Bridges Counselling

Our Story

About Us Our values We are alert to the unresolved personal, mental, emotional and relational suffering in the community and in our counselling rooms. We are diligent to apply the best of psychological and therapeutic wisdom to this suffering. We share a dream to empower people of all ages to know themselves, to take ownership of their lives and to be authentic in relationships. We work with the ‘bigger picture’ and ‘deeper issues’, while being pragmatic and down-to-earth as needed. We strive for a balanced focus on mind, heart and meaning. We are in awe at the healing and growth in people’s lives and relationships that we witness every week. We believe that there is a deep and underlying story and purpose to people’s lives. We hold a Christian ethos. Our quality assurance Our 12 psychologists and registered counsellors have Masters degrees or the equivalent. Our 3 psychologists average over 20 years in professional practice. Our registered counsellors average of 13 years in professional practice. Their names are listed on the ARCAP Register website. All our psychologists and registered counsellors are fully accountable to their respective professional associations for ongoing clinical supervision, professional development and ethical practice. Our therapeutic approaches People are complex. The emphasis of our work is client focused. Therapy is respectfully, collaboratively and sensitively tailored to each client whether individual, couple or family. Your psychologist or counsellor will aim to truly understand your issues, and walk beside you. They seek to inspire hope with the goal of a more meaningful life. We treat you as a ‘person’, not as a ‘diagnosis’ to be ‘treated’. Therefore, no approach or technique is blindly or automatically applied. In the vast majority of sessions, you will find the process feels authentic and freeing. The evidence-based approaches we may use are widely drawn upon in the profession. •ACT – Acceptance and Commitment therapy •Attachment Theory •CBT – Cognitive Behaviour Therapy – including it’s many variations •DBT – Dialectical behaviour therapy •EFT – Emotionally Focused Therapy •EFTC – Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples •EMDR – Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing •Gestalt Therapy •Gottman Family Therapy •IPT – Interpersonal Psychotherapy •Mindfulness •Narrative Therapy •Schema Therapy •Somatic Therapy •Systems Theory including Bowen Family Systems Theory A major model used by many in the team is Emotionally Focused Therapy, which is a modality to work with emotion (heart) and meaning, to create a shift in mind and behaviour. At times, various team members use Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) as appropriate for the client. CBT focuses on the creation of shifts in mind and behaviour. How Bridges Counselling is structured We are an entrepreneurial private practice based team. Many of us have established ourselves by having successfully built a long term private practice. We have teamed together to collaborate, and to share facilities and resources. We are not an agency, nor do we receive any government support. Our fees are set at standard rates. Each counsellor sets a different fee which is broadly based on their experience and whether they work after hours. Concessions are offered if there is genuine financial difficulty. We are fortunate to have the capacity to take on a student Interns from time to time. They provide very cost-effective and sometimes free counselling for clients who cannot afford the fees of our professional counsellors.