About – North Lakes Counselling Services

Why I do what I do...

I understand how important it is to you to feel happy in the relationship with your partner and the relationship with yourself. I have helped hundreds of couples and individuals towards repairing their relationship and also growing as an individual. As someone who has gone through my own therapy, I know what it’s like for my clients to be going through their therapy journey.

My passion for counselling and coaching began in my previous career as a teacher, this included teaching counselling within education sectors and helping hundreds of students flourish in their careers. This led to my university studies to specialise in Relationships and Trauma and working with couples within the community.

My path as a Relationship Specialist and Coach is a life journey and I feel honoured to work with every client in my counselling practice. To witness their changes towards living in happier and meaningful relationships with their partner and the relationship with themselves, truly brings it back to the core as to why I do what I’m doing – to ‘connect and flourish’.

Qualifications

Master of Counselling (current)
Graduate Diploma of Counselling (University of New England)
Bachelor of Adult Education (Griffith University)
Diploma of Counselling (AIPC)
Diploma of Training Design and Development (HBA)
Diploma of Training and Assessment (HBA)

Specialised training in:

Emotion Focused Therapy for Couples and Individuals
Emotion Focused Therapy for Affairs
Relationship Therapy
Development Model for Couples
Integrative Behavioural Couple Therapy
Sex and Relationships
Transformation through intimacy
Compassion Focused Therapy
Trauma Informed Therapy
Cognitive Process Therapy
Acceptance Commitment Therapy

Registered Counsellor with:

Australian Counselling Association
Australian Register of Counsellors & Psychotherapists

The therapy tools I use

I work with a range of evidenced-based therapy tools in counselling sessions, so you can be assured you’ll go through a process proven to be effective.

Emotion Focused Therapy

I have seen brilliant results in using Emotion Focused Therapy with clients. It works beautifully and effectively with clients in all areas related to relationships, intimacy and sexuality. This allows for deeper awareness of your own beliefs and your attachment style to others in relationships from the past to present. It allows you to gently open up that space of compassion and empathy with your partner.

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is a type of talk therapy commonly used for processing thoughts, actions, behaviours and physical responses. It allows us to explore your relationship patterns you keep repeating as well as your interpretation of your thoughts and perspectives. I used a blend of CBT and ACT when working with clients to explore their self-identity and life changes and transitions.

Acceptance Commitment Therapy

Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) encourages clients to accept who they are. It explores your desires and what’s holding you back, to then developing your capacity to sit with these uncomfortable thoughts and emotions with more ease and acceptance. This approach gently challenges you on areas you have control over. I use ACT and Emotion Focused Therapy when working with couples and individuals.

Cognitive Process Therapy

Cognitive Process Therapy (CPT) helps you to process a traumatic event you may have experienced and explore new ways of associating meaning with what happened. Everyone experiences trauma differently and certain triggers can set off instant reactions. Trauma often comes up when working with couples, where partners have experienced some trauma in their past or even as far back to their childhood, sometimes this can be the base cause of their disconnection.

Somatic Experiencing Therapy

This therapy is an evidence-based approach that integrates cognitive (mind), emotion and sensations from the body. This is an embodied (body-based) holistic approach where I work with the client in trauma recovery. Through Somatic Experiencing Therapy, clients are able to fully process their unresolved trauma through a cognitive talk therapy and gentle body movements, to restore the clients’ ability to self-regulate their body reactions and achieve a sense of safety within.

My Story

25 years ago, before I became a counsellor, I first got together with my now-husband. You’ll laugh at my communication style: I would write little post-it notes and put them around the house when I wanted him to do something. Eventually, he asked me “Why are you putting post-it notes everywhere? Can you just talk to me about it?”. Here I was thinking it would be better to leave him post-it notes than confront him and potentially upset him! You can see how communication issues arise and our story is not uncommon. You might even be able to relate to the challenge of feeling comfortable enough to be honest to your partner face-to-face. It’s not always easy, especially if you’ve spent years taking a more passive approach to communication or sweeping issues under the rug.

While I may or may not have experienced your specific relationship struggles, I know what it is like to have a long-term relationship and the ups and downs we all experience. I’m not sitting out on a pedestal somewhere. I’m human too. I want you to know that, so you feel reassured that there isn’t something fundamentally wrong with you if you are experiencing relationship difficulties.

My values & personality

Clients say they find me down to earth, warm and friendly, along with a kind smile. That they feel safe and comfortable with me, and that I am approachable and human. I have been told by some clients, that in their most difficult sessions, they still manage to feel uplifted and optimistic when they leave.

I genuinely care about my clients and how they progress through their challenges to a place of clarity. I am naturally curious about people and believe this is a place where hope can live. Clients will hear me say ‘be more curious and less judgemental’, this allows us glimpses into someone else’s world and tends to bring out more empathy and understanding.

I value the trust that is built between me and my clients. Like a ‘safety net’, it cushions the support throughout our sessions, so clients gain a sense of how to trust themselves and others whilst keeping true to their own healthy boundaries.

What clients have to say

We highly recommend Linda. She is warm and understanding and made herself extremely relatable which in turn gave us the comfort to fully invest in our couples counselling sessions. Linda really helped us address our key issues and gave us the tools to be able to work on them moving forward together. I really mean it when I say, Linda saved our marriage. We are forever grateful for her.”

“We cannot speak highly enough of Linda and her knowledgeable guidance. Not only was it a rewarding experience for us as a couple, but also as individuals. She guided us through an effortless process beginning with exploring our origins, which has helped us to better understand ourselves and each other. It has been a fantastic check-in to gain perspective on where we were in our lives, and where we wanted to be. She showed us how easy it is to build the language around respectful communication and how to share our feelings and needs with each other.”

“My first session I was very anxious, but Linda made me feel comfortable so I could open up and talk about the things that were going on in my life. Making an appointment with Linda was the best thing I could have done for myself. Continual therapy with Linda is helping me change my life for the better.”

“I am very happy I saw Linda, as she helped me recognise some unhealthy patterns I’ve let myself fall into and to look out for warning signs of certain issues. Also, she was very clear about who/what I am dealing with in my ex-partner, in terms of his narcissism, so that I can take a realistic and strategic approach to dealing with him in future, and to change my expectations (which were always being disappointed). I feel more confident now about how to handle certain situations and what my priorities should be.”

“We found Linda’s Couples Counselling invaluable in assisting us to restore emotional intimacy in our relationship. Her ability to navigate through emotionally raw issues in a balanced and considered way was outstanding. We thoroughly recommend her services to other couples seeking relationship counselling.”

Book an Appointment

In-person appointments available at:

Deception Bay

North Ridge Estate
(off Boundary Road,
near North Lakes Costco)
Deception Bay, Qld 4508

North Lakes

‘Soul Spectrum’
Shop 5/25 Discovery Drive
North Lakes, Qld 4509