Psychotherapy is a deeper form of therapeutic work focused on understanding and healing the root causes of your struggles, rather than just managing symptoms or behaviors.

In our sessions, we explore how your early experiences, relationships, and learned patterns shape who you are today and how you parent. This might include working through difficult emotions, processing your own childhood experiences, understanding your triggers, and healing old wounds that impact your present relationships.

Unlike coaching (which focuses on building skills and working through current parenting challenges), psychotherapy addresses the underlying patterns and unresolved experiences that keep you stuck. It's about transforming your relationship with yourself, which naturally transforms how you show up as a parent.

My approach is relational and collaborative - we work together to understand your unique story and create lasting change from the inside out.

Parent coaching focuses on helping you navigate the practical, day-to-day challenges of raising young children. Rather than exploring deep-seated patterns from your past, coaching is about building understanding and skills for your current parenting situations.

In coaching sessions, we work on understanding your child's developmental needs, responding to specific behaviors or challenges, and building confidence in your parenting decisions. You'll gain insight into what's happening for your child and develop ways to respond that feel authentic and effective.

Coaching is typically shorter-term and more focused than therapy. It's ideal if you're looking for support with immediate parenting concerns rather than working through your own unresolved experiences or patterns.

If you're unsure whether therapy or coaching is right for you, we'll determine this together during your initial session.

Psychotherapy is a collaborative and exploratory process. In our sessions, we create a safe space where you can talk openly about what's troubling you - whether that's specific parenting struggles, difficult emotions, or patterns you want to change.

Rather than giving you advice or prescriptions for what to do, I help you understand yourself more deeply. We might explore your early relationships, examine what triggers strong reactions in you, or look at beliefs you hold about yourself and parenting. Through this exploration, new insights and understanding naturally emerge.

The work unfolds at your pace. Some sessions might focus on immediate challenges you're facing, while others go deeper into your history and patterns. Over time, as you gain insight into why you respond the way you do, you'll find yourself naturally making different choices - not because you're following a technique, but because you've genuinely shifted your understanding of yourself and your child.

This is relational work, which means our therapeutic relationship itself is part of the healing process. You're not just a patient receiving treatment - we're working together to understand your unique experience and story.

While therapy and coaching may seem similar on the surface, they serve different purposes and work at different depths. Therapy focuses on healing and processing underlying patterns, emotions, and experiences that may be holding you back. Coaching, on the other hand, is action-oriented and future-focused, helping you achieve specific goals and create sustainable change.

The beautiful thing is, you don't have to figure this out alone. During our initial consultation, we'll explore together what you're truly looking for and what feels most supportive for you right now. I'll help you understand which approach aligns best with your current needs, circumstances, and capacity for the work ahead.

Sometimes what we think we need isn't actually what will serve us best. Through our conversation, we'll create clarity around the right path forward - one that honors where you are today while moving you toward where you want to be.

Each session lasts 50 minutes. This duration allows enough time for focused discussion and personalized support without being overwhelming. This applies to both therapy and coaching sessions.

Psychotherapy sessions are $150 for 50 minutes.

Parent coaching is offered in packages tailored to different goals and timeframes. During our initial consultation ($150), we'll clarify what you're looking for, and if coaching is the right fit, I'll share package options for you to consider.

Yes! In addition to in-person sessions at my Thornbury practice, I offer online appointments via video call. For online sessions, you'll need a reliable internet connection and a private space where you feel comfortable talking openly.

This really depends on what you're working on and what feels right for you. Some parents come for just a few sessions to work through a specific challenge, while others engage in longer-term work to address deeper patterns.

For therapy, I generally recommend starting with weekly sessions. Research shows that most people begin to notice improvement after around 12-15 sessions - not that everything is "fixed" by then, but that meaningful change starts to happen. More complex or longstanding patterns typically take longer to shift. In my experience, parents who attend regularly and reflect on and apply what we discuss between sessions tend to see progress more quickly.

For coaching, the package structure provides a framework, but we'll discuss what frequency makes sense for your situation.

You're never locked into a particular timeline. We'll regularly check in about your progress, what's working, and adjust frequency or duration as needed. This is a collaborative process guided by your goals and circumstances.

Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in treating mental illness. They can prescribe medication and diagnose conditions. Some psychiatrists also practice psychotherapy, but many focus primarily on medication management.

Psychologists have studied psychology and are registered with AHPRA. They can diagnose mental health conditions and offer Medicare-rebated sessions. Some psychologists practice psychotherapy, while others do different types of work like psychological assessments or testing.

Counsellors and psychotherapists are trained specifically in therapeutic practice - the relational work of understanding and healing through conversation and exploration. The terms are often used interchangeably, though psychotherapy typically involves deeper, longer-term work. Both are registered with professional bodies like PACFA rather than AHPRA.

As a psychotherapist, my entire focus is on the therapeutic relationship and process. I'm trained in specific therapeutic models and registered with PACFA.

The main practical differences for you are that psychiatrists can prescribe medication, psychologists can offer Medicare rebates and diagnoses, while counsellors and psychotherapists offer therapeutic work without those administrative aspects.

Unfortunately, psychotherapy sessions aren't currently eligible for Medicare rebates under a Mental Health Care Plan. Only sessions with psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists, and mental health nurses are covered.

However, my session fee ($150) is comparable to the typical out-of-pocket gap fee you'd pay for a Medicare-funded psychology session, so the actual cost to you is often similar.

I require at least 48 hours' notice if you need to cancel or reschedule. With less notice, the full session fee applies unless I'm able to fill your appointment time.