Clinical Therapies
We are trained in the latest, evidence-backed therapies to tailor to your needs:
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https://www.phoenixaustralia.org/your-recovery/effects-of-trauma-ptsd/
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https://emdraa.org/
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https://www.actmindfully.com.au/about-act/
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https://anfi.org.au/
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The Safe and Sound Protocol is a listening therapy to unlock your ability to think, feel and connect better through nervous system regulation.
The SSP isn’t simply five hours of music, it’s a comprehensive approach to healing. This unique listening therapy is a journey that brings together the client, therapist and the SSP to create a safe space for brain and body integration and healing to achieve impactful, long-lasting results.
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https://schematherapysociety.org/Schema-Therapy
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https://sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org/
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https://www.painreprocessingtherapy.com/
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https://www.gottman.com/
Therapy Approach & Principles
Person centred
Your values, decisions and goals are self-authored and we co-produce the therapeutic intervention. We will develop, plan and review the therapy process together with you at the centre. You remain the author of your story and keep control of who hears your story.
Evidence Based
Using intervention techniques and therapies that have a sound, peer-reviewed science and rationale for why the technique works. This includes Lived Experience Informed Practice which is part of the evidence base. I will provide you with resources and tools as we move through the structured, therapeutic process.
Trauma Informed
A conscious awareness of how trauma impacts everything that we think, feel and do from a basis of the principles of safety, choice, collaboration, trust and empowerment. This also acknowledges single trauma, complex trauma and intergenerational trauma.
Social Emotional Learning
Understanding how children and adults process and manage emotions, make decisions, manage busy days, maintain relationships and continue to learn and develop. Social emotional skills help you navigate relationships, workplaces and your inner self.
Social Prescribing
Under the medical model, we care for our physical and mental health but not so much our social health. Social prescribing is gaining momentum to help medical and allied health professionals see the importance of taking time out of our busy lives to reconnect with ourselves and our values and beliefs.
Diversity and Inclusion
My practice is neuroaffirming and based on cultural safety for people of cultures, beliefs, sexuality and spirituality. It includes respecting the neurodiversity of how people think and how their brain functions. It includes respecting people across the gender continuum of how they identify, express and relate about gender.
Mind-Body-Gut Connections
Your body hears everything that your brain says. A lot of your neurotransmitters are created in your stomache which then impact your feelings and mood. Diet, sleep, exercise and relationships all affect the mind-body-gut connection. Hormones and neurotransmitters work to balance your body budget.
Our 9 Senses
Every day we use taste, touch, sight, hearing, smell, vestibular (balance), proprioception (where our body is in space) and interoception (sensations from your body). An additional sense is, neuroception, which helps you establish safety or predict danger. All of this sense data feeds how your brain predicts based on your past experience and what is happening in your environment.
Art, Music and Play
Rhythm and repetition are critical to your body and brain regulating back to a healthy state. This is why singing, playing a wind instrument, lying in a hammock or in a rocking chair help you soothe and relax. Equally important is music and art to regulate your mood and state of mind. Art can also help you express what words cannot.
Self-monitoring and Control
Self-monitoring and control are key. Longitudinal research shows if you think before you act, resist temptations, delay gratification and don’t jump to conclusions (as examples of self-control) you can have better long term social and health outcomes such as: better cardiovascular health, lower obesity, lower mental illness and addiction, better quality relationships, higher income and lower criminal activity.
Neurotypes
It is important to find a place around others where you fit in, feel accepted and safe. This is what finding your neurotribe means. Neurodiversity means people with different ways of communicating, acting socially, hobbies and interests, food preferences, sensory needs and ways of behaving, are all ok and don’t need to be fixed or medicated.
Executive Functioning
Planning, organising, initiating, managing time, impulse control, working memory, task focus, attention, flexible thinking and perseverance are all parts of your executive functioning. We can learn and adapt our executive functioning to make better decisions and choices in the face of adversity, challenge or emotional distress.
“Both of my children aged 9yrs and 15yrs have seen Don this year. He has always been so approachable and easy for the kids to relate to. My son even looked forward to his sessions each fortnight to chat and learn from Don. Each session we took home strategies and real tools to help with current situations going on in their life. These strategies were very easy to implement and age appropriate. I personally recommend Don to anyone at any age who needs help with their mental health.”
— Client’s Parent