In Australia, my life has straddled full and part-time employment as a counsellor, educator and group facilitator, study, and work in the studio as a practicing artist. The latter influenced my work as a counsellor and an arts-based therapist, and working with people in turn enriched my practice as an artist. I see all these activities as a way of life – ongoing processes of exploration and shared learning.
I have worked as a counsellor in many different contexts: as a school counsellor in New Zealand, as a narrative therapist in a juvenile detention centre and a health service in Darwin; as a counsellor for students in both the Northern Territory University (now Charles Darwin University) and Southern Cross University; as a counsellor for non-government organisations in Darwin, in remote communities in Western Australia and in Ballina, NSW; and now, since 2015, as a private practitioner in the Northern Rivers area. All these experiences reinforce my belief in change and my abiding interest in what it means to be human.
In 2001, I went to America to the Tamalpa Institute, California, to study a particular approach to expressive arts therapy, the principles of which underpin my own practice. I wanted to locate and broaden the base of my practice in preparation for undertaking further study. Then in 2004 I began my PhD, a practitioner/researcher project which I completed in 2009. It was my intention to expose my practice to the rigor of an academic inquiry. To date, my thesis has been downloaded in full over 5,000 times.
It is important to me to continue my professional development, I have an active yoga practice and as required of all professional counsellors, I attend regular supervision.
My private practice is based in Wollongbar in the Northern Rivers, NSW. Contact me if you'd like to book in for counselling.