Evolve Mental Health

Evolve Mental Health Perinatal & Couples Counsellor | Supervisor
Support for Mothers, Couples and Professionals

19/03/2026

Same season...doesn't mean sameness to supports, values and access.

I have been consumed many times by the algorithms flooding my pages with women in similar situations to myself:
• perinatal
• breast feeding
• working out as a Mum
• business owners etc etc.

I think 'YES I'm not alone, she gets it" which quickly turns into "but why can she do it and I can't" . Then I zoom out and get curious, just because her season is the same doesn't mean the structures she exist within are.

Hear me out

Maybe she has access to her village and actually knows how to call on then. Maybe her partner works from home. Maybe her values are different to mine. Maybe she is forced to hustle harder and this is my privilege to fumble.

Instagram shouldn't be a share all and we shouldn't expect people to bare their most vulnerable parts and their hardships. But as consumers we have to hold the veil that instageam is just a highlight reel and we need to zoom out to gain perspective so we we can stop feeding our shame narratives and stop feeling like s**t with what we don't have and appreciate the things we do.

In our initial sessions I am always curious about your social media consumption because it matters and I have been stuck too!

Kindly,
Ashleigh

25/02/2026

I see this ALL the time.

Someone hints at or highlights emotion and he rejects and corrects it. It comes across like he is "above the law of emotion" as such. When presented with a tricky client like this it can be hard for therapists to not get caught up in the story behind it, to find the "trauma" or justification for it. Because when we evidence a behaviour we create empathy.

Where change truly occurs is when a clinician can move this perspective from "you" vs "me" and "I am right" into "what happens to US when..."

There are a number of ways to intervene this pattern of individualised, patriarchal and grandiose thinking. But before you can get there, you must secure emotional and psychological safety in order to evoke vulnerability.

Kindly,
Ashleigh

📣ATTENTION PRIVATE PRACTICE CLINICIANS After much feedback and ongoing requests I have opened my group supervision for C...
25/02/2026

📣ATTENTION PRIVATE PRACTICE CLINICIANS

After much feedback and ongoing requests I have opened my group supervision for Counsellors in Private Practice.

If you are in private practice and are working directly with or interested in the following areas:
🌱 Couples, Families, Relationships
🌱 DFSV and childhood trauma
🌱 Birth Trauma and Perinatal Mental Health

then these groups are for you.

Many questions I get from clinicians include:
❓️ what are others doing in private practice when it comes to....
❓️ how are others writing notes about...
❓️ what resources are commonly used for...

This is the space to answer those questions!

Bring your clinical expertise and curiosity and connect with other like minded clinicians.

We shouldn't be doing this work alone. We know we work better together.

💻Email info@evolvementalhealth.com.au to register your interest.

Groups are capped at 6 people to create space for safety.

Kindly,
Ashleigh

05/02/2026

I know all too well how much pressure there is to get some self care in, in Motherhood.
It's like we could self care our way out of Depression and Anxiety and Patriachal systems.🤷‍♀️🥴

But to be fair, there is alot to be said for small things often ✅️

It's in these daily rituals that can help set a bit of a tone for the rest of the day or help create a little break between resettled and feeds to sleep at night.

It reminds us "I'm here too. I deserve this space" .

It takes 2 minutes and you are already engaging in these behaviours, why not make them small mindful self care moments.

Disclaimer: this does not take away from the fact you also deserve that massage girl. Go book it!

Kindly,

Ashleigh

04/02/2026

I've said it before and I will say it again...

You don't have a communication issue
You have an emotional vulnerability issue.

You need scaffolding and safety, not scripts

Kindly,
Ashleigh


14/01/2026

Every single session we discuss assumptions.

Couples get so "familiar" with one another's conflict styles and Protector parts, that they have already predicted the fight and outcomes before they even broach the topic with their partner.

I hear it all the time 👇
"I'm not a mind reader"
followed by
"I know exactly how that will go"
followed by
"I know why they did that"
without ever confirming their assumptions with one another.
It's damaging a couples connection and keeping them stuck in their defensive cycles.

Vulnerability comes from shedding assumptions that you know how the fight will go, that you already know what your partner is thinking, saying, doing and their intention behind it.

How can we expect change if we don't provide an open platform for change. An opportunity for something new to happen.

Creating this space and mapping our conflict cycles to change them around is the work we do in sessions. It isn't a one size fits all, it's careful analysis of how you show up towards and away from one another.

Kindly,
Ashleigh

🧡Follow .mh for more couples insights.

Back by popular demand ....CLINICAL SUPERVISION FOR COUPLES COUNSELLORS AND open to clinicians training in or interested...
12/01/2026

Back by popular demand ....

