At Veritas Psychotherapy, I provide a safe, compassionate, and confidential space where you can explore your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. As a qualified therapist and pre-accredited member of the IACP, I offer integrative counselling and psychotherapy services, tailored to meet your unique needs and challenges.

My practice is based at Marino Counselling and Psychotherapy in Fairview, a well-established practice known for its warm and welcoming environment. The thoughtfully designed therapy rooms create a peaceful setting that supports your healing journey, offering an ideal space for personal growth, reflection, and lasting change.

I work with issues including Anxiety, Depression, Complex PTSD, Bullying, Domestic Violence, Grief, Adoption-related Challenges, Stress, Emotional Regulation, Low Self-Esteem, Relationship Difficulties, Anger Management, Trauma, Work-related Stress, Substance Abuse, Life Transitions, PMS, PMDD, Emotional Well-being, Mental Health, and a range of other areas.

 

My Key Focus Areas

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Healing from Trauma and Abuse

 

Abuse—whether emotional, physical, or sexual—leaves deep emotional scars that can affect many areas of your life, including your self-worth, relationships, and worldview. My therapeutic approach helps you address the effects of past trauma with compassion and empowerment. Together, we will explore these difficult experiences, process the emotions tied to them, and work toward self-compassion and acceptance. My aim is to help you reclaim your power, break free from the cycle of trauma, and build a healthy narrative about your life.

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Building Self-Esteem and Self-Care

 

Low self-esteem can quietly undermine your confidence, decisions, and relationships. Often, these limiting beliefs stem from early life experiences, whether explicit or implicit, and can be hard to shake. I support clients in identifying and challenging these ingrained beliefs, helping you build a sense of inner strength and self-worth. We will work together to cultivate self-compassion and develop self-care practices that nurture both your emotional and physical well-being.

When you have a solid foundation of self-esteem, you’ll be empowered to make choices that support your growth and personal fulfilment.

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Managing Anger and Emotional Expression

 

Anger is often misunderstood—it’s seen as something to suppress or ignore. But when addressed constructively, anger can be a powerful tool for self-awareness and positive change. I help clients understand the deeper emotions beneath their anger and find healthier ways to express them. Instead of letting anger control your actions, we will explore how to channel it to promote healing, understanding, and empowerment. Inspired by Carl Jung’s wisdom that “The shadow holds the secrets we fear to acknowledge, yet unlocking them leads to profound healing,” we’ll work to express your anger in ways that support personal growth and emotional release.

 

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Mind-Body Connection: Understanding the Physical Effects of Emotional Trauma

 

Emotions are not just mental experiences—they also manifest physically. The phrase “the body keeps the score” reflects how unresolved trauma can show up as tension, pain, fatigue, or illness in the body. I help you tune into your physical sensations and become more aware of how emotional distress is stored in the body. By addressing both the psychological and somatic aspects of trauma, we’ll work together to develop emotional regulation, promoting a more balanced, holistic sense of well-being.

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Adoption and Identity

 

As an adoptee, I understand first-hand the emotional complexities that come with adoption. The early attachment disruptions and identity struggles many adoptees face can deeply impact self-esteem, relationships, and overall well-being. I provide a compassionate space for adoptees to process grief, heal from attachment wounds, and explore a stronger, more authentic sense of self. We’ll work together to foster emotional resilience, acknowledge the impact of your story, and support you in reclaiming your personal narrative.

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Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)

 

PMDD, a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), can cause debilitating emotional, physical, and psychological symptoms. Having both professional experience and personal knowledge of PMDD, I offer a unique perspective on the profound impact it can have on mental health. Research shows that early adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can contribute to PMDD, and I help clients process the connection between trauma and this condition. We integrate holistic strategies—such as exercise, nutrition, and trauma-informed therapeutic techniques—to help manage symptoms, reduce emotional distress, and improve overall quality of life.

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Integration Support After Plant Medicine Retreats

 

After a plant medicine retreat, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed by the insights, emotions, and challenges that arise. The process of exploring your shadow and unconscious can be intense, and knowing how to integrate these revelations into your daily life isn’t always clear.

Trauma often leads us to label parts of ourselves as “good” or “bad.” The “bad” parts are often coping mechanisms that helped us survive, but over time, they can feel like burdens. Shame from trauma may convince us that something is wrong with us. In reality, healing starts when we understand what we didn’t receive as children—whether love, care, or validation—and begin to give ourselves what we missed.

To create lasting behavioral change, we must first build self-compassion. Only when we’re compassionate with ourselves can we begin to move toward autonomy—the ability to make choices from a place of self-awareness and empowerment, free from the past’s influence.

I offer support to help you integrate the profound lessons from your plant medicine experience, guiding you through the emotional and cognitive shifts that have surfaced. Together, we’ll explore how these revelations connect to your life and history, helping you develop practical strategies for lasting transformation and autonomy.

How I Can Help

 

• Personal Sessions: We’ll dive deep into your experience, unpacking the insights and emotions that have surfaced and connecting them to your personal history.
• Emotional Support: I’ll provide a safe, supportive space for processing difficult emotions, especially those tied to shame and trauma.
• Practical Tools: We’ll develop strategies to integrate the lessons from your retreat into your daily life, supporting ongoing personal growth and autonomy.
• Ongoing Support: Integration is a process, and I’ll be here to guide you every step of the way as you continue to heal and empower yourself.

Healing is about embracing all parts of yourself and moving toward a life where you make decisions from a place of true autonomy. If you’re ready to integrate your plant medicine experience and create lasting change, I’d love to support you in this transformative journey.

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My Approach

As an integrative therapist, my role is to help you uncover unconscious blocks that may be holding you back. Together, we’ll explore how defense mechanisms and old patterns have shaped your life, bringing them into awareness so you can make more conscious choices moving forward. Using a person-centered approach, I integrate elements of psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, and somatic therapies, creating a holistic framework for healing that attends to the mind, body, and spirit.

Healing involves more than just intellectual understanding of your emotions—it requires a deep connection to how those emotions manifest in your body and life. In our work together, we’ll challenge self-limiting beliefs, rebuild self-trust, and tap into your innate wisdom and intuition. The ultimate goal is to restore your autonomy, resilience, and emotional well-being, helping you align with your true self and live a more fulfilling life.

As an integrative psychotherapist, I draw from a variety of therapeutic approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), psychodynamic therapy, humanistic methods, and aspects of somatic therapy, all through a trauma-informed lens. CBT is particularly helpful in identifying and reframing negative thought patterns, while psychodynamic and humanistic methods allow us to explore deeper emotional and relational dynamics. I also explore attachment theory and family-of-origin dynamics to better understand how early relationships shape current experiences. This approach allows me to tailor therapy to your unique needs, supporting healing and growth on emotional, mental, and physical levels.