fiona
Hello!
Thank you for being here.
I am a tertiary qualified counsellor and childbirth educator here in Perth Western Australia. I am also a certified birth and postnatal doula. I am a mother to three precious loves who every day light up my world. Through my journey into parenthood I have experienced the unimaginable heartbreak of loss, the numbness of secondary infertility, the power of childbirth, intense breast-feeding struggles, and also post natal depression. Three very different births that changed who I am in ways I cannot even begin to describe.
The more I learned about birth and educated myself about the choices that were available to me, the more empowered I became in my birth decisions.
This ultimately led me to experience pure joy. A clear example of what the power of good support and education can do, and a true testament to what self belief can achieve.
As well as being a mother, I have spent 7 years working as a pregnancy and newborn photographer, which has allowed me to speak constantly with loving parents both in the lead up to their birth as well as soon after.
The more I spoke to new mums and dads in my studio about their expectations prior to and then the reality of their birth, the more I learned that so many lack the support, knowledge and confidence to believe in themselves and their body.
I noticed that, like myself in my first birth, most women place the outcome of their birth in the hands of others, not believing that they themselves have the power to create the birth they desire.
But the most important thing I discovered, again like myself and my husband, is that most lack the understanding of the impact their birth can have in the months and years following, this being the most pivotal realisation for me. When a women is made to feel disrespected or disempowered in her pregnancy, birthing or postpartum, then the effects can be lifelong. This is the same for her partner. Men struggle too, with their own experience of birth, their need to support their wife, the expectations of work and fatherhood. It can be so so hard.
Speaking to these parents, together with my own experiences of birth and motherhood, has led me here to become a fully accredited Counsellor and Childbirth Educator. I am deeply driven in supporting both women and men as they move through their varying emotions and experiences at this pivotal point in their lives.
I remove the fear that surrounds birth so that you can meet your birth with the confidence and support you need to make informed decisions, leading you to a positive and fulfilled birthing experience.
For those that have been affected by an experience of birth, pregnancy or parenting that wasn’t as you had expected or wanted, I am here to listen and HEAR you, to support you and to guide you to finding resolution, fulfilment and happiness again.
I do this through my private counselling practice based in Perth, WA, across two locations (Success and Highgate) where I work with individuals Australia-wide through issues they face surrounding parenthood, with a wonderful team of dedicated and passionate counsellors behind me. Whether it be processing birth trauma, pregnancy anxiety, depression, stress, relationship support, grief, loss, fertility, and more, we are here to work toward resolution, not only coping. We also work with clients in the processing of childhood trauma, acute trauma, PTSD and complex trauma. We provide safe, confidential, supportive counselling through an integrative psychotherapeutic approach.
No matter what you need for where you are at in your life, we will be there to support and nurture you throughout your journey.
fiona
Qualifications and training
- Bachelor of Counselling
- PACFA - Registered Clinical Member
- Australian Counselling Association member - Level 3
- EMDR Association of Australia member (Advanced trained)
- Ego States - Robin Shapiro (2023)
- RISE UP Clinical Supervision training (2022)
- Training Clinicians in Eating Disorders - Institute for Eating Disorders (2020)
- Birth Cartographer Training - Catherine Bell (2021)
- First Aid - HTLAID003 - RTS Training (2021)
- Perinatal Anxiety Disorder Training – KEMH (2019)
- Working Therapeutically with Complex Trauma - Blue Knot (2019)
- Understanding and Applying the CBT Model – CCI (2019)
- Grief and Loss Facilitator Training – (2019)
- Mental Health First Aid certification – MHFA (2019)
- Case Management Tools – RDP Enterprise Solutions (2019)
- Youth Mentor (CARE School) – Communicare (2018)
- Domestic Violence Alerts – Lifeline WA (2018)
- Physiological Birth and Induction – Dr Rachel Reed (2018)
- Spinning Babies Workshop – Ginny Phang-Davey (2017)
- Birth Doula Training – Australian Doulas (2016)
- Postnatal Doula Training – Australian Doulas (2015)
- HypnoBirthing Childbirth Educator Certification – HypnoBirthing Institute (2016)
