Hiraeth Counselling and Psychotherapy

Hiraeth Counselling and Psychotherapy Quality, professional and down to earth mental healthcare. GP referrals welcome for Medicare rebates.

Our experienced therapists are guided by trauma informed principles of mindfulness, Gestalt Therapy and mindfulness-based somatic psychotherapy.

~ MAMMALIAN REFLEX ~Another sensory grounding exercise for you to try as part of our sensory grounding toolkit series. T...
28/08/2022

~ MAMMALIAN REFLEX ~
Another sensory grounding exercise for you to try as part of our sensory grounding toolkit series. The Mammalian Reflex, also referred to as the “Diver’s Reflex”, occurs when nerve endings in the face and eyelids come into contact with cold water. The body then responds by lowering our heart rate and re-distributing the flow of blood to prioritise supply to our major organs. Essentially, this reflex triggers a response to preserve life for as long as possible. The positive side of this is that the reflex mitigates against some of those uncomfortable symptoms of panic, such as elevated heart rate, sweating, chest tightness and difficulty taking in a full breath, to bring our body back to a state of balance.
Adaptations: If you feel uncomfortable immersing your face in water, try a bag of frozen ice or vegetables, or even a cold flannel on your face.
Precautions: Due to the mechanisms underlying this reflex, we recommend seeking medical support if you experience heart related condition prior to using this technique.
🍂

~ JOURNAL ARTICLE ~An article to kick off another upcoming series on mindfulness skills. We will be posting some specifi...
13/08/2022

~ JOURNAL ARTICLE ~
An article to kick off another upcoming series on mindfulness skills. We will be posting some specific information soon about how to practice and develop mindfulness skills, but to start, I wanted to zoom out and share some context. Here, you’ll find some information about the origins of mindfulness, and specifically why it benefits us to practice it, as well as the structures of our brains that are involved in mindful awareness. It also goes a bit further to explore the use of mindfulness not only as a technique that can be used by therapists and clients for emotional regulation (yes, therapists need to be able to regulate their nervous systems too!) but also as a way of deepening the therapeutic process itself to create longer lasting change. This mindfulness-based approach works on a deeper level by helping us to include information from the body (often unconscious material), as well as the mind, in our sessions. Journal link in bio. More on developing mindfulness skills to come ~ Megan 🍂

We will be posting a series of sensory grounding ideas and exercises for you to try. The idea here is to utilise our bod...
02/08/2022

We will be posting a series of sensory grounding ideas and exercises for you to try. The idea here is to utilise our bodies and the environment to help pull our awareness back to an anchor that feels solid, safe and that helps regulate the nervous system. Trauma is sometimes described as a disorder of presence; that is when we are re-living the past and unable to be fully where we are. Anxious thoughts often project us into a future event we have not yet even experienced. These exercises help us guide our focus back to how something feels and IS right now, in order to bring us back to present moment awareness. When we orient back to the present moment, we are able to more fully embody reality.

~ 5 T H I N G S ~ This exercise simply encourages us to first, pause where we are for a moment. Take a deep breath down into your belly. Take note of:
• 5 things you can see around you
• 4 things you can hear around you
• 3 things you can touch, either around you or on your clothes or body if that feels safe for you
• 2 things you can smell in your surroundings
• 1 thing you can taste
It can be brief, and the identified experiences don’t have to be given much thought. The key here is the pausing, and focussed attention on each sense. It can help to pop these prompts down on paper and leave them in a place of transition e.g. in your car, on a bathroom mirror, or on your keys, on your phone lock screen etc. Trusted people can also be a great external prompt, so let someone close to you know so that they may be able to do this with you in a situation of distress. With practise, this exercise will become easier and do-able even as you are completing other activities. 🍂

- JOURNAL ARTICLE -Our senses speak their own language, and are a gateway to helping us engage in daily activities from ...
19/07/2022

- JOURNAL ARTICLE -
Our senses speak their own language, and are a gateway to helping us engage in daily activities from a more grounded place, when we get to know them more. With our backgrounds in Occupational Therapy, our practitioners are skilled in the process of helping you to understand what your personal sensory needs might be, and offer some unique insights into ways to cope and manage daily stressors. Link to journal in bio.

