Natasha Petkovski Holistic Counsellor

15/07/2025

How do I know if it's age appropriate feelings of worry or something more?

I have seen many families struggling to know when their child's worries need professional support.

It's important to note that anxiety is a normal part of growing up and all kids experience it at some point in life. However when it becomes intense, anxiety can interfere with a child's overall happiness and childhood experiences.

There are many signs that may indicate that your child needs some additional support with anxious feelings.

7 key signs are:

- Avoiding activities especially those they once enjoyed
- Emotional meltdowns that seem overwhelming
- School refusal, changes in behaviour or performance at school
- Social withdrawal from friends and family
- Constant 'what if' thinking and excessive worry thought loops
- Increased clinginess or separation difficulty
- Physical symptoms without medical reasoning (headaches, tummy aches, sleep issues, nausea)

I often see families where these signs have been present for many months before parents realise professional support could help.

The difference between normal worry and anxiety?
Intensity, duration and impact on daily life.

Trust your instincts. If something feels different about your child's emotional state, it's worth exploring with additional support.

If you'd like to discuss any signs your child may be displaying or available support options, please book a free 15 minute phone consultation via www.natashapetkovski.com.au or send me a DM.

Seeking support is strength, not failure.

10/07/2025

Hello. I've created a Facebook group - Sutherland Shire Holistic Community, to connect holistic practitioners and therapists with our local holistic community. It's a space for holistic businesses to share their services and events and for community members to find them more easily.

I'd love for you to be part of the group if you are a local holistic business or if you are interested in holistic offerings in the Sutherland Shire.

It's brand new so I'm still building it up. Please feel free to invite other holistic practitioners, friends, family or community members who might find it valuable.

Any questions, just reach out.

Natasha
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16zaRWVUxe/

09/07/2025

The stressed parent who yells becomes the anxious child who grows up to be the overwhelmed parent. The cycle continues, until someone decides to break it.

Sometimes as parents we can become stuck in generational patterns that were passed down to us.

As a holistic counsellor working with anxious children and overwhelmed parents, I've witnessed the same patterns repeat across generations.

The good news? There's a better way.

My CALM Connection Program is a newly created 12-week transformation specifically designed for stressed parents who want to
- Heal their childhood wounds that trigger reactive parenting
- Break generational patterns of stress and anxiety
- Create conscious parenting choices instead of automatic reactions
- Build emotional safety and deeper connections with their family

This is where the real shifts happen. Where you consciously choose what gets passed down to future generations.

What legacy do you want to leave?

DM 'LEGACY' to learn more about transforming your family's stress and anxiety cycle into a calm and connected cycle.

Limited spots opening in mid July.

08/07/2025

Here is the second change for July!

💥 Introducing my 12-week CALM Connection Program.

Designed exclusively for parents who want to break cycles of stress and create deeper connections with their children.

No, it's not just another parenting program with quick fix promises. It's about deep, lasting change and understanding that,

- Your triggers are information about your own unhealed wounds
- Your children's behaviour often reflects the energy you're carrying
- True connection happens when you're regulated and present
- Your biggest parenting challenges are actually your greatest opportunities for healing

You will be guided through my CALM Framework where you will learn how to
✨ Create a Safe Haven
✨ Acknowledge Root Patterns
✨ Liberate & Heal
✨ Master Practical Tools

This 12-week journey combines attachment theory, trauma-informed practices and holistic healing approaches to create connected family systems.

Ready to breakfree from the cycle of stress and anxiety?

Comment CALM below or send me a DM to learn more. 💫

03/07/2025

Grateful for the opportunity to help make a difference. 🙏

02/07/2025

You know that feeling when you watch some families navigate life's challenges with such peace and grace, while you seem caught in an endless cycle of stress and overwhelm?

That was me not that long ago!

What I learnt is the difference isn't willpower, perfect parenting or even luck. It's understanding how our nervous systems work but more importantly, how they work together as a family unit.

