Understanding Therapist with Lived Experience

I work as a psychotherapist, but I’ve also lived a full and varied life. I bring both professional training and lived experience into the room, allowing clients to feel safely met, deeply listened to, and genuinely understood. My role is not to push for change, but to be with you — calmly, attentively, and compassionately — as your inner world begins to make sense.

Before becoming a therapist, I spent many years in the creative and printing industries as a designer, manager, and company director. I understand the pressures of performance, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and burnout, as well as the quiet exhaustion that comes from holding everything together while trying to appear capable and strong.

When I turned 40, I felt the need for a fundamental shift and took a new path. I trained as a yoga teacher and opened a small studio, a journey that later led to Zen meditation and eventually to Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy.

Today, I’m a PACFA-registered clinical counsellor with master’s degrees in business and professional counselling, and a Level 2 trained IFS therapist. But qualifications are only relevant to a certain point. What’s more important is the quality of presence, patience, persistence and perspective I bring as your therapist.

If you’re navigating trauma, relationship difficulties, or a sense of unfulfilment, you don’t have to do it alone. I’ll be right there with you, offering steady, compassionate support as you find your way home.