From corporate life to the counselling room

 

Debra spent years in the corporate world, leading large teams and navigating the full complexity of human beings under pressure. She knows from experience that wherever there are people, there is always something happening: a relationship fracturing, a performance masking pain, a person holding far more than anyone around them realises.

 

When her corporate career came to an end, she found herself asking the question many people ask at major life transitions: what's next?

 

The answer arrived when she became Program Director of a residential alcohol and other drugs rehabilitation centre, a role that required not just leadership but genuine therapeutic presence. She was already doing the work before she had the formal title. And sitting inside it, she thought: this is where I fit. This is where I belong.

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             What Debra believes about healing

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Debra works from a fundamental conviction: what people think is the problem usually isn't the problem.

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Underneath the anxiety, the addiction, the fractured relationship, the grief that won't shift, there is almost always something older and deeper.

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Her work is about finding that thing. Sitting with it. And helping people move through it to become who they actually are: the authentic person that has been waiting underneath.

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She describes her approach as working in the unconscious space rather than from a purely cognitive one. She's less interested in reframing your thoughts than in getting to the root of why those thoughts exist in the first place.

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             How Debra works

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People who come to Debra tend to share a few things in common. They've often tried talking about their problems and found it helpful but incomplete. They want to understand the why behind their patterns, not just manage the symptoms. They're ready to do something, not just think about it.

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Debra brings a calm, non-judgmental presence to every session. She listens carefully, not just to what is being said but to what is being communicated underneath the words. She challenges gently, notices acutely, and has a particular gift for finding what works for each individual person.

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She is flexible, creative in her approach, and not afraid to invite people to try something different when what they've been doing hasn't been working.

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People who have worked with Debra describe meaningful breakthroughs: shifts in longstanding patterns, relief from issues that had been present for most of their lives, a sense of finally being genuinely seen and understood.

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           Areas of practice

Debra works with a wide range of presenting issues, including:

• Trauma and PTSD, including complex and developmental trauma

• Addiction and dependency of any kind, at any stage, with no fixed destination required

• Grief and loss, including death, relationship breakdown, identity loss, and the losses that don't always get named

• Anxiety and depression

• Low self-esteem and shame

• Life transitions and personal development

• Workplace stress and burnout

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             Therapeutic approaches

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Debra draws on a range of modalities, tailored to what each person needs.

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Person-centred therapy places you at the centre of your own healing. There is no agenda, no fixed timeline, no expert telling you what your experience means. You lead; Debra follows, with skill and care.

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Somatic therapy recognises that trauma and stress live in the body, not just the mind. Rather than focusing solely on the story, this approach works with the nervous system, helping to release what has been held physically, gently and safely.

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Root Cause Therapy goes beneath the presenting issue to find its origin. Particularly powerful for addiction, this is the approach at the heart of Debra's 12-week program: a structured but flexible journey from wherever you are now toward wherever you want to be.

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Creative therapy is woven into sessions where it feels useful and right, using drawing, music, movement, and drama as pathways into the unconscious that conversation alone can't always reach.

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Debra practices from the BioPsychoSocial-Spiritual model of recovery while not dismissing that medication also plays a role in recovery.

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             Clinical supervision

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In addition to her counselling practice, Debra offers clinical supervision for individuals and groups, including on-site workplace supervision for organisations committed to the psychological safety and wellbeing of their teams.

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Registered with the Australasian Association of Supervisors and Chaplaincy Australia, she brings her full therapeutic skill set to the supervision space, creating a structured and supportive environment where practitioners can reflect on their work, process the emotional weight it carries, and continue to grow.

 

Supervision with Debra is available individually or as a group, and she is happy to come to your workplace for group sessions.

 

           A note on mental health and mental illness

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One thing Debra wishes more people understood: there is a difference between mental illness and mental unwellness, and neither one defines who a person is.

 

Both can be managed well. A person can live a happy, mentally healthy life regardless of where they are starting from. The tools exist. Practiced daily, they become the medicine of recovery and ongoing wellbeing.

 

That belief sits at the heart of everything Debra does.

 

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Debra sees clients individually and in groups, online and in person.

 To find out more            or       to get in touch.

 

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Debra is accredited with the following organisations

• PACFA

• IICT

• AAoS

• Chaplaincy Australia

• Mental Health First Aid

• Psychological First Aid