FAQs
What does a professional counsellor do?
Counsellors provide a person-centred approach to clients presenting with mild to moderate mental health care concerns. Counsellors have the training and capacity to collaborate with health care teams to support their clients. Professional counsellors are recognised mental health professionals in Victoria, and as such they can write student support and recommendation letters to schools, liaise with schools and workplaces, communicate with general practitioners, healthcare and NDIS coordinators, Allied Health professionals, as well as with treating psychiatrists and paediatricians.
Pricing and rebates.
Anyone can choose to see a counsellor as a private paying client, there is no referral needed. If clients have a private healthcare insurance, they will be able to claim a rebate with the amount dependent on the client’s cover and insurer’s policy. Counsellors can also provide support for self-managed and plan managed NDIS recipients under ‘capacity building – improved daily living’, using item numbers that will enable clients to seek financial support for therapy from the NDIS. It is important to note that unlike psychologists, counsellors cannot offer rebate for clients with a mental health care plan.
What is animal assisted therapy?
Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a growing alternative and complementary therapy for anxiety, autism, ADHD, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Independent of the age of the client, research points to improved physical, social, emotional, and cognitive functioning, with animals as integral part of the treatment. Dogs and horses are the most used animals for this type of therapy.
The benefits of having a dog in the therapy room.
A therapy dog increases engagement in therapy, it provides unconditional love, and it comes from a place of non-judgmental support. Research shows that dog-assisted interventions lower stress in children and adults alike. The assistance of therapy dogs also yields greater improvements in perceived self-competence, behavioural conduct, and academic competence among children with ADHD.
What is ecotherapy?
There is a growing understanding of how linking therapy with nature can benefit clients. Research suggests that exposure to nature is linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders, and increased empathy and ability to build social connections. Walking alongside clients enable therapists and clients to connect in an activity that does not require directe eye contact. This can be especially beneficial to clients for whom traditional room-based therapy create anxiety and emotional overwhelm.
Individual therapy - could this be for you?
Individual counselling starts with a 50 minute assessment session where the focus is on establishing a clear understanding of the counselling process, understanding the client background and discussing the particular concerns and immediate triggers that the client wishes to explore. Once there is clarity on what is to be addressed and there is a rapport between the counsellor and client, both discuss how they could work on the matter, including frequency of sessions & timings. Counselling in general is a talking therapy - that is, it is in the conversation that the client often finds a different perspective or is able to find their new answers or reconnect with themselves more fully. When individuals engage in therapy they may experience relief and release in being able to talk to someone in confidence about their challenges, and the counselling experience often helps them see things from different perspectives and connect to many other resources of theirs . It increases self-awareness of feelings, thoughts and behaviours, leading to better informed choices. Where the client is going through some inevitable pain, such as with losses/ grief, counselling has been shown to reduce or make the suffering more bearable.
How is couple counselling different from individual sessions?
Couple counselling, whether in the context of a marriage or otherwise, is a space for people in a relationship (two or more) to interact with the counsellor to explore and address inter-personal concerns including intimacy, communication, sexuality, parenting, conflicts etc. The counsellor's focus is on the relationship between the two, and we maintain neutrality to both parties in the relationship, and the status of the relationship itself. We maintain the possibility of a positive experience whatever the outcome may be. People generally experience relief and more positive outcomes in trying to work through life stage adjustment issues, and inter-personal issues. Relationship counselling has been shown to increase the relationship's ability to bear the stress of changing demands in the family because of life-stage commitments (such as parenting, empty-nest etc). Where people might be choosing to separate, counselling can help reduce pain, encourage more helpful co-parenting strategies, and also help each individual cope better with moving back into single-hood.
Neuro-affirming therapy
When a therapist comes from a neuro-affirming therapy lens, they will embrace the uniqueness and strengths of neurodivergent individuals and couples, and provide them and their families with the skills, tools, and strategies to allow for improved participation within the home, school, work and social environments. This will be done using neurodiversity affirming language. This may involve understanding the needs of neurodivergent clients from their perspective and adapting the environment to meet these needs. A therapist will encourage safe self-regulation skills, including stimming. It will also mean understanding and respecting neurodivergent communication styles and accommodating individual sensory needs. A therapist will be assisting the client in developing self-advocacy and problem-solving skills, validate feelings, and help clients recognise their triggers, and assist clients in identifying calming strategies. Part of this is also recognising the need for processing time, as well as creating and upholding a safe spaces for the clients to explore what it means to be neurodivergent. ​