• Accredited Member of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).
• Private Practice Special Interest Group (Qld).
• Master of Philosophy. University of Queensland 2013.
• Master of Social Work (Qld).
• Bachelor of Social Work (Qld).
• Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment & Training.
• Certificate IV in Business Management.
• Supervision Training for Supervisors 1 & 2 – Margaret Morrell.
• Fighting Fair – Mediation Level 1. Scott Dutton.

Practice Frameworks?

A practice framework is a constantly evolving part of professional development. I am an eclectic practitioner that is I draw from many different sources of knowledge to enhance my capacity to assist clients.

Generally, I utilize psycho-analytic theory in conjunction with systemic theory. My underlying philosophy is informed by my beliefs that people are always doing the best they can to achieve happiness in their lives, however circumstances, lack of knowledge, skills and resources can hamper and even harm the ability to create what we want in our lives.

Practice Philosophy?

It is very, very important that a therapist be able to look beyond the obvious. I have found over the past twenty years that often it is “what we don’t know” that creates problems in our lives.

It may be that we have developed beliefs and assumptions about people, relationships and a whole range of things that may have helped us get through a time in our lives. However over time those beliefs can actually work against us in the here and now. The difficulty is that those underlying beliefs and assumptions are often buried.

Now if we accept that everyone has beliefs and assumptions about people, relationships and the world, and that many of these beliefs, attitudes and assumptions are unconscious. That is, we have forgotten why, how or from whom we learned them. It starts to make sense why we can start to have difficulties in our relationships, our work and life in general. Sometimes we have to rediscover those underlying beliefs and assumptions to make different choices.

Often people will know what they think, feel and believe and what they want regarding an issue or topic. For example, people who have survived trauma come with many strengths and resources.The difficulty may be about “the how” to achieve a different outcome. It maybe that achieving a different outcome is dependent on learning and applying skills. Examples of this can be in conflict resolution, assertion and communication.

In my practice I have found that it is this approach to my work with individuals, couples and families that brings forth new ways of looking at issues and often frees people up to trying new thing and ways of relating to those important people in their lives.

It is also very reassuring for people to realize that a lack of knowledge, skills and information may be the real reason for their difficulties. It helps people to realize they are not “bad” or “awful” nor are the people they may be in conflict with. The need to blame and find fault is significantly reduced, old beliefs, attitudes and assumptions can be suspended and something new can come out of the chaos.