about sally
Hello, my name is Sally. I am a wife, a mum, a step-mum and a grandmother to a one year old and four year old. My favorite hobby is genealogy, I get fascinated with the story behind my ancestors eg what was happening in their world at the time they were alive, what led up to the events that sent my ancestors out to Van Diemen's Land as convicts and how did their lives change as a result of this.
I am also an avid learner, I have 4 university degrees in the health science field and have recently been accepted as a PhD Candidate. Hence I must say I have read a lot of text books and journal articles over the years but when I am not doing that I like to read non-fiction books that are informative and factual.
My working life has included working the past 28 years as a first responder with two state ambulance services as a frontline Paramedic, a Manager and also Program Coordinator for a Mental Health & Wellbeing program. About 7 years into this career I saw the need to upskill myself and have another career option under my belt in preparation for the day when I did not want to work shiftwork any more, or if I sustained an injury (physical or psychological) as part of my job. So I went to university again and completed studies in psychology, counselling and workplace education.
I consider myself to have a vast amount of experience working with people who experience trauma and the impact this can have on their personal relationship with others including family members and children. I have been one of the lucky ones in my 28 years of being a paramedic where I do not believe I have experienced PTSD. However, after being in the job for so long I certainly have a sense of hypervigilance around safety. I know when I do not feel safe in the world (whether that is real or perceived) or if I have a fear for the safety of my family, my anxiety goes up. Fortunately I have had some great mentors over the years who have taught me effective strategies for understanding my reactions and managing this, which I now pass on to others.
As a first responder, I also know how stressful the job can be and the impact some jobs have had on myself, my colleagues and just importantly how our moods and behaviours can negatively impact on our families. I understand how issues with management can cause more stress at times than some of the jobs that we attend and I also have experienced how, as a first responder, we can be really good at looking after other people but not so good at looking after ourselves.
So as a result of all my past experiences it would be easy to see that my passion lies with working with people who experience;
- Trauma
- PTSD
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Family issues
- Relationship issues
- Working with children
- Professional development, and
- Organisational support
The intervention strategies that I prefer to work with in counselling are;
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Narrative Therapy
- Art & Play Therapy
- Mindfulness
- Trauma Informed Therapy, and
- Developmental Psychology.
If you think that my level of knowledge, experience and expertise is a good fit for you or you would like to ask me a question, please click on the Contact Us tab to send me a message or request an appointment.
