A Little Bit About Us.

This is My Story.

You might wonder why I am so passionate about healing. The answer lies in my own journey of profound healing. Many of us face early life challenges that shape the quality of our relationships and overall well-being. Through dedicated education, self-inquiry and personal healing, I have worked tirelessly to reshape my own destiny.

My story began in the early 70s, in the womb of my unmarried teenage mother during the Forced Adoption Era. Born on the unceded lands of the Gubbi Gubbi people (Sunshine Coast, Qld), I was relinquished at birth and adopted into a new family six weeks later. This early severing of the mother-infant bond and the lack of a consistent caregiver during those formative weeks left a lasting impact on my attachment and nervous system.  My relocation into an adoptive family unaware of this primal wound led to challenges in forming secure attachments and receiving the nurturing I needed, resulting in a difficult childhood marked by sexual abuse, family violence, teen pregnancy and a lack of safety, protection, love and belonging. This experience has been the focus of my academic study, self-inquiry and personal evolution over several decades.

Seeing education as a pathway to a brighter future, I began studying Education and Psychology as a single mother at the age of 21, over 30 years ago. After graduation, I worked in an Aboriginal community in Central Qld for several years as a school teacher before returning to the Sunshine Coast to complete two Master’s degrees in Counselling and Behaviour Management. My professional experience spans roles in Education, including as a School Teacher, Behaviour Support Advisory Teacher and Guidance Officer; in Child Protection as a Child and Family Therapist; in Family Relationships and Separation as a Couples Therapist, Children’s Counsellor and Individual Adult Counsellor; and in Post-Suicide Intervention as a state-wide Advisor to School Administration. I have also worked in Post-Adoption as a Counsellor and Intermediary and assisted Dr. Diane Poole-Heller with her international online DARe Training programs aimed at healing attachment trauma.

For the past 17 years, I have also been a trainer and facilitator of professional education in the fields of somatic and expressive therapies. I have developed and delivered nationally accredited programs and workshops in modalities such as Sandplay Therapy, Somatic and Expressive Arts Therapies, and trauma-sensitive approaches to practice. My training programs have supported hundreds of counsellors, psychologists, social workers and body-based practitioners to integrate embodied, creative and relational approaches into their clinical work. This aspect of my career reflects my deep commitment to shaping the next generation of trauma-informed and soul-centred practitioners.

I am deeply committed to addressing injustice and oppression that leads to family separation, removal and institutionalization by ending the cycle of historical and intergenerational trauma at both individual and community levels. This work is inherently decolonizing, requiring us to question and dismantle the colonial systems, language, social attitudes, policies and practices that perpetuate trauma. 

The integration of symbology, psyche, somatics, soul work and therapeutic touch, together with social justice and earth-based practices form the core of my clinical practice. My pursuit of these modalities and interventions has been driven by my own quest for healing, with a focus on understanding and healing pre-verbal trauma. My journey deeply informs my approach to healing, as the two are inseparable.  As a result, the areas I have specialised in as a psychotherapist are the areas I have personally alchemized my pain into peace. Healing is not linear but circular, therefore, I am not a 'quick fix' psychotherapist.  Instead, I offer long-term psychotherapy rooted in the principles of Jungian depth psychology, relational somatics, intersectional feminism, anti-oppressive ideologies and interpersonal neurobiology.