisational members, appropriate internal channels. Any person considering making a complaint may have preliminary discussions concerning the proper formulation of the complaint (see Section 2) and the implementation of the Complaints Procedure with the Chair of the Complaints Tribunal who can be contacted through the Head Office of the Association.”

Do Counsellors In Private Practice have Professional Supervision?

Yes. Counsellors are required under the ACA code to undertake regular supervision hours with a qualified counselling supervisor. This enables the counsellor to gain greater insight, refine or learn new skills and seek input into matters of their clients and practice in full confidentiality. Further, this supervision is intended to check in on the counsellors own well-being.

Do Counsellors do Ongoing Professional development(OPD)?

Yes. In accordance with ACA requirements, counsellors do OPD every year. This enables them to stay current on new methods, research and skills all in the name of being able to better serve you the client. Your counsellor may introduce some of these new techniques with you as s/he competently acquires them.

Do you have wheelchair access?movement-based

If you are in a wheel chair please book service at the Robina office. Alternatively you may feel more comfortable in using our online ‘Telehealth Video’ sessions so that you have your own bathroom facilities if required. Our outdoor movement-based therapy can also provide a great option for us to work together. Please let us know how we can best support you.