Ironically, magical things can happen when we can acknowledge the parts of ourselves that exist, just as they are, with...
15/07/2022

Ironically, magical things can happen when we can acknowledge the parts of ourselves that exist, just as they are, without trying to change them. This might seem counterintuitive, but have you ever tried to take a step forwards without first having your feet on the floor? It can be very uncomfortable to experiment with this when we really want things to be different, especially when sensing our bodies in a moment feels painful or terrifying even. The therapist cannot do this ‘for you’, but we are here to stand with you, anchor with you in these places, and be witness to the magic of your transformation as it unfolds. What an honour, and how amazing it is to be part of this journey with people.

- JOURNAL ARTICLE -For those of you who experience menstrual cycles from near or afar, a little exploration of a topic I...
09/07/2022

- JOURNAL ARTICLE -
For those of you who experience menstrual cycles from near or afar, a little exploration of a topic I find fascinating! It’s a bit of a read, and I think only really scratches the surface, but a nice place to start if you want to learn a little more about some of the mechanics of the menstrual cycle and it’s profound ripple effects on so many aspects of life. Link to journal page in bio.

- NEW JOURNAL ARTICLE -Somatic psychotherapy is a bit of a tongue twister-term, that broadly summarises an approach to t...
09/07/2022

- NEW JOURNAL ARTICLE -
Somatic psychotherapy is a bit of a tongue twister-term, that broadly summarises an approach to therapy that pays close attention to the client's bodily experience. Many types of therapy place great emphasis on cognitive thoughts and verbal dialogue during therapy sessions - things that clients are often already quite aware of. Yet, people often feel frustrated that things don't seem to change much in their lives even with such great insight into their concerns or life issues. This can then spiral into feelings of hopelessness, exhaustion and apathy with so much energy spent attending therapy to re-hash often painful situations to find 'solutions'. It is not to say that this approach is not helpful. In fact, this is usually a necessary part of the process for people to feel safe and curious enough to process things on a deeper level when ready.

Current, evidence-based research on the neuroscience of trauma and the neuroplasticity of our 'brain-body' in response to new, safe experiences, is overwhelmingly validating of a body process approach to therapy. It is now understood that our brains are not all that separate from the rest of our body, and that memory (and therefore, trauma) is often held and processed in many different ways in our bodies. The downside of this is that things we might have learnt from a very young age, or traumas that our bodies might have needed to store away out of sight for some time, show up in ways we are often not consciously aware of or that we don't yet have words for. The upside is that our nervous systems are very capable of untangling and rewiring themselves, but we might need to give them the opportunity to do this by approaching therapy with a leaning towards what is being experienced in the body. When we carefully and skilfully turn down the noise of thoughts and insight, it is incredible to sense what the body subconsciously has to say. In this way, our nervous systems no longer need to be shackles, but can be the key to much more satisfying change in life! Link to journal page in bio.

Therapy doesn’t need to take place in an office to be effective. We deliver therapy sessions via Telehealth (through our...
05/07/2022

Therapy doesn’t need to take place in an office to be effective. We deliver therapy sessions via Telehealth (through our simple online platform, or by telephone if clients choose) and in person where we meet you outside in a natural, therapeutic space in the Margaret River area. Telehealth has been shown to be as effective as in-person therapy (thanks to lots of recent research on this topic throughout the covid-19 pandemic). It is quite accessible for most people and breaks down physical barriers to attending an office for your session, is discrete, and means you can fit therapy into your probably busy schedule (some people even find it supportive to have a session in their car on their lunch break!). Anecdotal evidence also suggests that some people find it easier to initiate therapy in this way, from a place of their choosing that feels safe and familiar, whereby they feel more likely to ‘be themselves’ and less impacted by perceived power dynamics in a professional office space. There is also a reality that working in this way enables us to make sessions more affordable for clients. Eco-therapy sessions involve conducting our usual therapy sessions outside, where we can walk or sit in a safe space together. We have a few great flat walking trails suited to this near Margaret River town. This way we can make the most of nature’s gift of grounding which is incredibly therapeutic and effective at regulating our nervous systems as we process your concerns together. For some people, this is also a graded way to engage with therapy by walking side by side with your therapist instead of sitting in front of them, and having some motivation to participate in gentle exercise if that is one of the things you would like support with. Both options are a step closer to real life, making transfer of skills easier. They are safe and reliable as well in a landscape of unpredictable public health guidelines. As therapists experienced with face to face therapy in different contexts, we acknowledge there are limitations to both of these modalities, however, overall they seem to be very effective!

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Margaret River, WA

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 6pm
Tuesday 7am - 6pm
Wednesday 7am - 6pm
Thursday 7am - 6pm
Friday 7am - 6pm

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