Professional Affiliations
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0408 975 200
Level 3, 410 Elizabeth St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
About me
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I became passionate about psychotherapy (literally means “healing of the soul”) because of its potential to transform a person’s life. I spent over 10 years training in different psychotherapeutic approaches, and I continue engaging in professional development, personal work, and clinical supervision on an ongoing basis.
My professional experience has convinced me that careful tending to people in a therapeutic environment and on-going commitment to their well-being enable people not just to recover from disruptions in their psychological development or from traumatic experiences but to live up to their potential. I find it extraordinarily rewarding and a great privilege to be there in therapy, both as a process and a relationship that enables healing and vital living. |
My Qualifications
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My Professional Affiliations
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Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any further questions or would like to make an appointment, please feel free to Contact me.
❖ How is psychotherapy different from counselling?
Psychotherapy focuses on conscious and unconscious psychological processes that underpin one’s personality and organize one’s experience of oneself, the world and others.
Counselling normally provides support and assistance with specific problems or life changes. Counselling addresses conscious human experiences.
Both counselling and psychotherapy can be short- or long-term.
Counselling normally provides support and assistance with specific problems or life changes. Counselling addresses conscious human experiences.
Both counselling and psychotherapy can be short- or long-term.
❖ When do people see a psychotherapist?
Here are some of the common reasons for seeking psychotherapy:
You want to address a mental health issue, such as anxiety or depression. Research into mental illness has consistently found that psychotherapy, in some cases in combination with medication, is the most effective approach to its treatment;
You may have experienced an overwhelming life event or suffered psychological trauma, such as sexual, physical or emotional abuse. You are aware that it has had a damaging or limiting effect on your life and you are seeking healing;
Your experience of growing up has left you struggling with various aspects of your life, e.g. you may experience inner emptiness or difficulties in relating to others. Or, you may feel that things just happen to you and that you have little power over a course of your life;
You have on-going difficulties in living, such as experiencing unbearable feelings. You may find yourself using food, alcohol or other substances, engaging in risky or compulsive activities as a way of managing your feelings or mental states;
You want to pursue personal growth, such as to make a more effective use of your psychological capacities so that you can live a more fulfilling life. You may find psychotherapy helpful if, rather than living within a limited range of reactions to what happens inside and outside you, often shaped by your past experiences, you want to live authentically, with greater freedom in expressing your unique human potential. It is now widely accepted that therapy is too good to be limited to the sick, and that one need not be sick to get better.
You want to address a mental health issue, such as anxiety or depression. Research into mental illness has consistently found that psychotherapy, in some cases in combination with medication, is the most effective approach to its treatment;
You may have experienced an overwhelming life event or suffered psychological trauma, such as sexual, physical or emotional abuse. You are aware that it has had a damaging or limiting effect on your life and you are seeking healing;
Your experience of growing up has left you struggling with various aspects of your life, e.g. you may experience inner emptiness or difficulties in relating to others. Or, you may feel that things just happen to you and that you have little power over a course of your life;
You have on-going difficulties in living, such as experiencing unbearable feelings. You may find yourself using food, alcohol or other substances, engaging in risky or compulsive activities as a way of managing your feelings or mental states;
You want to pursue personal growth, such as to make a more effective use of your psychological capacities so that you can live a more fulfilling life. You may find psychotherapy helpful if, rather than living within a limited range of reactions to what happens inside and outside you, often shaped by your past experiences, you want to live authentically, with greater freedom in expressing your unique human potential. It is now widely accepted that therapy is too good to be limited to the sick, and that one need not be sick to get better.
❖ What is your approach?
I am committed to providing a safe and respectful therapeutic environment where I can join with you in working out your personal answers to life difficulties. Our engagement will occur in deeply personal conversations through which, together, we will aim to piece together and to make sense of your various experiences so that we can identify and work through sources of your difficulties.
Your journey of self-discovery or healing may feel rewarding at some times and challenging at others. Whatever it is, you can rely on me walking alongside you every step of the way. A therapeutic process, when allowed to unfold at a pace that is unique for each person, has a potential to transform painful experiences into a sense of a full, rich life with deepened capacities for self-reflection, emotional regulation and creative living.
Your journey of self-discovery or healing may feel rewarding at some times and challenging at others. Whatever it is, you can rely on me walking alongside you every step of the way. A therapeutic process, when allowed to unfold at a pace that is unique for each person, has a potential to transform painful experiences into a sense of a full, rich life with deepened capacities for self-reflection, emotional regulation and creative living.
❖ How will I know if you are the right therapist for me?
Feel free to contact me for an initial assessment session so that we can discuss your requirements. If there is an emergency, everything possible will be done to see you as soon as possible. Please rest assured that you and your concerns will be taken seriously.
Just like any new relationship, the therapy process involves a ‘getting to know you’ period. I suggest that we meet for three initial sessions before you decide if I am the right therapist for you. This will also allow me to form a tentative understanding of your challenges which I will share with you. After three sessions I will be in a position to let you know if I can be of assistance to you. If you choose me as your therapist, we will make an agreement about frequency and time for our meetings, as well as your fees.
Just like any new relationship, the therapy process involves a ‘getting to know you’ period. I suggest that we meet for three initial sessions before you decide if I am the right therapist for you. This will also allow me to form a tentative understanding of your challenges which I will share with you. After three sessions I will be in a position to let you know if I can be of assistance to you. If you choose me as your therapist, we will make an agreement about frequency and time for our meetings, as well as your fees.
❖ Is therapy confidential?
Yes. Visits to a psychotherapist are not part of your health records, thus providing you with an extra layer of confidentiality. My practice is managed according to the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA). I am committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the national privacy principles of the Amendment Act of 2014 of the Privacy Act of 1998.
❖ Do you prescribe medication?
No. I am a non-medicating therapist. If necessary, I can refer you to a medicating clinician. If you wish, you may continue in therapy with me while seeing a medicating clinician.
❖ Do you offer Medicare rebates?
No, psychotherapists and counsellors have not been included in the current Medicare rebate scheme as yet. Please note that Medicare rebates are available only for up to ten mental health services per calendar year to patients with a diagnosed mental health disorder. Most often than not, 10 sessions are not enough to achieve a lasting change with conditions such as psychological trauma, some forms of anxiety and depression. A lasting psychological change occurs incrementally and requires consistent work over a period of time. My rates are competitive so you may find them to be considerably lower than what you would be expected to pay after the initial ten sessions with a health professional who offers Medicare rebates.
❖ Do you offer a sliding scale?
Yes. I offer discounted rates to students and people with limited financial means for sessions between 10 am and 4 pm depending on availability.
❖ Do you work on evenings and weekends?
Yes. I work until 9 p.m. on some week nights and until 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
❖ Do you provide rebates for private health funds?
Please check with me if I have a provider number for your health fund that covers you for counselling.