Our Services

A referral from a medical practitioner is not required for face-to-face counselling with our service. There are no waiting queues and generally you will be able to secure your face-to-face appointment very quickly. One–on-one counselling offers a personal, confidential and safe session whereby I can determine your need for help and support. I am here to help you to best manage your situation. Counselling very often involves a process of clarifying the issues, encouraging self-awareness, exploring available options, and developing coping strategies. Call me and make your appointment today.

I recognise the uniqueness of each person and offer a holistic counselling approach in supporting my clients towards improved relationship wellbeing. I use the John Gottman model working with couples who have relationship/marriage problems. This model encourages clients to explore and address weaknesses, strength, commitment and goal building. I am a Christian and I am comfortable to provide counselling in accordance to the principle of God’s grace. I invite gay and lesbian couples who are having relationship problems, having problems with parents about ‘coming out’ or transgender questions to make an appointment.

I offer counselling in a safe environment where I will support you with your relationship problems and how to develop skills to face your challenges. These challenges may stem from illness, disability, unemployment, living apart (for example fly-in fly-out families), financial pressure, children and their developmental stages. I use a cognitive approach to enhance collaboration and understanding in your relationship. I use a combination of strength-based therapies such as Solution Focused, Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive models to give you a sense of space and autonomy. Most relationships have “rocky” patches which causes distress. Relationship counselling helps to build clarity and understanding.

Christene provides counselling services under the Employee Assistance Program at a number of organisations. An Employee Assistance Program is counselling services paid for by an employer to support staff dealing with difficult situations at work or in their personal life. This includes services as a Critical Incident Manager. If your organisation is looking for an EAP service provider please contact us.

Registered supervisor with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), providing professional supervision to Counselling professionals.  Ensuring ethical guidelines and professional standards are maintained.  Sessions can be in person or via telephone.

Sometimes the sense of loss and grief can lead to a feeling of despair. However, grieving is a healing process. I can help you to make sense of your experience and I will encourage you to be active in your grief-work. This may involve Mindfulness and Narrative models of counselling. Counselling can help to gain a greater understanding of how you can cope with your loss and how I can walk with you to move forward with your life. Freud was the first person to speak about terms such as ‘object-loss’. Loss and Grief Counselling involves dealing with the pain of grief, releasing the loss and readjusting to the subsequent changes. I will be there for you.

When working with children, I engage them in sand box therapy and art as a form of Narrative Therapy. I have had 18 years working with children and adolescents and have travelled to Canada to concrete my understanding of self-harm in adolescents. We will survive your teenager together! Please contact me for more information.

There are times in our lives when we feel sad and unhappy. If you struggle to cope because of this continued feeling of depression, you can turn to counselling. I use a gentle holistic approach which will assist you to move forward and set goals. Depression does not have to rule your life. At its worst depression can induce feelings of self-harm or suicide. I have had specialised training in these areas. Typical symptoms include: a feeling of hopelessness or despair, negative thoughts, lethargy and tiredness, change in eating and sleeping habits, lack of interest and emotions such as tearfulness. If you experience any of these symptoms I can help you.

Anxiety counselling will assist you to identify any underlying issues that are yet to be resolved. I can also help you to identify patterns or triggers in your emotions to help you understand your feelings. Anxiety is a feeling of fear, extreme worry or a feeling of unease. This can affect your sleep, concentration and mood which can lead to future relationship complications. Counselling can help you to reduce anxiety which can result in physical symptoms such as panic attacks, upset stomach, loss of appetite and dizziness. Together we can work to resolve a deeper understanding of your feelings. Friends or family members of someone who is suffering from anxiety can also see me to gain a better understanding of what to do and how to help.

I offer Group Counselling for parenting, loss and grief, couples and cancer suffers. You will experience personal growth through the use of interpersonal interaction with others. Group work provides an opportunity to build relationships and receive feedback. You will gain specific insights and strategies to meet your personal goals, while gaining group support and encouragement. Group sessions are held weekly for approximately one to one a half hours.

On-line counselling is offered for clients across Queensland. There is no referral necessary and we have had success in offering this service in Central Queensland. I have a team of experienced and professional counsellors. This service is affordable and very accessible. We love to talk to you about what’s worrying you, wherever you are.

The cancer support group is a number of people who come together regularly - in person, over the phone or online – to discuss shared experiences. A survey of 184 groups in NSW found that cancer support groups are a powerful way to improve wellbeing (Cancer Council Australia).

