Therapy & Counselling

When something feels off with your child, it can be hard to know where to start.

Maybe the school has raised a concern. Maybe you've noticed your child withdrawing, or struggling to manage their emotions, or falling behind in ways that don't quite add up. Maybe you just know something isn't right — even if you can't name it yet.

Therapy gives children and adolescents a space to be heard. My job is to find the right way in — for that child, at that stage, with what they're carrying.

I draw on a range of approaches depending on what I'm seeing. Below is a plain-language overview of what those look like in practice.

Play Therapy

Best for children aged approximately 5–10, or any child who finds talking difficult.

Some children don't yet have words for what they're feeling. Play therapy works with that — not against it. Using toys, sand, art, and creative materials as the medium, children can process experiences and emotions that they couldn't articulate in a normal conversation. It's particularly helpful after a difficult or traumatic experience, or when a child has shut down to traditional talk therapy.

I'm a certified play therapist — this is specialist training, not something I've added on.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

Effective for anxiety, low mood, and unhelpful thinking patterns.

CBT helps children and adolescents notice the connection between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviour — and learn to shift the patterns that are keeping them stuck. It's one of the most well-researched approaches in child psychology, and it's practical: children leave sessions with tools they can actually use.

For children with anxiety specifically, I offer the Macquarie University Cool Kids program — a structured, evidence-based approach to helping kids understand and manage their worries.

Behaviour Support

Helpful for children who struggle with emotional outbursts, defiance, or social difficulties.

When a child's behaviour is the presenting problem, the behaviour is rarely the whole story. I work with children to build social skills, emotional awareness, and problem-solving strategies — and I work with parents and teachers to put the right supports in place around them. Particularly useful alongside an ADHD diagnosis or where oppositional behaviour is the main concern.

Mindfulness-Based Approaches

For children and adolescents managing anxiety or low mood.

Adapted for younger clients, mindfulness-based work helps children develop awareness of what's happening in their body and mind — without being overwhelmed by it. Breathing, present-moment focus, and simple meditation techniques, taught in age-appropriate ways.

Sand Tray Therapy

For children and adolescents who need a non-verbal outlet.

Similar in spirit to play therapy, sand tray gives children a way to express and work through what they're carrying without needing to find the words first. It can be a powerful tool for children who are guarded, or who have experienced something difficult they're not ready to talk about directly.

Solution-Focused Therapy

For adolescents and older children who are ready to work toward something.

Rather than spending long periods analysing problems, solution-focused therapy starts with where the young person wants to be — and works backward from there. It's future-oriented, practical, and often shorter in duration than other approaches. Useful when a young person has insight but is feeling stuck.

Emotion Regulation

Woven through most of my work with children.

Many children arrive because they're overwhelmed by their emotions — not because they're bad kids, but because they haven't yet developed the capacity to manage big feelings. Emotion regulation isn't a separate modality so much as a thread through everything I do — helping children understand what they're feeling, why, and what to do with it.

Parenting support

Sometimes the most effective thing I can do is work with you.

Children don't exist in isolation — and neither does their struggle. I'm trained in Gottman Emotion Coaching for Parents, which gives parents a concrete framework for responding to a child's emotions in ways that build connection and reduce conflict. This can happen alongside your child's therapy, or as a standalone engagement.