Jan’s approach & background
Through Solution Oriented Counselling, ACT, Mindfulness, Collaborative Couples therapy and Hypnosis, my aim is for untapped or perhaps forgotten or underused strengths to unfold or re-emerge within, allowing shifts away from labels, dependencies, mind cages and unhelpful patterns of behaviour. Through this process I believe we become more the person we want to be in the life we want to have. It’s a practical, respectful, values based and supportive behavioural approach.
I came to the psychological health field early in 2011 and have now completed four years of training with Ampersand Australia, (Davellen Consulting) obtaining a Diploma and Advanced level qualifications in Applied Counselling Psychology and Solution Oriented Hypnosis. I have gained advanced qualifications, through the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, which complements the Solution Oriented / Ericksonian approach of Applied Counselling Psychology. Within the ACT training my focus has been on adolescence and depression.
In my previous career, I witnessed for many years, the remarkable resilience, strength, spirit and humour of people displaced by war or persecution from their homelands, grappling with learning English while adjusting to this new and very foreign country.
Qualifications & Memberships
Clinical membership of the Guild of Australian Hypnotherapists
Member of Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
Advanced Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for Depression
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy for Adolescence
Solution Oriented Hypnosis Level II
Advanced Applied Counselling Psychology Level II
Diploma of Applied Counselling Psychology
Graduate Diploma in Education
Accountability
As a trained therapist, I am a clinical member of The Guild of Australian Hypnotherapist; I engage in regular Professional Development and Supervision in all modalities of my practice.
Currently, Counsellors and Hypnosis practitioners can practise in Australia without formal qualifications. Well intentioned but ideologically driven individuals can set up practices, applying their own belief systems to clients.
Certification
Recently, certification has been created and applied to a broad range of courses that were not previously deemed to need certification. The lucrative overseas student market has contributed to this.
What does this mean?
It seemed initially that there was a well intentioned push from Government, to rid the field of unethical players and well meaning but fanciful ones.
However, in the sweeping changes that were delivered by government, well respected, long-running privately run training bodies have lost the right to use the term “diploma” unless they restructure to a "training package" format. This alteration is costly and time consuming and its ability to impart deep learning is questionable. Despite approval for decades by The Australian Qualifications Framework and long established, highly regarded professional associations, these private courses have been left, for now, without traditional certification terms. Processes are in place to address this.
How to choose a Counsellor in the light of all this
It’s good to ring the therapist and ask about their approach and their professional associations. It’s also really important to get a feel for the therapist and for the kind of rapport you might strike with them. You could ask if they offer a free first 15 minutes, so you could be confident that this therapist is the right person for you.