Pet Loss Counselling

As an animal lover, I understand the bond between people and pets. All I wanted to be when I was young was a vet. My brother and I spent our younger years surrounded by animals, whether they were your everyday pets such as cats and dogs, guppies and goldfish, to farmyard friends such as chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. We witnessed the miracles of nature and watched our pets give birth, baby chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys hatch and saw the parents raise their young.

Of course, it also meant dealing with their death. Many times, I have had to make the difficult decision regarding euthanasia, and one occasion in particular, witnessed the traumatic death of a beloved family dog.

Losing a pet is tough. Not only do we have the feelings of loss and loneliness, it can also be complicated with guilt when we have made the decision to euthanise. We don’t always feel comfortable or supported in talking about how we are feeling to those around us. 

My passion is helping people work through pet related end-of-life decisions, grief and loss. My love for animals, along with life experience and qualifications, enables me to provide a safe, empathetic space for clients.  

Therapy is a process and there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ timeline. My goal is to meet your specific needs, so it depends on your individual circumstances. Therapy can be short-term, medium term or an open-ended process, and we can structure it in a way that suits you. This might be one session, a few targeted sessions focused on immediate challenges, or it might be more ongoing support to explore deeper personal growth over a longer period.    

Subsequent bookings are made following consultation at the end of each session. Everyone is different and you might find you need one session, or you might need more.

Even if you decide not to book another session at the time of consultation, you are able to book in at any time in the future. 

Your mental health plan provides you with a Medicare rebate option with eligible allied health professionals. I can assist you, but at the moment counselling is unfortunately unable to be claimed back through Medicare, meaning fees would be payable.

A person-centred counselling approach is a non-directive form of talk therapy based on the below principles:

• The client is seen as the expert in their own life and experiences.
• The therapist will not tell the client what to do, but will instead guide the client through by using active listening and reflection techniques.
• Success relies on the quality of the therapeutic relationship, where the foundation is trust and mutual respect.

Therapists will use empathy, genuineness and unconditional positive regard to empower clients to lead sessions, and to explore their thoughts, behaviours and feelings in their own time. Techniques aimed at facilitating self-discovery are used, and clients are supported to reflect and develop a greater understanding of themselves.

There is no travel required with an online session, and they can be conducted from virtually anywhere. Sessions are conducted over a secure platform such as Zoom, in exactly the same way as if we were face to face. The only difference is that we are not in the same room. 

The same confidentiality requirements and assurance apply as with in-office sessions. View can read our privacy policy here.

Yes. Face to face sessions are available in Cairns only.

For every session, you would be expected to be alone and without the potential for disturbance. You would need to be in a safe, quiet space, free from disturbance. You would also be required to wear a headset or earbuds. 

Your sessions will be the same as if they are conducted in an office. In this situation, they would not be recorded and for the same reasons, recording our online sessions is not permitted.