Trauma Support Providers

I have worked with people experiencing the effects of trauma for over 30 years, using a variety of client-centered, trauma-informed and strengths-based therapeutic approaches including narrative therapy, sandplay, mindfulness, CBT and somatic techniques that work with the neuropsychology of trauma to developed felt safety and reduced emotional reactivity to memories or triggers related to trauma. I started my work with survivors of domestic violence, and then became involved in the early movements in Melbourne to undercover sexual abuse within the churches. I have worked in sexual assault services in Victoria, NSW, SA, NT and Tasmania, and have worked extensively with individuals, families and communities experiencing disadvantage, including those affected by substance misuse, and within Aboriginal communities. I understand that building trust and rapport is the foundation of any successful therapy. While this work is demanding, I am constantly inspired by the ways in which people survive, recover and thrive in their lives after trauma.
I clarify with clients the issues they wish to work with, knowing that different aspects of trauma will demand attention at different times, and over time. I match my ideas of change and recovery with those of the client, and describe my ideas about ways we might work and how long this might take, to make sure this fits with the clients expectations and availability. I am based at North Queensland Psychology clinic, although I have also offered choice of location to clients who prefer home or other places to meet.
I use mindfulness practices of grounding, regulation, and focus to help clients feel safe in the presence of difficult emotions, thoughts and memories, and stay attuned to the clients tolerance level so I can offer to reduce intensity of the conversation if the client becomes overwhelmed. I offer art and play therapy as alternatives to verbalising when this is difficult, and to strengthen a clients knowledge of their values, strengths and skills which support their goals and hopes for themselves. I dont use approaches which invite reliving or re-exposure to trauma, and use çurrent neuroscience informed approaches which validate experience, enhance self compassion, release trauma from the body, and strengthen self-conceptualisations based on the fact of their survival.
I see my role primarily as a mirror reflecting to my clients the qualities, skills and values they had lost of sight of: clients regain connection to their preferred version of themselves, and feel empowered to keep themselves safe and to express their values in the ways they choose in their lives.

Specialising in supporting people who have experienced trauma, Tricia is a qualified psychotherapist with over 12 years of experience counselling children, adolescents, and adults in paediatric, educational, mental health, and trauma recovery settings. In the last 6 years, she has worked extensively with survivors of childhood sexual assault and family violence, some of whom have complex mental health presentations including C-PTSD and Dissociative Identity Disorder.

Trauma not only impacts our emotional and cognitive experiences, it is often experienced physically in the body, as our nervous system activates autonomic defensive responses to protect us from further physical/emotional/relational injury/harm when a perceived threat/trigger is present. Through her personal and professional experience, Tricia has gained a profound appreciation of the interconnected nature of our mental, emotional, physical, and energetic bodies; and how we are impacted by our relationships with one another and our environment. This has led to her commitment to work holistically to support the body’s native intelligence coming into balance and harmony, so as to facilitate healing and transformation that deepens the experience of innate aliveness, self-empowerment, freedom and joy.

Tricia's clinical practice is supported by extensive professional training, ongoing supervision and personal therapy. She is continuously expanding her knowledge and refining her skills, and the modalities she offers now include humanistic therapy, Eye Movement Desensitisation & Reprocessing (EMDR), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (Level 2), Havening Techniques, Art Therapy (Masters in Art Therapy), play therapy/Theraplay, and Tension & Trauma Release Exercises (TRE). These modalities are informed by leading-edge research, a rich understanding of trauma and early attachment disruptions, and/or age-old practices based on ancient wisdom that are gaining increasing recognition from emerging scientific evidence.

Tricia’s style is warm, respectful, compassionate, collaborative, and creative. She honours her client’s unique experience and innate capacity to heal and grow, and she creates the space for them and their nervous system to do so at their own pace, while supporting them to strengthen their internal and external resources, including techniques to modulate nervous system dysregulation. Tricia invites mindfulness and curiosity in her sessions whilst exploring issues/challenges collaboratively and creatively, with a focus on her client’s cognitive, emotional, and somatic experience during the process.

Tricia’s intention is to provide a safe therapeutic container for individuals to transform their challenges within an attuned relationship, that results in a deep experience of wholeness, wellbeing and a life that is truly fulfilling.

