Education

I attended my first counselling course in 1977 whilst still at school and found I had a gift for empathic listening. This validated my decision to study psychology and I completed an Honours degree in Psychology at Durham University in the UK in 1982. This was followed by two and a half years of work in a mental health setting where I was lucky enough to have an inspiring, gifted supervisor and mentor, Jan Romijn. I am forever grateful to him for his deep compassion and wisdom.

In 2000, I completed a Master Degree in Counselling at La Trobe University, Melbourne, where I specialised in couple therapy and completed an internship with Relationships Australia. Twelve years later I fulfilled a life long dream to complete a Master in Social Work at the University of Melbourne.

In the last decade I have become increasingly aware of the importance of attending to the components of memory and trauma that are stored in the body so that they may be released in the process of full healing. To further my knowledge in this area I completed a 3 year training in Peter Levine's Somatic Experiencing ® in 2016 and I am now a qualified Somatic Experiencing Practioner (SEP).

In 2017 I completed my professional training with Raja Selvam in Integral Somatic Psychology (ISP) and I am enjoying the richness these studies bring to my work. Recently I had the pleasure of assisting Raja Selvam when he brought his ISP Training Course to Melbourne in February 2019.

Continuing to follow my passion for embodied movement practice as a path for healing, I am now qualified as a "Therapy in Motion” Practitioner with Open Floor International, enabling me to incorporate movement in sessions where this suits the client.

For those who are interested in movement, meditation and dance, and would prefer a class setting, I am qualified as an Open Floor Dance teacher with Open Floor International. I offer classes for my clients as well as classes that are open to the general public. For more information about this movement and meditation dance practice please refer to the "Dance" page of this website or to Facebook: Bridge of Dance