In my experience of supporting overwhelmed parents, anxious children and walking this path in my own life, I've observed how traditional behavioural approaches often miss the mark in helping families because they address symptoms rather than the root cause.

They focus on changing what we see on the surface without honouring the deeper nervous system patterns that keep us stuck in cycles of stress, anxious feelings and disconnection.

This realisation led me to develop the CALM Connection Framework. A holistic approach that recognises that when we, as parents, learn to regulate our own nervous systems first, we create the safe container our children need to learn regulation naturally.

This isn't about becoming a perfect parent. It's about becoming a regulated parent who can hold space for the full range of human emotions, both yours and your child's. It's about understanding that your nervous system is your child's guide to emotional safety.

When we shift from trying to control behaviours to nurturing connection, everything changes. The whole family system begins to heal.

If this resonates with your heart and you're ready to explore a different way forward, I'd love to share more about my CALM Connection Framework with you.

⭐️ Book your free 15 minute call https://bit.ly/NatashaPetkovskiAppointments

01/07/2025

New Financial Year calls for some changes.
Here is the first one!

💥Introducing my 12 Week CALM Skills Program.

The immersive program that breaks the stress-anxiety cycle by working with BOTH parent and child simultaneously.

It's different!

This isn't another parenting class that makes you feel more stressed and anxious. This is a complete nervous system reset for your entire family.

Here's exactly what's different.

Parent Foundation Sessions
You learn to regulate your own nervous system first. We identify your personal stress triggers, practise evidence-based calming techniques and break those reactive patterns that leave you feeling guilty.

Child Empowerment Sessions
Your child builds emotional regulation through art, movement and age-appropriate mindfulness activities. They create their own calm toolkit and learn to communicate their needs instead of melting down.

Family Integration Sessions
You practise together, creating sustainable systems that work for your family's unique dynamics. No more standard approaches that never get implemented.

The transformations are endless through this immersive program. Here are a few that you can experience in your own family.

🔹 Morning routines that flow smoothly, without rushing, yelling or forgotten water bottles
🔹 School drop offs become confident goodbyes instead of tearful separations
🔹 Children who self-soothe using their personalised regulation strategies when big emotions hit
🔹 Parents who respond thoughtfully instead of reacting from stress during challenging moments
🔹 Bedtime that becomes peaceful connection time instead of anxiety filled negotiations
🔹 Family members who understand each other's triggers and know how to offer support

At the core of the CALM Skills Program is my proven CALM Connection Framework. This framework is the result of working with stressed families along with anxious children and discovering what actually creates lasting change.

Most programs focus on behaviour modification, trying to change what you do without addressing why you're doing it. My CALM Connection Framework goes deeper, working with your nervous system, your patterns and your family's unique emotional landscape.

The program includes 16 total sessions (4 parent + 10 child + 2 family integration) plus continued support between sessions, personalised regulation toolkits, take-home resources and practise materials for easy implementation of strategies.

This isn't just therapy! It's a complete family transformation backed by neuroscience, trauma informed practices and holistic healing approaches.

⭐️ ONLY 4 SPOTS AVAILABLE starting 21st July.

Ready to transform your family's daily experience?

Imagine waking up without that knot in your stomach, wondering what today's battles will bring or imagine seeing your child confidently handling challenges instead of falling apart.

DM me for a free 15-minute discovery call where we will discuss your family's specific needs and how this program can help.

Parents deserve to enjoy parenting and children deserve to enjoy childhood. - Natasha 💙

28/06/2025

Magical sound healing last night with Ivy Sun.Sound.Silence Wellness.

I've got my ticket to the next gathering on Friday 18th July at Ignite Studio- Padstow.

Come join me! 😍

Booking link with discount code "earlybird5 "

https://www.trybooking.com/DCOIB

26/06/2025

👇👏

I saw this tree whilst waiting to collect my daughter from school. 🌳 It made me think of how trauma affects children…

Look closely at this tree. It didn’t grow freely. A metal fence was placed around it when it was young. Maybe with good intentions, maybe not, but the tree had no choice. It kept growing, because that’s what living things do. However, it had to twist, bend, and reshape itself around something that was never meant to be part of it.

