I blend my Counselling & therapeutic skills with my own experience in the hope that by sharing my story I can help Women to feel seen, to talk openly about the challenges faced in relationships, to cast light on unhealthy behaviours in relationships that may be shrugged off or minimised as it is ‘it’s just how it is’, to say its ok to want more, to celebrate you and to challenge the status quo. I support Women to stand in their power, know their worth and acknowledge their rights to happiness as Women.
This is one of those articles/interviews that’s hard to introduce. Hard to do it justice. I am just so darn proud to be able to share this article with our readers. Kelly’s, passion for empowering women beams through and you can’t help but feel uplifted, united as women and stronger after reading it.
Who are you?
My name is Kelly, I am a Womens’ Relationship & Empowerment Counsellor & Coach. I am a single mother of two beautiful girls aged 5 & 3, a Feminist, a survivor of unhealthy and emotionally abusive relationships and a passionate advocate for Women & Female empowerment. I am fascinated by Astrology, the Moon & and all things woo and love music, adventure and spending time outdoors with my girls.
I am a qualified Integrative Counsellor & Psychotherapist with over 10 years of experience working in Mental Health & Domestic Violence.
What is your business?
My business is Empowering Women in Relationships. Women who feel unfulfilled or misunderstood in their relationship, Women who know their relationship has run its course and are ready to leave, Women who are navigating the path forwards post-separation and Women seeking to deepen their relationships with themselves,
No matter the circumstance or relationship challenge, I help guide Women through uncertainty, develop greater self-knowledge and awareness and build confidence in themselves to take the next steps towards the future they want and deserve.
How did the idea for your business come about?
The idea for my business evolved over time and was the result of a few things coming into alignment; the path my career had taken, the end of my relationship, my own self-development, personal growth & healing and surrounding myself with amazing women.
I felt disillusioned with the broader Mental Health system and skeptical of how providing short-term therapy in private practice was meeting the needs of the clients walking through the doors. Taking a role as a Domestic & Family violence Counsellor really accelerated my knowledge and experience of working from a trauma-informed perspective, forcing me to question traditional therapeutic approaches which often pathologise people – especially women – for having a normal response to a traumatic life event, and I knew that I wanted to make the shift towards working in this space.
I had separated from the father of my children, and come to terms with the fact that the relationship was at best toxic and at worst emotionally abusive. Through therapy and a lot of deep inner work and healing, I knew that I held some trauma of my own, and had begun a journey of exploring, recognising and accepting how this had impacted my experiences and relationships throughout my life.
I have been really fortunate since emigrating to Australia to meet and develop friendships with a number of incredible, innovative, intelligent, creative & business-minded Women. Women who have lifted me up, had my back, listened and supported me. They inspired me to do the same for others. It was one of these Women who reflected to me one day that they thought there was value in my experience, that I had something to offer and that my story could support other women. It was with this encouragement from my friend that the idea to support Women in relationships and through separation really began to take shape and the development of my business began!
How I support Women
I understand that fear, shame & doubt can mean that Women are hesitant to reach out for counselling when experiencing relationship challenges or going through separation. I believe this is due – at least in part – to the inherent sexism & misogyny in our culture. Women have been conditioned into believing they are weak, can’t cope, crazy, shouldn’t put themselves first, at fault if a relationship fails, greedy, selfish, don’t deserve better and that we are bad mothers if we want a career, to be single or separate from a ‘good enough’ partnership. Whether we are consciously aware of this or not we have been exposed to these beliefs through our interactions with others and the society around us and it often keeps us quiet and battling through alone.
I blend my Counselling & therapeutic skills with my own experience in the hope that by sharing my story I can help Women to feel seen, to talk openly about the challenges faced in relationships, to cast light on unhealthy behaviours in relationships that may be shrugged off or minimised as it is ‘it’s just how it is’, to say its ok to want more, to celebrate you and to challenge the status quo. I support Women to stand in their power, know their worth and acknowledge their rights to happiness as Women.
In a traditional Counselling relationship, the Counsellor tends to maintain a professional distance, to bracket off personal details and experiences so as to remain objective and truly empathise with the persons’ experience as they have experienced it. In a Coaching relationship, clients are typically drawn to seek support from someone who has lived an experience similar to their own. I draw on both these identities in order to offer my clients professional, non-judgemental support from someone who they know has experienced something similar.
Over the course of a coaching series, I support clients to get clear on their goals for coaching and help them to build confidence to take the next steps forward, whatever the circumstances and however the path ahead looks for them.
Sessions are tailored to the needs of the client, however, some of the strategies and techniques I may draw from are:
- Mindset & Reframing
- Mind-Body Connection
- Mindfulness
- Establishing meaningful & soul-nourishing self-care practices
- Emotional Regulation techniques
- Trauma-Informed Therapy
- Radical Acceptance
- Boundaries & Communication
Using these techniques, I support my clients to recognise and navigate fluctuating emotions, build confidence on your next steps, explore what is holding them back, deepen their awareness of old stories that influence who they are in relationships and get to know what truly lights them up.
How to get in touch
If you would like to read more about my story and personal journey, or to find out more about my packages please visit my website:
If you would like to find out more and organise a time for an initial chat to see if we are a good fit, please email me here!