I find that the support group brings people together who share the experience of developing cancer at the same stage in life. For example, parents of children with cancer or the benefits of exercise or young people who have cancer. I have worked in Cancer Support Groups using Qigong Meditation Therapy. Counselling support is offered at group members’ pace and readiness. Information shared within the group is always treated with respect. These groups offer: a sense of belonging; reducing isolation; empathy; feeling safe and finally humour (see leaflet - Click here). The group is for people with any type of cancer, or a certain type of cancer; for newly diagnosed people, or people with advanced cancer; for both men & women; open to carers; and for all cultural, language and age groups.

This is an informal rural get-together that provides emotional support. I encourage people to speak about anything they want to say but there is never any pressure. This is a good format because participants relax and I can feel the group bonding. This has been a very rewarding experience for me to see the change in people – from the initial shock and distress of diagnosis to becoming empowered and supported and feeling more in control of their lives. Please contact me for information and location details.

“It’s a very sale place to cry in. We’ve talked about death. You can’t talk about that anywhere else. Christene is so supportive”. “It’s great to have Christene’s group to work with. There are times when one of us need one-on-one attention, so one of us can stay and look after the rest of the group while she spends some counselling time with them. It’s also great to have a person to learn from, to debrief with and to share challenges”.

“I’ve learnt a lot about myself along the way and I’ve met some amazing people, so I think ‘privilege’ is probably the word that leaps to mind. This group and Christene has helped me come from a dark place in the tunnel and I have come to the light at the other side”

Programs are offered in schools to strengthen teacher’s skills with supporting children who require specialised assistance. All programs are based on the Prevention and Developmental Model of Counselling and target areas such as student behaviour management, participatory decision making, equity issues and counselling skills. This is run in parallel to structured school community programs such as year 7-8 transition, drug awareness, protective behaviour, social learning and more.

- ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), Your Adolescents, Positive Behaviour

Somewhere along the line we are told that parenting is natural. Well unfortunately, that is not always the case. When I ask parents what they want for their kids, they will say, “to be happy”. It is very hard as a role model to pass on happiness until we are happy ourselves. As parents we need the right guidance, information and plenty of encouragement so that our kids can develop confidence, resilience and a strong emotional intelligence. In the parenting programs I target emotional wellbeing while empowering you with understanding to connect with your child. Some of the challenges that you face as a parent are strongly related to the parenting model that you received from your own parents. This can relate back 20 to 30 years and often are irrelevant in today’s fast moving world. It’s like using old maps...we soon get lost when there are changes in the way forward.“To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today” Anonymous.

People with low self-esteem often feel inadequate, powerless, isolated or ashamed. Negative thought patterns reinforce these beliefs. I have developed Self Confidence/Image Sessions to help introduce people to counselling opportunities. My background in Beauty Therapy and Modelling has given me an edge in delivering these. I have also worked in rural and remote areas with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. These sessions provide the opportunity for people to feel special and open up about their experiences through the use of ice-breakers such as foot spas, hand massages and group facials. Ongoing quantitative and qualitative evaluation has been conducted, and sessions refined to ensure the greatest opportunity for successful engagement. These sessions are ideal for Non-Government Organisations who want to involve communities in a recovery process.

Confidential mediation is offered within the workplace setting for employees experiencing conflict. Third party mediation provides a non-threatening professional setting to step employees through the mediation process. This is normally broken into two or three sessions and is tailored to individual situations. Mediation improves communication which helps to clarify issues and allows employees to vent their feeling. I ensure that all agreements are fair, equitable and mutually acceptable.

It is essential that services for Indigenous people acknowledge and respect the cultural differences in communication, understanding about family-connectedness and how Indigenous people interact with outside support programs. My programs offer purpose and meaning to the participants with the use of non-confrontational language and clarification. We have worked in Indigenous communities here in Australia and overseas in gaining cultural understanding to justice reinvestment. Article 3: Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development (United Nations Declaration on the Right of Indigenous Peoples).

My programs engage youth to give back to their communities and work along side of the Elders. The aim is to build self-confidence. Often the programs are designed around cognitive functioning and will assist in the employment arena. My approach is to connect with programs to learn about healthy relationships, positive behaviour, appearance, cooking and personal health. These are often used by the funding body as an incentive to build relationships to stop youth from disengaging from school. Counselling is offered at every level. I offer programs and counselling to support and guide parents/carers and the families of at risk young people. The objective is to strengthen the capacity for parents/carers and families through building self reliance and strengthening family relationships. Our Program Aim: We offer a healing place which nurtures the mind, body and soul of our participants. We offer a program which affirms the contemporary worldwide of the First Nation Indigenous culture. Our programs support uniqueness and creativity of the individual: and fosters self-actualization in a cooperative and respectful environment.

Your doctor may refer you to see one of our Associate Psychologists under a GP Mental Health Care Plan. These services are eligible for a Medicare rebate under the Better Access initiative.