Counselling and Therapy for Life Transitions
There are chapters in life that ask something new of us. Sometimes these changes arrive gradually, and sometimes they arrive all at once through loss, upheaval, motherhood, ageing, separation, career shifts, children leaving home, illness, or the realisation that life no longer feels the way it once did.
Life transitions can bring uncertainty, grief, loneliness or a sense of losing ourselves. They often involve far more than practical change. They can touch identity, relationships, the body, self-worth, purpose, and the way we move through the world.
Therapy with me offers a supportive space to make sense of these shifts - a place to pause, reflect, grieve, adjust, and reconnect with yourself.
Each session is 50 minutes. The cost is $160.
Motherhood
Motherhood can be loving, meaningful, exhausting, beautiful, isolating, and all-consuming — often all at once.
Whether you are navigating pregnancy, postpartum, early motherhood, parenting older children, fertility challenges, step-parenting, or the transition into an empty nest, motherhood can profoundly reshape a woman’s sense of self.
Many women find themselves grappling with questions such as:
Who am I now outside of caring for others?
Why do I feel touched out, overwhelmed, or emotionally reactive?
Why has my relationship changed?
Why do I feel guilt no matter what I do?
Why has motherhood brought up old wounds from my own childhood?
Motherhood can stir deep emotions and expose parts of ourselves that have long been buried. It can alter our relationship with our body, identity, sexuality, work, friendships, freedom, and nervous system. It may also awaken grief — for previous versions of ourselves, unmet needs, lost time, fertility experiences, or the kind of support we wish we had received.
Therapy can provide a space where you do not need to hold everything together. A space to explore the emotional weight of motherhood with honesty, compassion, and support.
Menopause & Midlife Transitions
Menopause and perimenopause can feel like a profound emotional and physical turning point. For many women, this stage is about far more than hormones.
It can bring changes in mood, sleep, energy, identity, confidence, memory, relationships, sexuality, and the way a woman experiences herself in her body. Some women describe feeling unlike themselves, emotionally heightened, disconnected, flat, anxious, or suddenly confronted by emotions they thought they had long moved past.
This stage of life can also coincide with other significant transitions — caring for ageing parents, changing relationships, career shifts, grief, children becoming independent, or questioning long-held roles and expectations.
For some women, menopause becomes a time of reckoning:
What do I want now?
What parts of myself have been hidden or silenced?
Why do I suddenly feel so emotionally raw?
Why is old grief resurfacing now?
Who am I becoming in this next chapter?
Therapy can support women through the emotional, relational, and identity shifts that often accompany menopause and midlife. Rather than viewing this chapter simply as something to “get through”, therapy can help create space for understanding, self-compassion, grounding, and meaningful change.
What happens in a session with me…
My way of working is very responsive to what’s present in the room. Each therapy session is different because every person and every moment asks for something unique.
I aim to be a calming presence — supporting your system to find safety.
I work with an attachment lens, aware of how early experiences and relationships can influence how we connect, trust, and relate now.
In the early sessions I will focus on us building a relationship.
Some conversations are fast-paced and focused in the mind - exploring beliefs, thoughts, and patterns. Others are slower, quieter, more reflective, helping you reconnect with your emotions and your body.
Sometimes our sessions will involve telling your story — zooming out to understand its meaning, impact, and how it has shaped you. As you speak, I may invite you to slow down and notice what’s happening inside. Sensations in the body often hold valuable information about where to pause, soften, or go deeper.
We might revisit the past, explore what’s unfolding between us in the present moment, or talk in very practical terms about small, actionable steps to support emotional balance and daily life.
Questions You May Have About Therapy During Life Transitions
Do I need to be in crisis to come to therapy?
Not at all. Many women seek therapy because they feel emotionally unsettled, disconnected, overwhelmed, or uncertain during periods of change - even when life outwardly appears “fine”.
Why do old memories or emotions seem to come up during these stages?
Major life transitions can lower our usual coping capacity and bring unresolved grief, past experiences, or long-held emotional patterns to the surface. This is more common than many people realise.
What if I feel guilty talking about motherhood or menopause negatively?
Many women carry shame around struggling during stages that society expects them to simply embrace or cope with quietly. Therapy with me offers a space where mixed emotions can be explored honestly and without judgement.
Is it normal for life transitions to affect relationships?
Very much so. Changes in identity, stress levels, emotional capacity, and life roles can all impact relationships — including partnerships, family dynamics, friendships, and the relationship you have with yourself.
What if I don’t know exactly what’s wrong?
You do not need to arrive with a clear explanation. Often there is simply a sense that something feels difficult, heavy, unfamiliar, or emotionally overwhelming. Therapy with me can help you gently make sense of what is happening beneath the surface.
If you enjoy the nerdy theory stuff, here are some of the modalities I use…
Sensorimotor and somatic approaches help us pay attention to the body—its sensations, posture, and subtle cues—offering insight into how emotions and experiences are stored physically, often outside of conscious awareness.
Attachment theory explores how our earliest relationships shape our internal expectations of connection, trust, and safety with others. It can help make sense of recurring patterns in adult relationships and offer a path toward more secure and satisfying connections.
EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) helps us understand the emotional patterns, attachment wounds and nervous system responses that shape how you relate to yourself and others.
Polyvagal theory provides a framework for understanding how our nervous system responds to stress, danger, or disconnection. It helps explain why we might shut down, become overwhelmed, or struggle to feel safe—even when there’s no obvious threat.
Gestalt therapy brings awareness to the present moment and what’s happening “in the room.” It encourages creativity, spontaneity, and emotional honesty, offering opportunities to resolve unfinished business from the past by working with it in the here and now.
These approaches aren’t used in a rigid or prescriptive way. Instead, they offer an adaptable toolkit to support you.
Contact Me
The first step can feel big. Please call for an informal chat where we can figure out together if my way of working is the right fit for you.
Call 040 640 7731
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate. ”