About Cheryl
Counsellor, professional supervisor and behaviour change facilitator, Melbourne-based, working Australia-wide online.
I love people. I can see the struggles people go through, and I know that often they haven't allowed themselves to be heard or supported. Being there with someone at a vulnerable time is a privilege, and a chance to remind them of their value and importance.
I came to counselling through more than 25 years in nursing and social work, across some of Victoria's major health services. Nursing taught me to listen to the body as well as the mind: emotional pain often presents as physical pain, and much of my work supports people to move out of their heads and into their body and heart-space.
Since 2020 I've run my own practice from St Kilda, working with people in person and online across Australia. I also teach counselling and interviewing skills to Master of Social Work students at the University of Melbourne: the same craft I practise every day.
In sessions I draw on Motivational Interviewing, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, behaviour change approaches and emotion-focused work. The approach is side by side rather than top-down: I don't hold all the answers, and you won't feel a power imbalance. My role is to help you explore what you need, connect with your values, and find the internal motivation that makes change stick. It's the kind of everyday mental fitness that lasts well beyond our sessions.
Experience
My clinical and community experience spans more than 25 years across health services, government and non-government organisations, and private practice in Victoria. I've supervised staff, graduates and students on placement since 2009, and provided external supervision to practitioners across aged care, emergency services, law enforcement, universities, the NDIS and mental health services, plus reflective-practice and wellbeing training for graduate students and staff in a teaching hospital.
Qualifications & accreditations
- Accredited Social Worker, Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW: 488951)
- Credentialed Behaviour Change Facilitator, VicRoads
- Teaching staff, Master of Social Work (counselling & interviewing skills), University of Melbourne
- Bachelor of Social Work, University of Melbourne
- Health Science: Nursing, La Trobe University
A good fit?
I work with individuals (including people moving through couples or family difficulties), but I don't offer couples or family therapy as joint sessions. If that's what you need, I'm happy to point you towards the right support.
Wondering whether we'd work well together? The first step is a short phone chat.