Hello, my name is Pamela Trotman. I am a qualified and accredited mental health social worker with forty years of experience and learning related to working with survivors of different kinds of trauma. I have worked with people from many different groups and cultures including Aboriginal Australians who are members of the Stolen Generations. I too am a survivor of childhood sexual assault who spent many years finding ways to overcome the effects of that abuse. The last leg of that journey occurred when I was in my sixties when I successfully claimed compensation which served as a formal recognition that the abuse had occurred. If you choose me as your counsellor I can offer a range of well-known and accredited healing approaches but most of all I see myself as your guide and mentor in your healing journey.
My counselling style is collaborative: to work with you to address your issues by assisting you to manage adverse trauma reactions while exploring ways to promote your healing. I see ‘healing’ as that state of being where our lives and wellbeing are no longer shaped and overshadowed by trauma, so we are free to enjoy a rich and satisfying life as a person, and in relationship with others. I cannot guarantee that the counselling process will be easy, but I can offer you the commitment to ‘walk-beside-you’.
All my counselling is offered on the basis of the following considerations:
1. By seeking counselling you have the courage and commitment to achieve wellbeing. My responsibility is to match that courage;
2. We will negotiate mutually suitable times and ways to meet;
3. My fees are the (reduced) AASW fee schedule ($250 per session);
4. Our brains have the capacity to help us survive and also to thrive. In recent years I have learned about the neurological basis for this intuitive knowledge, and have developed strategies to harness that energy;
5. I don’t have to fear being overwhelmed by your story. Moved yes, but not overwhelmed because it is our shared responsibility to decide how to safely travel along your healing path;
6. I may not be the best person to serve as your counsellor. If we decide this, I will assist you to gain a clearer picture of what style of counsellor would best suit you.
Thank you for considering me. I wish you well in this exciting stage of your life. Go in peace and confidence that you can find wellness and joy.
Pamela

My work experience, since 2003, has mainly been in the youth homelessness and primary health sector. In these contexts, unresolved developmental trauma, is a significant barrier for many people to move forward in their lives and reach their full potential. The organisations I have worked for encouraged a trauma sensitive response at all levels; my work with survivors has included advocacy, collaboration with other professionals, crisis management and therapeutic interventions. I now work in private practice where I provide psychotherapeutic interventions for a range of mental health challenges.
Everyone’s journey of healing from trauma is unique, but there are some best practice principles which underpin what I do. These include working in a spirit of collaboration; a recognition that your coping strategies (however they may or may not be serving you now) were a response to your experience and have helped you survive; and a three phased and graduated intervention which includes safety, processing of the traumatic event(s) and integration. You will be invited, at your own pace, to stand up to your deepest fears and doubts so that you will eventually be able to
look back on what happened to you, but it will no longer drive your feelings and behaviour from a subconscious level.
Contemporary understandings of the plasticity of the brain indicate that healing of even the most serious trauma is possible. My role is to invite you into new experiences which will promote this healing; whilst being guided by you as to the pace and specific experiences you will engage with.
My practice is informed by many approaches which include experiential and somatic techniques as well as ‘talk therapy’; and as a social worker, it is anchored in recognising the impact of your social and physical environment on your coping strategies and use of personal power. In the background of my professional development I have also been practising yoga for over thirty years. Recent research has suggested some approaches to yoga are very useful in healing trauma and I have been encouraged to bring this knowledge into my therapeutic practice.
I rent a room from a suburban house which has been modified to provide a reception area, a group area, an office and two counselling rooms. I also offer outreach appointments and can negotiate with you to come to your home, or go for a walk on the beach, or sit in a park if you prefer these alternative spaces. Fees are $105 per counselling session (1 hour). I am registered with Medicare and concessions are available for people in financial hardship.
I work with trauma survivors because it confronts me with the darkest side and the best of what it means to be human – and therefore the worst and the best of my own humanity. As I collaborate with you on your healing and transcendence of what happened to you I am also given the opportunity of transformation and growth. This is a great privilege and gift in my life.

I am an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker with a special interest in trauma.

I have more than 35 years experience working as a child and family therapist in government and not-for-profit organizations, and in private practice: providing counseling to children and adults, consultancy and training to health and welfare professionals, managing clinical services, and in the research and development of treatment programs for abused children and adults.

I am committed to helping my clients develop practical and effective strategies to address their concerns and provide lasting positive changes. I use a client-centered approach to individualize treatment using a variety of evidence based methods including Narrative Therapy, Trauma-informed Therapy, Emotional Freedom Techniques (Tapping), Relaxation Strategies and Psycho-education. ""Mr Marrington is a highly experienced and expert clinician whose practice skills are of the highest order"". Emeritus Professor Barry Nurcombe, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist.

