About me.

First of all, what makes me qualified to work with you?

  • Dip. of Counselling (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors)
  • Certified TRTP Practitioner
  • Reiki II - Practitioner
  • Level I Practitioner Training - Medicine of Sound
  • Current Victorian Working With Children Check and comprehensive knowledge of the Victorian Child Safe Standards
  • Licenced Tour Operator with Parks Victoria
  • Qualified First Aider
  • Extensive training and experience in family violence response, risk assessment, mental health, suicide response & prevention, trauma, vicarious trauma, wellbeing and self-care planning, sustainable workplace wellbeing practices and training/facilitation
  • Professional background as a Family Violence Specialist Practitioner, Family Violence and Gender Equality Trainer, Community Mental Health Practitioner, and Child Safety legislation implementation (project management)
  • Soon to come; Certificate of Ecotherapy and Diploma of Ecotherapy (current student)

How it started

At 18 I moved to London and then spent my 20s travelling the world. I wanted to experience as much of the world as possible, leading me to volunteer in Thailand and Cambodia which helped me discover my passion for helping others.
I completed my Diploma of Counselling in 2013 and left the corporate sector, I then moved into the world of community mental health and working with people experiencing severe mental illness. This role taught me so much and led me onto working in the family violence sector, specialising in working with women and children who were fleeing family violence. I was privileged to work with so many amazing colleagues and clients and I learnt an incredible amount about risk assessment, trauma, research, teaching and gender equity. My time working in family violence also taught me so much about myself, my limitations and what I need in order to look after my own wellbeing.
Sadly, like so many other practitioners, I experienced vicarious trauma which eventually led to a diagnosis of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, and experiencing burn-out, resulting in me leaving the sector. My experience of vicarious trauma has taken me on a journey to explore my wellbeing needs and to recover, and it has made me very passionate about supporting other workers who have experienced vicarious trauma by offering TRTP and Counselling services.
The next part of the expansion of Dare to Change Therapies happened unexpectedly. I turned to energy healing, hiking, forest bathing, connecting with nature and sound healing when I was on my own recovery journey. TRTP and therapy also played key roles, but as a deeply spiritual soul, it was like these other modalities found me and inspired me. I was a singer/songwriter from aged 15 to my late 20s so music has always been a huge part of my life, and after experiencing such profound healing from sound healing myself, it felt so natural to create my first medicine drum and buy my first Native American flute. The idea to combine sound healing with hiking and forest bathing was an intuitive one, I felt that my innate passion for these elements was assisted by the universe and Sound Medicine Hikes were born with the very first one being held in Gresswell Forest, Bundoora. 
Six months later, I was thrilled to be introduced to plant music from Music of the Plants, and it felt like finding this device was a final piece of the puzzle, ultimately combining sound and nature. I went on to create Mother Earth Sound Medicine as a way to offer indoor forest bathing with sound healing and a place where plant music can be the star. I love being able to help people re-connect with Mother Earth and experience the healing powers of forest-bathing and sound.

How my integrated approach works

I offer an integrated approach of grounded spirituality and trauma-informed practice.
If you come to me for TRTP or Counselling, rest assured that you will be benefiting from my clinical experience but also my holistic approach. I am deeply spiritual which helps to ground me as a practitioner, but as I utilise solution-focused and client-centred therapeutic approaches, as well as an ecotherapy lens, but I am essentially led by you and what you need in your sessions. This means that I can align with you on your spiritual level, or if you’re not spiritual it is simply never included in our sessions; this is always determined by you and what you need.
If you come to any of my workshops, or book an individual session, you can be assured that I use a trauma-informed approach and my experience as a family violence trainer means I can facilitate and hold a safe space for everyone. You will see my passion for ecotherapy, nature connection and sound healing – but know that as the long-haired hippy (me!) asks you to hug a tree, you are also going to learn about the environment, how trees communicate and the scientific basis of forest-bathing too.
I am passionate about helping people to boost their wellbeing so I try to include tools in every session for you to take home and use in your own self-care. Empowerment is a huge part of mental wellness, so I want to equip you with skills and practices that you can adapt and make work for you.  I also believe that the act of connecting with nature is not only beneficial to our mental health and wellbeing, but it also increases our compassion for the earth and how we take care of it.

After all, we must remember that we are nature.

Are you ready to dare to change? Click here to check out how I can help you.