Dr Tanya Defferary Counselling Psychologist

16/04/2026

The wild is calling...
There are now only 3 spaces remaining at Nyosi Wildlife Reserve for our March 2027 Immersive Retreat
What we’re creating there is something quite rare…
A space where clinical depth meets the natural world, where we slow down, observe, and begin to notice what emerges in ourselves and in our work when we are truly present.
Mornings in the bush, shared learning, meaningful conversations, and the quiet presence of wildlife becoming part of the process.
Led by Lisa Dion, Marshall Lyles, Abby Esquivel, and Tanya Defferary, this is a two-part training that can be experienced as a full immersive journey or as individual sections.
If you’ve been considering it, this is a gentle nudge, we’re very close to capacity at Nyosi.

You’re welcome to explore here:
🌍 globaltherapyconnect.com

The wild is calling...

There are now only 3 spaces remaining at Nyosi Wildlife Reserve for our March 2027 Immersive Retreat

What we’re creating there is something quite rare…

A space where clinical depth meets the natural world, where we slow down, observe, and begin to notice what emerges in ourselves and in our work when we are truly present.

Mornings in the bush, shared learning, meaningful conversations, and the quiet presence of wildlife becoming part of the process.

Led by Lisa Dion, Marshall Lyles, Abby Esquivel, and Tanya Defferary, this is a two-part training that can be experienced as a full immersive journey or as individual sections.

If you’ve been considering it, this is a gentle nudge, we’re very close to capacity at Nyosi.

You’re welcome to explore here:
🌍 globaltherapyconnect.com

01/04/2026

🌿 Only 6 places left at Nyosi for our March 2027 retreat

I’ll be joining Lisa Dion, Marshall Lyles, and Abby Esquivel for this deeply immersive experience in the bush — exploring instinct, perception, and the therapeutic process in a way that’s hard to put into words.

If Nyosi fills, we’ve secured a second private game reserve nearby, so you can still be part of the full experience.

✨ Part I & Part II options available (or join us for the full journey)

👉 globaltherapyconnect.com

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻...

𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 R𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟳 - 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮

Only 6 places remaining at Nyosi Wildlife Reserve

Our March 2027 immersive retreat is filling beautifully, with just a few spaces left at Nyosi itself.

If those fill, you won’t miss out, we’ve secured a nearby private game park, allowing you to still be fully part of the experience while immersed in the same natural landscape.

Join Lisa Dion, Marshall Lyles, Abby Esquivel, and Dr Tanya Defferary for a deeply experiential journey into observation, instinct, and the therapeutic process, where the wild becomes both mirror and teacher.

* Join us for the Full Retreat: 12–25 March 2027
or a single session:
* Part I: The Living Mirror (12–19 March)
* Part II: What the Elements Remember (19–25 March)

📍 Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Enquire or book your place: globaltherapyconnect.com

24/03/2026

There are some stories that live quietly in families, often unseen, yet deeply felt.

Supporting Elvis Children: Stepping Out of a Deceased Sibling’s Shadow explores the experience of children growing up in the shadow of the loss of a sibling, where grief, love, and invisible expectations can shape identity in profound ways.

This book speaks to parents, professionals, and adult “Elvis children” themselves, offering insight, language, and compassion for experiences that are so often difficult to name.

I will be placing a limited order of printed copies directly from the publishers for those based in South Africa (Cost: R670.00).

If you would like to order a copy, please send me a message by Wednesday, 25th March 2027 so I can include you in the order.

21/03/2026

Feeling really excited about our upcoming retreat. Spaces are filling up fast.

There’s something powerful about bringing this work into the wild, where the landscape itself becomes part of the process.

Meeting the wild within.

Join Lisa Dion, Marshall Lyles, Abby Esquivel, and Tanya Defferary for an immersive therapy retreat in March 2027, bringing together healthcare practitioners and counsellors in the heart of the African bush.

𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝟴 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗡𝘆𝗼𝘀𝗶 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲.

As these fill, additional participants will be accommodated at a nearby private game park, with the full retreat experience shared across both spaces.

This is an invitation to step out of the familiar and into a different kind of awareness where the rhythms of the natural world begin to mirror and awaken something within.

If you’ve been considering joining us, now is the time to secure your place.

🔗 https://www.globaltherapyconnect.com/

07/03/2026

A pathway created for South African practitioners

While the March 2027 Immersive Retreat at Nyosi Wildlife Reserve will bring together clinicians from around the world, it was deeply important to me that South African therapists also have a meaningful opportunity to participate in this training.

For this reason, we have created a dedicated participation pathway for South African practitioners, allowing local clinicians to join the training without needing to attend the full international retreat.

This pathway provides access to the core workshop days, where we will explore perception, instinct, projection, and relational dynamics through an experiential learning process held within the natural landscape of the South African bush.

It is a privilege to be hosting this retreat alongside Lisa Dion, Marshall Lyles, and Abby Esquivel, and I am particularly excited to welcome colleagues from across South Africa into this shared learning space.

🌿 Registration is now open

You can learn more about the South African practitioner pathway here:
https://www.globaltherapyconnect.com⁠

Places are intentionally limited to preserve the depth of the training experience.

05/03/2026

Something powerful is taking shape.

In March 2027 we will gather in the South African bush for a deeply immersive professional retreat — where nature becomes teacher, mirror, and guide.

More details coming soon.

Watch this space.

Something powerful is taking shape.

In March 2027 we will gather in the South African bush for a deeply immersive professional retreat — where nature becomes teacher, mirror, and guide.

More details coming soon.

Watch this space.

04/03/2026

It was a real honour to share Monday evening’s talk on Supporting Elvis Children with such a thoughtful and courageous group of parents and adults.

An Elvis child is a child born after the loss of a sibling, often growing up in the quiet presence of a grief that was already part of the family story before they arrived. These children are deeply loved, yet their lives can sometimes be shaped by invisible loyalties, expectations, and the silent wish to ease their parents’ pain.
We spoke about belonging, identity, guilt, perfectionism, and the search for self-validation, themes that many people carry quietly for years without having words for them.

Thank you to everyone who came, listened, reflected, and shared. These conversations are powerful because they bring compassion and understanding to experiences that are so often lived in silence.

And a special thank you to Dr Ard Nieuwenbroek and Dr Tanya Defferary whose work has helped bring recognition to the experience of Elvis children.

04/03/2026

What is an Elvis Child (replacement child)

In families where a child has died, the children born afterwards may grow up in the shadow of that loss.

In contextual therapy literature, these children are sometimes referred to as Elvis children — children who, often unconsciously, carry expectations, loyalties, and emotional tasks linked to the sibling who died.

Many of these children appear strong, capable, and high functioning.

Yet beneath this can lie complex relational dynamics: questions of identity, fragile self-validation, powerful family loyalties, and the quiet pressure to compensate for something that cannot be replaced.

Tomorrow evening’s talk will explore this phenomenon through a contextual therapy lens, including themes such as:
• Self-validation
• Invisible loyalties
• Delegation within families
• Destructive entitlement
• Existential guilt

We will also explore how these dynamics can influence development, relationships, and therapeutic work.

A special highlight of the evening will be a live clinical demonstration by Dr Ard Nieuwenbroek, offering practitioners the opportunity to see contextual principles applied in practice.

This evening is designed for professionals who work with families, grief, and identity development who wish to deepen their understanding of these often unseen dynamics.

There are still a few spaces available. Booking essential

📍 Theodor High School
🕕 17.00 - 18.30
🎟 Info@aparentisborn.co.za

Join us for what promises to be a thoughtful and meaningful exploration of this important topic.

What is an Elvis Child (replacement child)

In families where a child has died, the children born afterwards may grow up in the shadow of that loss.