Children do the same thing.

When a child experiences trauma like neglect, abuse, loss, chaos, or even just the chronic stress of not feeling safe, their development adapts to survive.

Their personalities, behaviors, and coping mechanisms might not make sense from the outside, but inside, it’s how they grow through what they go through.

The tree is still alive. Still standing, but it carries the shape of what it had to grow around.

So do many children.

Let’s stop asking “What’s wrong with this child?”
and start asking, “What happened to them?”
More importantly, “How can I help them feel safe to grow freely again?” 💛

17/06/2025

Recently I had a beautiful session with an 11 year old using one of my favourite techniques, collaborative storytelling.

We started with a simple prompt.

In a school for magical creatures there was a _____ who felt left out during recess, but he discovered something amazing about himself...

Together, we created this incredible story about a fox who could fly to a magical mushroom town full of fairies. When he arrived, he noticed a little ant sitting alone, just like he had felt at his own school. The fox reached out with kindness, inviting the ant to play together in a quiet space away from the crowds.

After we finished writing, we drew our own versions of the story. Then something beautiful happened, this safe storytelling space opened the door for her to share what was really happening in her own world at school.

This is the power of creative expression in therapy. When children can explore themes through characters and fantasy, they often find the courage to voice their own experiences.

The fox's journey of feeling left out, discovering his unique gifts and then helping another lonely creature became the connection to real conversation.

I'm constantly amazed by how children naturally use storytelling to process their world. Sometimes the most profound healing happens when we're simply playing and creating together.

Try this technique with your own child. I'd love to hear about the magical story you create together.

*Full story is in comments

Natasha Petkovski Holistic Counsellor

12/06/2025

It makes me smile when I hear parents share their breakthrough moments with me but it saddens me to know that so many families are still struggling despite trying everything they can think of.

I regularly hear "we've tried everything, but nothing seems to work" from exhausted parents who've invested in therapy for their anxious child or worked with parenting coaches to reduce stress and overwhelm, yet find the same challenges showing up at home day after day.

There are actually very good reasons why sometimes nothing seems to be working.

- Your child may learn amazing coping skills in sessions but comes home to the same family patterns.

- It's not that the skills don't work, it's that they're trying to change within an unchanged environment.

- Families are interconnected systems, so when only one person changes, the system resists.

This is exactly why I created the Calm Skills Program, for overwhelmed parents and their anxious children to work together on creating more calm and less stress.

Instead of healing separately, this program recognises that lasting change happens when families heal as a connected system. Both you and your child learn the same language around emotions and develop complementary skills together.

This isn't about quick fixes. It's about creating a family culture where anxiety doesn't run the show and big feelings are met with understanding rather than panic.

If you're ready to stop working against each other and start working as a team, I'd love to chat about how the Calm Skills Program can support your family. Send me a message to book a free 15 minute consultation.

Love and kindness.
Natasha 💙

31/05/2025

If you have any items you can donate to Dandelion Support Network I'm happy to be a collection point and I'll do a drop off to Dandelion over the next two weeks.

🚨 We're getting a little desperate…

Some of our key baby and kids' items are completely OUT OF STOCK, and we can’t provide essential packs to families who really need them right now.

Other items are also running dangerously low and it won’t be long before we run out of those too.

If you’ve got donations waiting in a bag by the door… in your car… in the hallway (no shame, we get it, we all have them) — this is your sign to bring them in to:

👉 Dandelion HQ in Taren Point on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 1pm and 3pm
👉 Or to one of our other donation drop-off points at Manly, Maroubra, Woonona, Earlwood, West Hoxton, Ermington and Drummoyne. DM for details.

We’ve got families waiting. They need your help now more than ever.

As always, please take a look at our guide on how to prepare donations here to help us get your donations out to waiting families faster 👉 https://dandelionsupport.org.au/what-can-i-donate/

Thanking every in advance

MCW Lawyers SLAM Society