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Maxime Willems - Therapy & Training

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Australia
South Ballina, NSW
Maxime Willems - Therapy & Training

Trauma-Informed Counselling, Equine Assisted Therapy, and Professional Wellbeing Programs in a serene beachside setting.
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Specialising in depression, anxiety, trauma, relationship challenges, and personalised support for individuals, couples, families.

17/04/2026

When I was at a gestalt psychotherapy last weekend, something came up again and again… The space in which we hold sessions is not just a backdrop… it’s an active part of the process.

And it really made me feel into our own coastal, nature-based, equine-assisted therapy space here in 🏝️ .

There is something about being surrounded by nature, close to the ocean, with the horses nearby… that seems to naturally invite a sense of calmness.
A sense of slowing down.
A feeling of emotional safety.

Almost as if the environment itself is already holding something, before we even begin.

This morning, I was reminded of this again in such a simple yet powerful way.

One of the things that stood out most to one of our participants this morning was the calmness in the space. Not just within herself, but in the whole field around us.

The environment, the horses… everything seemed to support it.

At one point, I gently reflected that I could really feel the calmness present, not just in her, but in the horses and environment too. And what was beautiful to witness was how it wasn’t one-directional.

The horses supported her in slowing down.
And she, in her way of being, supported the horses to remain calm and at ease.

It became this shared field of regulation.

And it made me realise again, this environment doesn’t just support emotional safety for people.
It supports emotional safety for the horses as well.

A space where they don’t have to perform, where they can simply be…
And from that place, they meet us in a way that is deeply authentic.

When both human and horse feel safe enough to be themselves, something tends to shift. Organically.

Learning becomes softer. Learning about self, others.
Self-awareness is more easily accessible. Awareness of self, other and the environment.
Connection seems to be energising.

14/04/2026

In our sessions, we gently explore the patterns we carry into the world, how we show up, relate, speak, hold back, or move toward others.

With the horses being a social herd animal, that lives in the present moment, this becomes something we can feel and notice in real time.

Sometimes it’s a quiet voice and the gaze that turns away.
Sometimes it’s filling the space with words because silence feels uncomfortable.
Sometimes it’s following, adjusting, staying attuned to others… and losing touch with our own needs in the process.

Rather than trying to “fix” anything, we stay curious.

What happens if you do 5% more of something?
Or 5% less?
What if you gently exaggerate a pattern, or explore its opposite?

What if, instead of always following, you begin to take up just a little more space…
not by force, but by including your own needs, wishes, and impulses? Maybe dipping one toe into taking initiative, speaking up, let the other know?

This is where awareness begins.
And as we gently build awareness, it can open up choice.
And with choice, over time, something new can emerge, sometimes even change of old unhelpful patterns.

06/04/2026

Last week, we ran a trauma-informed equine-assisted therapy group.

One of the participants arrived with a lot energy that showed as enthusiasm, movement, and a strong desire for physical connection. Especially with one of the horses, there was a lot of physical touch, a lot of aliveness, talking, sounds.

At the end of the session, she quietly moved in between two horses, crouched down, and said she had something to share.

She told us she felt deeply, deeply ashamed.

Ashamed of how she had shown up today.

Ashamed because she thought she might have come across as disrespectful. Ashamed because she hadn’t taken her medication this morning.

You could feel how real that was for her.

It almost brought tears to my eyes.

What followed was something I wish more people experienced in their lives.

Instead of that shame sitting silently and growing stronger, she gave it a voice.

She checked the story her mind had created.

And in that moment, I shared with her how I experienced her.

That it hadn’t crossed my mind at all that she was disrespectful.

That what I saw…
was enthusiasm.
Aliveness. Movement. Expression.
A genuine excitement to be there.
A human being seeking safe, authentic connection.

And that it actually brought a smile to my face.

This is the power of safe spaces.

Where assumptions can be spoken.
Where shame can soften.
Where people get to rewrite the stories they carry about themselves.

So often, people walk through life holding onto beliefs about how they are perceived, without ever checking if they are true.

And those beliefs shape how they show up, how they connect, how they feel about themselves.

But when there is enough safety…

Those stories can be questioned.
And something new can emerge.

A different experience.
A different truth.

05/04/2026

The other day, one of our participants came for her third session.

She originally came because there are a lot of endings happening in her life at the moment, end of a relationship, selling her house, changes in work, and also some shifts in relationships. She noticed sadness and grief around that without wanting to really “feel into that”.

Approaching our young little Brumby made her feel into some relational distance, sadness, grief, and made her feel that it feels hard to feel into these endings. Rationally she thought she could have some acceptance, but feeling it brought up so much more than what she currently wanted or could hold.

Our Brumby has stifle lock and so moving forwards tends to go like one step forward, pause, leaning back, moving sideways… There was a theme around “not moving”, wanting newness but also often being brought back, and then trying to find joy in the present moment.

For our next appointment we went on a walk with the horses. She did not want to intentionally bring anything to the session. This idea of taking the horses for a walk through the dunes already made her feel lighter.

On our walk, she noticed that Bumble was able to walk in a kind of smooth way, still with some stiffness, but his legs were able to move without locking.

The way she made meaning of this was that when we just follow our curiosity and joyfulness without “trying to”, she could feel it too, flow can happen more easily.