CLINICAL SUPERVISION FOR COUPLES COUNSELLORS

AND

open to clinicians training in or interested in couples work, as well as those experiencing relationship difficulties in their individual work.

🗓 Thur 29th Jan
🕑 12pm-2pm

If you have been sitting on the fence about this work or if you have been in this work for a while looking for fresh perspectives then this is for you.

What you get:

📒 Gain 2 hours towards supervion logs
✔️ PACFA registered clinician
📖10 years clinical experience with couples, families and trauma
➡️ tangible resources and guidelines for working with couples

Affordable supervision option
✅️$100 PP

Book via email
info@evolvementalhealth.com.au

I, like many of you struggle to say a simple "no". I over explain my reasons why, every single time. In hope that I'm no...
06/12/2025

I, like many of you struggle to say a simple "no".
I over explain my reasons why, every single time. In hope that I'm not offending, creating a sense of ungratefulness, or coming across as rude.

Because I, like many of you, have grown up with "good girl" and "people pleaser" narratives. Simply saying "no" is not tolerated nor acceptable and so I must let you know my reasons why, in hope you understand and can validate my "no".

This causes much more internal pain and twisting than necessary and often ends up with my "no" being invalidated and persuaded to a "yes" .

Clear is kind and a "no" is pretty darn clear.

If you, like myself and many other Mothers I work with, find it hard to "simply say no" this might be something to reflect on and perhaps a goal to work towards.

Share this with a Mother who might need the reminder this month 😉

Kindly,
Ashleigh

27/11/2025

Birth Trauma is often misunderstood- or dismissed entirely.
Trauma isn't defined by medical notes or WHAT happened.
It's defined by how safe, supported and in control someone felt in the moment.

Birth trauma affects:
👉 the birthing parent
👉 the partner
👉 the couple
👉 older siblings
👉 the family unit

For many the Trauma doesn't show up as a clear "event" or "timestamp".
It shows up in hypervigilence, emptional numbness, irritability, nightmares, disassociation, hyperactivity, defensiveness, substance use...just to name a few.

And when trauma sits between two partners, it can impact communication, closeness and the ability to reach for each other.

If this I'd your experience, there is nothing wrong with you. Your body and mind are responding to something that felt too much, too fast or too overwhelming.

is a reminder that your story matters - that the support you need is here, when you need it.

As part of my support services I offer birth debriefs for indoviduals and couples.

Kindly,
Ashleigh



26/11/2025

I see all too often how the social narratives of masculinity play out in Fatherhood.

These are the scripts from men in sessions who have only been "allowed" to subscribe to the rules of masculinity:
➡️ stop feeling
➡️ start earning
➡️ avoid meaningful connection
➡️ pursue status

Men are coming to sessions feeling deflated, useless and confused. Women want men to be more relational but they've never been given the road map or the tools to do it.

It's often in that transition to Fatherhood that men have more permission to "soften" with their children and become more aware of how harsh the rules have been on them and how limiting they are for intimate connections with their partners.

My goal in sessions with couples is to give men permission to step outside the rule book that dictates how they show up and create relational, emotional and psychological safety for men to step into their authentic selves. To allow them to show up for their families and be the Father they truly want to be.

If you are curious about couples work pop an enquiry through via my website so I can help demystify what goes on and how we work.

Kindly,
Ashleigh

10/11/2025

I work with many adult survivors of child sexual abuse, neglect, domestic and family violence or attachment trauma and one thing many women don't realise is that even when you think you have "healed" mothering can bring up so many unknown triggers.

Body autonomy and lack of control can feel profoundly disruptive and unsafe to a mother who has a history of body autonomy and boundaries being violated. Hypervigilence means every bit of sensory input feels overwhelming and flooding.

In our sessions we talk to these triggers, we acknowledge them, confront them and find a new sense of safety within them. Because mothering doesn't stop when you are triggered.

We don't always focus on the narratives that got you to therapy, we skim the surface first, establish safety and once we have some stable foundations to work from we dive deep (if that's where you want to go).

Trauma work looks different for everyone, but is absolutely needed if you want to show up as the Mother you want to, and deserve to be.

If you are fumbling through trying to find your way and unsure where to start, reach out. It all starts with a conversation to help guide you to the right space and fit for your journey.

You aren't broken, what happened isn't okay. You deserve better.

Kindly,

Ashleigh
mh

I have done this community a disservice and I think it's about time I did better. I hear you, I see you. Kindly Ashleigh...
06/11/2025

I have done this community a disservice and I think it's about time I did better.

I hear you, I see you.

Kindly
Ashleigh
mh

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Forresters Beach, NSW

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 7pm

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