Counselling & Consultancy

SERVICES IN NORTHCOTE AND ONLINE FOR:

  • INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

  • RELATIONSHIP & FAMILY THERAPY

  • SECONDARY CONSULTS FOR WORKERS

  • UNIVERSITY LEVEL TUTORING

Services Offered:

Individual Therapy

I provide 60-minute individual counselling sessions for people aged 10 and over. I am an integrated therapist, with training and experience in a range of modalities. As both a Mental Health Social Worker and a Family Therapist, I am able to support your personal wellbeing while also understanding how relationships, family history, and everyday stressors shape what you’re going through. My approach is practical, grounded, and centred on strengthening connection, both to yourself and the people who matter to you.

My counselling style is informed by attachment based theory, polyvagal theory, internal family systems (parts) theory and narrative therapy, amongst others.

I support people who are navigating:

  • anxiety, depression, stress, burnout, or low confidence

  • grief and loss, life changes, or feeling overwhelmed

  • trauma (including childhood trauma) and the ongoing effects of difficult experiences

  •  identity-related challenges, stigma, and discrimination

  • patterns of behaviour (eg substance use, gambling harms) they want to understand or change

  • life as a neurodivergent person (ASD & ADHD)

  • coming out and/or accessing gender affirming care

Get in touch for a free 15 minute phone consult by booking online.

Relationship or Family Counselling

I have extensive experience working with couples and families who want to:

  • improve communication and break recurring patterns of conflict

  • rebuild closeness, trust, and emotional connection

  • navigate parenting stress, blended family challenges, or changing family roles

  • support children or teenagers who are struggling

  • strengthen relationships after family violence, trauma, or long-standing tension

  • find practical ways to live well together and feel more supported as a unit

Working together in therapy can help couples and families understand one another more clearly, interrupt old patterns, and create new ways of relating that feel safer, calmer, and more connected.

I use systemic family therapy theories and interventions, providing relationship counselling to all types of relationships, including monogamous, polyamorous and non-romantic relationships.

Get in touch for a free 15 minute phone consult by booking online.

Secondary Consults for Workers

Are you working with an LGBTIQA+ client or looking to improve your practice in supporting queer and trans clients? I provide secondary consults to workers throughout therapeutic and community services, for example supporting psychologists working with young trans and gender diverse people.

Get in touch for a free 15 minute phone consult by booking online.

University Level Tutoring

I provide 1:1 tutoring for family therapy students, supporting you with assessment planning, understanding theory, applying concepts to case material, and strengthening reflective practice. My approach is practical and collaborative, grounded in clinical experience. Your first 30-minute tutoring session is free, so you can get a sense of my style and what you need. Read more about this here.

What to Expect:

  • Sessions take place either in person or online. The space is in Northcote, with close access to Northcote train station.

  • Individual counselling sessions for 16 years and older: Either contact me via email or booking online. Once we have organised a time, a brief intake will be sent out via email to be completed.

  • Individual counselling sessions for 15 year olds and under: Either contact me via email or booking online. An initial intake will be sent out via email to be completed by the referring caregiver. Consent forms will need to be completed by all parents or guardians, unless there are safety or legal concerns (eg. intervention orders). The first appointment will usually need at least one parent or caregiver present for the first 10 minutes. Depending on the reasons for accessing counselling, it may be appropriate to meet with the parent or guardian on their own first.

  • Relationship counselling sessions: Either contact me via email or booking online. Once the appointment is booked, I will email a brief intake to each person in the relationship to be completed individually. The initial session is with all people in the relationship, followed by individual sessions with each person. Individual sessions can be particularly useful when we find ourselves acting outside our values, providing space to explore what may be getting in the way of acting in line with our intentions. Sessions will then be a mix of joint or individual depending on the situation.

  • Family therapy sessions are structured as needed and dependent on the issues raised. Either contact me via email or booking online. After booking the first appointment, an intake will be sent to the main contact to gain an idea of what is going on for the family. I will generally have a phone call with the main contact to determine who should attend the first appointment. As this varies greatly, it will be determined by the goals and context.

About me:

Hello, I’m Dettie, a white mental health social worker and clinical family therapist living on the unceded land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. I provide counselling for individuals, couples, and families. I have an invested interest in working with neurodivergent people, LGBTIQA+ people and their families, survivors of conversion and suppression practices, people who have used violence in relationships and people who experience complex and/or relational trauma. I work with people of all genders, sexualities, religions/faiths and cultures.

I’ve worked in community services over the past 10 years and am experienced working in mental health, family violence, homelessness, alcohol and other drugs, disability & supporting people leaving custody. I take a collaborative and transparent approach, and love to hear about what modalities and interventions you prefer (and those you do not like!).

In my practice I understand the oppressive systems that marginalised communities face everyday, I am constantly learning and growing in my practice and personal life to support individuals with therapy that is holistic and doesn’t ignore the environmental impacts of systemic oppression.

As a queer and trans person I bring lived experience to my work, aiming to create a safe and understanding space for individuals exploring gender, sexuality, and identity. Feel free to schedule a confidential session where we'll discuss your goals and concerns in a supportive environment, determining the best approach for your needs.

Qualifications:

  • Accredited Mental Health Social Worker through Australian Association of Social Work

  • Masters of Clinical Family Therapy - Bouverie Centre - La Trobe University 2025

  • Bachelor of Social Work – Monash University – 2018

  • Bachelor of Arts – Monash University – 2018

Experience:

  • Currently employed in a community health service

  • Over 10 years in community services including counselling and case management roles in LGBTIQA+ mental health, homelessness, family violence, aged care, alcohol and/or other drug use, disability support and supporting people leaving custody.

Acknowledgment of Country

I practice therapy on Wurundjeri land of the Kulin Nation, also known as Narrm/Birrarangga (Melbourne). I am white person that benefits from settler-colonialism, genocide and the ongoing dispossession of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lands in the Australian colony. I support calls made by First Nations people for landback, treaties and reparations and believe that sovereignty of this land has never been ceded. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.