About Me

Being of service to others is one of my key values and I feel privileged to be able to help people navigate the complexities in their lives. As part of this, I work hard to make sure there’s never any shame in seeking help and that my clients feel like they have a present and trusted partner who listens carefully and ‘walks beside them’ on their journey.

As a counsellor, I help with a range of challenges such as managing difficult relationships – including in the family, personal and at the workplace - to make engaging with people less stressful, understanding eating disorders to improve feelings of self-worth and the relationship with body-image and food, navigating feelings of hopelessness, loneliness and low self-esteem, as well as anxiety and depression or grief and loss. I have some experience helping people start to heal from trauma. One of the key problems I’ve helped people with is developing awareness of any negative thought patterns in order to manage them without being overwhelmed.

Because everyone’s needs are different, I use multi-disciplinary techniques to tailor our sessions. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is my main focus, which provides clients with frameworks to examine how their thoughts and behaviours can impact their emotions. I also incorporate elements of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) as required. I work with adults and teenagers, and advocate for diversity and inclusion.

My background

I have a Master of Counselling from Monash University, along with further qualifications in different counselling techniques. Because It’s important to me to be involved in the community, I used to volunteer as a counsellor at a refugee centre in Hong Kong. I continue to provide pro-bono counselling support to people who were clients at the Refugee Centre in Hong Kong but have now moved to different countries.

Prior to becoming a counsellor, I worked in professional roles where building relationships was the main focus, including retail and sales, educational publishing, event management and marketing and business development. I’m also a qualified secondary school teacher and have completed training to be a Life Coach.

I’m passionate about travel and lived in London for several years before moving to Hong Kong in 2008. I relocated back to Melbourne in November 2021 for personal reasons. I also enjoy gardening, hiking and supporting my son’s local football team.

Qualifications and memberships

Tertiary:

- Master of Counselling (Monash), 2021
- Graduate Diploma of Business (Marketing) (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Melbourne), 2007
- Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary, English and History) (University of Melbourne), 1995
- Bachelor of Arts (University of Melbourne), 1993

I am currently enrolled in the Graduate Certificate of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (Victoria University, Melbourne)

Further Education:

- Relationship and Couple Therapy (Clinical Supervision Services, Australia), 2022
- Providing Effective Bereavement Support (Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement), 2021
- Emotional Freedom Techniques (Levels 1 and 2), 2020
- TPC Leadership Coaching, 2020

Memberships:

- Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association (HKPCA), Associate Member
- Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), Certified Practising Counsellor
- Counsellors Victoria (Australia), Full Member

Schedule a session with Sarah