Rachael is a compassionate trauma informed Clinical Psychology Registrar (Qualified Psychologist) in both Hervey-Bay and Maryborough and the greater Widebay Burnett. She graduated from Victoria University (VU) with a Bachelor of Clinical Psychology and a Bachelor of Biomedicine, after which she graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) in 2011 with her Honors in Clinical Psychology. Rachael has completed her Masters of Clinical Psychology through the University of Southern Queensland with her thesis topic addressing a prominant gap in literature: Animal-Assisted Activities/Animal-Ownership and the Impact on Psychological/Physical Factors among People Identifying as LGBTIQA+ Living with and Without HIV.

Rachael combines aspects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing, Existential Positive Psychology and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) into her practice with a largely gentle and positive regard for lived client experiences. Rachael also has solid experience administering psychological testing and has completed extensive training into such.

Rachael has experience and a special interest in working with Indigenous, transgender, L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+, and trauma affected clientele. Rachael is fluent in English, German, Swiss and Afrikaans.

Rachael is available for National Redress clients. Please contact www.lorenzpsychology.com

Ritchie Wong is a Psychologist and EMDR Therapist at the EMDR Clinic in Melbourne and has been working with complex trauma clients for the last 10 years. Having experienced many personal challenges in his own life (including childhood emotional neglect, grief, physical abuse, low self-esteem, social anxiety, anger and depression), he has a keen sensitivity and understanding of the myriad of issues faced by clients. As a result of his experiences, he is passionate about helping others overcome their struggles, and find meaning and personal fulfillment in their lives.

Ritchie incorporates various evidence-based treatments including EMDR therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mindfulness, Relaxation, Hypnosis and Ego State Therapy to ensure that clients obtain a carefully-tailored experience with the best possible outcomes. He is experienced at dealing with a range of mental health issues but has a particular interest in the treatment of PTSD, childhood trauma, abuse and long-standing chronic depression and anxiety.

As a I am both privileged and humbled to have worked in the area of trauma for a period that spans over thirty years. My history is inclusive of working alongside a broad range of professionals, individuals, children, young people and families within government and non-government sectors. Areas and fields of work include mental health, drug/alcohol, advocacy, child protection and community care where issues of depression/anxiety, sexual abuse, trauma, relationships, work related stress together with grief and loss predominate. My aim is to bring sensitivity, clarity, warmth and humour to my work along with my belief in self-determination and responsibility. To this end, I draw on a range of therapeutic approaches that not only support finding ways to help reduce symptoms of trauma but to jointly explore what a persons life means to them, their potential and any unrealised possibilities - that is - living more fully, more joyfully and more choice-fully.

Rose is a Clinical Psychologist with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, registered with the Psychology Board of Australia, AHPRA and member of the Australia Psychological Society, living and working on the Gold Coast.

Rose works with a range of ages and difficulties and prefers to work individually with adult and adolescent clients, whilst recognising that many difficulties benefit from a systemic approach within the family unit. Rose’s interests are working with attachment difficulties which can masquerade as a multitude of disorders, particularly in childhood. Rose has extensive experience working with trauma across the lifespan in both adults and children. Rose focuses on building an understanding of the impacts of trauma in the present and helping people turn what has been chaotic into something predictable and workable. Rose understands that many individuals with a trauma history are not in a position to be able to explore trauma directly, though are seeking to address the impacts to their lives and can assist in working with trauma in a gentler fashion to overcome the current difficulties while preventing overloading clients with exposure to the trauma.

Rose operates from an attachment framework and primarily uses the evidence-based therapeutic model of Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP), though may also draw on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT) and Solution Focused Therapy (SFT).

In studying for her Doctorate, Rose specialised in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the effects of mindfulness on its development and treatment. Rose’s research into PTSD in clinical populations revealed a significant link between symptoms of PTSD and experiential avoidance, that is, avoiding internal experiences such as thoughts, memories and feelings. This research also found mindfulness was linked with better outcomes in the treatment of PTSD, with experiential avoidance and PTSD symptoms significantly reduced when mindfulness was higher at the end of treatment.

Ros provides psychotherapy to children, adolescents and adults. She is passionate about helping clients reach their full potential. Areas of interest comprise a wide range of mental health problems including: depression, anxiety, trauma, adjustment disorder and relationship problems. Her therapeutic approach incorporates a range of trauma informed therapies including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), Dialectal behavioural therapy (DBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), mindfulness, self-psychology and neuro-psychotherapy.