In contextual therapy literature, these children are sometimes referred to as Elvis children — children who, often unconsciously, carry expectations, loyalties, and emotional tasks linked to the sibling who died.

Many of these children appear strong, capable, and high functioning.

Yet beneath this can lie complex relational dynamics: questions of identity, fragile self-validation, powerful family loyalties, and the quiet pressure to compensate for something that cannot be replaced.

Tomorrow evening’s talk is presented by Dr Ard Nieuwenbroek (international guest speaker & author of the supporting Elvis Children book) & Dr Tanya Defferary (co-author of the English edition of the Supporting Elvis Children book), where will explore this phenomenon through a contextual therapy lens, including themes such as:
• Self-validation
• Invisible loyalties
• Delegation within families
• Destructive entitlement
• Existential guilt

We will also explore how these dynamics can influence development, relationships, and therapeutic work.

A special highlight of the evening will be a live clinical demonstration by Dr Ard Nieuwenbroek offering practitioners the opportunity to see contextual principles applied in practice.

This evening is designed for professionals who work with families, grief, and identity development who wish to deepen their understanding of these often unseen dynamics.

There are still a few spaces available. Booking essential

📍 Theodor High School
🕕 17.00 - 18.30
🎟 Info@aparentisborn.co.za

Join us for what promises to be a thoughtful and meaningful exploration of this important topic.

01/03/2026

The wild is waking...

Registration for the March 2027 Immersive Retreat at Nyosi Wildlife Reserve is opening soon.

If you’ve saved the date and are seriously considering joining us, now is the time to join the waiting list — those on the list will receive early access before we go live publicly.

The next announcement is coming soon.

26/02/2026

There is still space available — bookings close tomorrow.
Our Elvis Children talks explore how the loss of a child shapes the children born afterwards — and how these invisible dynamics can quietly influence identity, attachment, and family roles.

If this story touches your life or your work, this is your moment.

25/02/2026

Some moments feel bigger than words.

I’m so honoured to be presenting Contextual Sandtray Therapy with the World Association for Play Therapy as part of Sand Across the Globe 2026.

This work has been 18 years in the making, growing out of clinical practice, supervision, research, and a deep commitment to intergenerational healing.

To see it travel beyond South Africa into a global conversation feels incredibly special.

Grateful. Excited. And a little in awe

Sand Across the Globe 2026

Sands Through Time: Contextual Sandtray Therapy – Exploring Intergenerational Healing Through Symbol and Story

with Dr. Tanya Defferary

📅 Friday, June 26, 2026

• 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM EDT
• 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM CDT
• 7:00 AM – 10:00 AM PDT
• 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM BST
• 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM IST

📍 Live Interactive Webinar – Virtual Only
🎓 3.0 CE Hours (NBCC & APT)
📚 Intermediate Level

✨ Description:
This experiential workshop explores the integration of Contextual Therapy and Sandtray as a symbolic pathway for uncovering intergenerational legacies, invisible loyalties, and relational delegations that shape clients’ lives.

Through theory, demonstration, and creative participation, therapists will experience how the sand tray becomes a relational field of fairness, belonging, acknowledgement, and healing. Participants will symbolically map inherited patterns, give voice to unspoken loyalties, and embody “healing through meeting” grounded in relational ethics.

🎯 Learning Objectives:
• Identify core principles of Contextual Therapy in sandtray work
• Recognize intergenerational loyalties in symbolic expression
• Apply sandtray interventions that support relational healing

🌟 Presenter Spotlight:
Dr. Tanya Defferary is a counselling psychologist (DPhil, South Africa) integrating contextual therapy, sandtray, expressive arts, and parts-based approaches. She is the founder of Global Therapy Connect, an international training platform fostering cross-cultural learning and relational practice. Her work honors both the spoken and unspoken stories that shape emotional life.

Many sands. Many stories. One shared ground for healing.

🔗 Register here: Link in BIO

23/02/2026