Individual Therapy

One-on-one sessions to explore what's really driving the problem, and move from the surface level to well beneath it.

What is individual therapy?

All therapists have their point of difference in how they conduct individual therapy. At its heart, individual therapy is a confidential relationship between you and I, where we meet to explore problems of importance in your life. Some therapists provide a quiet space for personal reflection. Others provide skills and strategies to implement immediately. My approach is based in relationally focused psychodynamic work, which means it's active and intentional work that moves beyond surface strategising to understanding and changing the root of the problem over the course of our time together.

This isn't therapy where you talk and I listen and we'll see how you go. We work together, in the room, in real time. I'll notice things as they come up and name them. I'll bring us back to what matters, even when part of you would rather stay at the surface.

Our first task is to get specific about what's actually going on beneath the surface of your life. My role from our first session is not to take arbitrary history that may or may not be relevant. It's about understanding what's happening right now. From there we look underneath. What patterns keep showing up? Where does anxiety spike? What are the emotional mechanisms running the show? It's dedicated time to look internally, and determine whether real change is possible in how you respond to the world around you.

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Common Experiences

Who is this for?

Individual therapy works well if you've tried to think, research, or willpower your way out of the problem and it hasn't shifted. If previous therapy felt helpful but didn't go deep enough. If you're ready for something that actually goes somewhere. Clinically speaking, people might search the below before coming to me:

  • Anxiety

  • Depression or low mood

  • Relationship difficulties

  • Life transitions

  • Complex trauma

  • Emotional regulation challenges

  • Attachment issues

  • Self-doubt or low self-esteem

  • Career or life direction questions

  • Stress or burnout

  • Family dynamics

  • Childhood trauma

  • Support during stressful life events

  • Setting boundaries

  • Improving communication

What to expect

Sessions are 50 minutes. We meet weekly or fortnightly depending on what works for you. The first session is about understanding what brings you here. We explore specific examples, what's happening now, what you want to be different.

Some people need a handful of sessions. Others want longer term work. We go at the pace that's right for you.

Backed By Research

Why this kind of therapy works

Moment to moment attunement

In session, my attention is fully on you. Not just on what you're saying, but on what's happening in your body, your affect, and the space between us. Interventions are selected in real time based on what's actually present, rather than a predetermined session plan.

Being truly heard

Being genuinely heard is a profound and rare experience. I consider it a privilege to hold the parts of your story that are raw, authentic, and sometimes painful. Your experience is met with full attention and without judgment.

Grounded in research

Psychodynamic therapy is one of the most thoroughly researched therapeutic approaches, with strong evidence for lasting change well beyond the end of treatment. Unlike approaches focused on symptom management, the gains from this kind of work tend to deepen over time. My own research background in alexithymia and emotional regulation directly informs how I listen, and what I listen for.

Common questions

  • No. I consider it a privilege to share in the parts of you that are authentic and often unheard by many (or any) other people.

  • That's completely normal, and at times represents a touch of anxiety as you enter the space. We can start right there. You will likely surprise yourself. Many of my sessions that start this way end with “I can’t believe that the 50 minutes is already up, we spoke about so much”.

  • There's no fixed timeline. Some people find relief in 4-10 sessions; others work with a therapist for years.

  • When you engage with meaningful work, anxiety will naturally show up. It’s not a sign that something is amiss in your therapy, it’s actually a good sign that we are headed towards something important.

    I'll always be tracking how much pressure is right for you in any given moment, and we won't push past what your system can handle.

  • Sessions are available in clinic on the Gold Coast and in Northern NSW, as walk-and-talk, or via Telehealth Australia-wide.