What is counselling?

Counselling offers people a confidential and nonjudgmental space in which to discuss their personal challenges, explore the meaning of their experiences, examine their values and beliefs, and consider and decide upon changes for the future.

People seek counselling for many different reasons. Some do so because they are struggling with a recent (or not-so-recent) event, such as a personal or professional loss, or because they wish to address uncomfortable feelings, such as sadness or anxiety. Others come in order to address entrenched behaviour patterns or habits they wish to shed. Others hope to deepen their self-knowledge or find greater freedom and satisfaction in life.

What’s involved?

In our sessions, I will invite you to speak openly about whatever is on your mind. I will listen carefully and, more importantly, I will help and encourage you to hear yourself in new ways. This process can lead to important changes.

My practice is oriented by the tradition of psychoanalysis, especially the work of the French analyst Jacques Lacan and his exponents. This means that I will pay close attention to your use of language, and that I will encourage you to explore desires and intentions of which you may not be immediately aware.

Our work together will not involve me making a psychiatric diagnosis, offering you advice, or training you in specialised mental techniques. Instead, I will encourage you, through speech, to come up with your own answers and with solutions unique to your situation. This can take time and patience, but ultimately makes more meaningful and lasting outcomes possible.

About me

I am a certified counsellor and Lacanian psychoanalyst-in-formation.

I completed a Graduate Diploma in Counselling at Deakin University in Melbourne. Prior to this, I received my Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Technology, Sydney, where my research focussed on the relationship between literature and philosophy, and was awarded a BA in Communication with Honours, majoring in Writing and Cultural Studies.

As an essential part of ethical practice and my ongoing development as a clinician, I am engaged in regular clinical supervision with a senior colleague. I am also passionately committed to continuing education. I have undertaken training in psychoanalytic studies at the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research, and am involved in ongoing study and research via the Freud-Lacan Institute and the Lacan Circle of Australia, among other organisations.

Throughout my career—which has ranged across academia, the arts, writing and publishing, and counselling—I have been deeply interested in the nature of the self and in how we make meaning in our lives, especially through language. This lifelong curiosity now informs my analytic counselling work.

Fees

I negotiate each client’s fees on an individual basis, depending on their means. My initial consultation fee is typically €120.

Please note that I accept private fee payment only, in cash or via bank transfer, and that sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice may require payment in full. Insurance reimbursement is not currently available for this service.