About Us

Life isn’t about avoiding hard times.

It’s about learning from and growing because of them. But facing our issues head on can be as hard as the hard times themselves. You don’t have to go it alone, help is here.

We understand that life is a journey full of twists and turns, and that counselling won’t necessarily smooth the path ahead. What it will do is give you the tools to recognise your own emotional triggers so you can manage them in healthier, more positive ways.

Whether you’ve experienced trauma or you’re suffering through mental health or relationship challenges, you deserve to feel better. We can help make that happen.

Meet Our Team

Carissa Rodgers

Director

Carissa holds a Masters Degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy and has specialised training in therapeutic touch work and trauma counselling. She has been a practising counsellor for 15 years, working in various roles within community organisations. Prior to that, she worked in natural health and nutrition, enabling her to take a holistic approach to the physical, mental, and emotional health of her clients. Carissa specialises in sacred women’s work, and you can find out more about her work at www.carissarodgers.com

Daniel Rodgers

Senior Psychotherapist

Daniel holds a Masters Degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy and has specialised training in trauma counselling. Prior to entering the counselling field, Daniel served in the military for 12 years, during this time he developed the skills to manage challenging and complex environments. He is also a certified, experienced and compassionate couples therapist.

Lyn Alma

Counsellor

Lyn has a Bachelor of Counselling with specialised training in trauma therapy. Lyn has been counselling for almost 20 years and has worked in various services with diverse populations, tailoring her counselling service to a range of issues affecting mental and emotional wellbeing. She has had particularly extensive experience working in domestic violence services, sexual assault services and family services with children and adults, and has facilitated many programs for families in the past.

Angela Verdis

Counsellor

An experienced and skilled practitioner, Angie brings over a decade of working with individuals and couples both in private and community counselling services. As well as experience working with mental health conditions, addictions, and personal and interpersonal ruptures, Angie has exceptional skills in counselling individuals and couples who have endured intimate and family violence. Angie understands the attachment trauma that is always present in the power and control cycle and is skilled in counselling individuals who experience complex feelings and thoughts as a result of abuse and neglect.

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Our Values

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Support

We’re here to support and guide you on your journey as you do the internal and external work to improve your outlook.

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Connection

By the end of your time with us, we want you to feel a stronger sense of connection, both within yourself and with others.

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Awareness

We’ll give you the tools to recognise old patterns and empower you to deal with them in much healthier, more positive ways.

Our Approach

Our approach is based on a holistic model of therapy that considers each of the psychological, physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of your life. Our process includes an initial comprehensive consultation to help us better understand you and your current situation. We then tailor a program to support your personal challenges and goals, for right now and for later down the road so that you can learn to anticipate, recognise and manage your triggers and pain points as situations arise.

Our Modalities

Trauma and traumatic experiences affect people in different ways, and we believe that every client deserves to receive the benefits of a unique approach to treatment. We offer both counselling and psychotherapy services, encompassing a range of healing modalities.

Which treatment modality is right for me?

We believe there is no singularly effective approach to therapy, and we’re committed to serving each client in a highly individualised way that best suits their unique needs and circumstance. Here’s a breakdown of the professional therapy services we offer.

Counselling

We encourage all of our clients to be active participants in the counselling process as we work towards changes in perspective, awareness, thoughts, and behaviours. Potential issues we can cover in counselling include aspects of identity, spirituality, relationships with self and others, past experiences, parenting, grief and loss, trauma, domestic violence, child abuse, substance abuse, and other mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

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Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a holistic approach focusing on mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual health when psychological, developmental, relationship, and wellbeing issues arise. Psychotherapy helps us understand how we make meaning in life, both consciously and subconsciously, and move through discomfort, dissatisfaction, or suffering. We are trained in modalities of psychotherapy, including Gestalt Psychotherapy and Somatic Experiencing.

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Gestalt Psychotherapy

Gestalt Therapy is a special kind of therapeutic and healing relationship between client and therapist that supports healing through awareness, compassion, empathy, connection, support, self-direction and presence. Our compassionate and skilled therapists will work with you to build a deeper awareness as you experiment with different ways of being in the world. This work is truly transformational.

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Somatic Experiencing

Somatic experiencing is about allowing emotions and releasing physical tension and past traumas, with the goal of developing new thinking patterns in response to emotions and experiences. Somatic experiencing includes gentle, consensual touch when appropriate to release long-held traumas from the body. The team at Wide bBay are all accredited somatic experiencing practitioners.

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Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the practice – and skill – of letting go of our thoughts and feelings for a while and returning to the present moment with a deep awareness of the immediate surrounding environment. Our caring therapists are all trained Mindfulness practitioners, incorporating it into sessions to help support clients through stress, depression, and anxiety-related conditions.

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Family Constellations

Many people don’t realise that the present problems and difficulties are influenced by traumas suffered in previous generations of the family. Research has found that parents who experience stressful or traumatic events are likely to pass the pattern down to their children and grandchildren. Our therapists can help you navigate your unique family patterns to better understand yourself.

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Embodiment Practice

Embodiment is the practice of allowing ourselves to feel life as it is, through our senses, taking what is conceptual into the felt sense of the body, restoring the deep connection to our inner knowing.

Past experiences of stress, trauma, or repeated life patterns can leave us feeling unsafe in our bodies. Embodiment practices help us rewire old patterns, move out of numbness and disconnection, and wake up to the fullness of who we are.

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Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

We often assume that healing from emotional pain or trauma will take years of therapy. However, studies show that EMDR or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing psychotherapy, can speed up the healing process to help form new, healthier associations with traumatic memories. Using detailed protocols, EMDR therapy helps clients activate their natural healing processes.

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Imagine what it would feel like to live your life from a place of…

Greater personal and emotional awareness
Increased self-worth and confidence
Self-compassion and self-kindness
Connectedness with yourself and others
Emotional resilience, calm, peace
Freedom from past mistakes
Strong, healthy boundaries
Clarity of direction and purpose

No matter what you’ve lived through or how you might be feeling in the present moment, it is possible to heal from difficult past experiences and go on to live a full life.

We are here to help you heal.

Click to begin the journey

Our Blog

Trauma and Stress go Hand-in-Hand

Dec 13, 2022

Does This Sound Like You Or Someone You Know? They/you react and are triggered by small things? Do they/you suddenly lose their/your cool and become extremely easy to anger? Do they/you retreat and hide away from everyday life, including foregoing responsibilities?...

Relationships and What to do in Times of Stress

Mar 11, 2022

Relationships can be fun, and also hard work. They can be fulfilling while also challenging. If you are experiencing something other than your usual friendly, happy and loving relationship, then maybe it’s time to review where your relationship is at? In this blog, we...

AAA – All About Anxiety

Sep 21, 2021

Anxiety sucks! But there are ways to manage and deal with it. In this blog we talk about symptoms, why anxiety happens, how to manage anxiety, how can people around you understand what you are going through, do you need medication, and will you have anxiety forever?...