31/03/2026

Some connections just feel really natural ✨

At the beginning of the year, I met Nicole from .events at the , and there was an immediate sense of warmth, kindness, and ease.

Not long after, I was invited out to the beautiful . Nicole gently guided me through the land, sharing stories of the space… showing me special trees, quiet corners, and places that hold a unique energy. It was one of those moments where you can feel…this place is something truly special. There’s a quiet kind of magic here that naturally invites you to slow down, breathe, and reconnect.

From that, something started to unfold… 🌿

Our Healing With Horses Experience is coming up:

🗓 Sunday, 26th of April
🕘 9:00am – 12:00pm

It’s a simple, grounded space to step out of the busyness of everyday life and come back into presence, supported by the horses and the natural surroundings.

If you’ve been feeling the need to slow down, reconnect, or just spend some quiet time in nature with these incredible animals, you’re very welcome to join 🤍

More details are in the linktree and on the website.
And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out anytime.

30/03/2026

It feels deeply meaningful to hold space for truly impactful sessions with participants and our horses, in a nature-based environment.

We weave together the wisdom of equine assisted therapy, yoga philosophy and practice, counselling, and gestalt psychotherapy, creating a space where people can reconnect, regulate, and gently come back to themselves.

Feeling grateful to witness the depth of these journeys 💛

20/03/2026

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been noticing more and more of a theme in sessions…

Clients bringing in the word “energy.”
Like, “there’s just so much,”
or “I feel this restlessness…
In me, around me, between myself and others, myself and the world around me.

And when we stay with it a bit longer, it often feels like this energy is just there at the surface, trying to come out in really natural ways…

Crying
Laughing.
Talking, like not really knowing how to stop, or what to do when we don’t talk.
Hands moving a lot while speaking.

Sometimes it shows up as lots of swearing.
Or always doing or needing something, chewing gum, food, a drink…
Like there’s this constant busyness and fullness inside and around us.

And what I’m seeing is that it’s not so much that something is “wrong”…
It’s more that there’s energy there that doesn’t quite know where to go, how to allow itself to move.

One person shared this week that she saw someone she called a “healer”,
and was told she just needs to rest more.

And she said it made her feel really angry.

Because she doesn’t actually know how to rest. And she feels that she hasn’t been experienced rest for a long time.
Rest doesn’t feel like rest for her. Maybe she doesn’t know what rest is or feels like, she said.
And it brought up this sense of “I should be able to do that.” I have to change. Try more, harder.

And it made me think of the paradoxical theory of change…
That the more we try to actively change what’s here, calm it, fix it, quiet it,
the more we can actually end up staying in the same place.

Whereas something else can happen
when we begin by just meeting ourselves where we’re at. Meeting and maybe even gradually welcoming what’s there, in all the shapes, forms and sounds.

19/03/2026

✨Testimonial ✨

“Hi Maxime,

Thank you for today. It was truly magical. What beautiful horses you have been blessed with. I’m glad we both got to witness such a peaceful moment.

I think that is what true love, connection & oneness feels like, just serene, phenomenal, something I was yet to experience in this lifetime.

I feel grateful and lucky to be apart of such a sacred session.

Thank you so much 🙏 💜”

18/03/2026

As much as one-on-one work holds something deeply valuable, being here with a group in this space with the horses, there’s a different kind of energy, alive and present 🐴✨.

I notice each person as they show up, and the horses, and the way the moment shifts when we’re coming all together.

You can probably see it in my smile 😄. For me, there’s nothing quite like the joy of being surrounded by our horses, curious humans, and vibrant nature all around us.

12/03/2026

These photos were taken yesterday on a walk with a kind, supportive and inspiring friend, 🩵.

Afterwards, I found myself reflecting and sitting with the experience, and I was reminded of a colleague I used to work with years ago. We were both working in case management roles at the time. When something really big happened in her personal life, she started running. Running and running and running. Somehow that was her way of being with the challenge she was facing.

It made me think about a time a few years ago when something big happened in my own personal life. My way of being with it and moving through it looked a little different. Lucio, Rosco and I would just start walking… endlessly.

At the time I had a horse trailer but no car that could tow it, so we would simply leave from my doorstep and walk for hours. Crossing highways, wandering wherever the path would take us. Just me, Lucio and Rosco. Bumble hadn’t joined the herd yet, but sometimes our dog Mia would come along too.

That memory then brought up another beautiful one. A dear inspiring friend I studied improvisation theatre with in Europe once walked out of her doorstep in Antwerp, Belgium, and walked all the way to Rome. She later created a theatre piece about that journey that deeply moved me. I’ve watched it a few times over the years, and each time it touches something profound in me.

In it she shares what she began to notice as she kept walking, how slowing down and moving step by step opened her awareness to so much more. Within herself, around her, and in the subtle things we often miss when life moves fast.

Yesterday’s walk reminded me of that again.

Sometimes we run.
Sometimes we walk.
Sometimes we dance…

And sometimes these simple movements help us slow down enough to notice what’s really there.

I’m curious, what is it for you that supports a sense of slowing down, being with… and in that way, a sense of “healing” so to say?

Address

259 Keith Hall Lane
South Ballina, NSW
2478

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 6pm
Tuesday	8am - 6pm
Wednesday	8am - 6pm
Thursday	2pm - 6pm

Telephone

+61490404490

Website

http://www.mwtherapyandtraining.com.au/

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