ESTABLISH SAFETY FIRST
We begin gently, at your pace, building a felt sense of safety before anything else. You never have to recount the details. You’re in control, always.
WOMEN’S SPECIALIST PSYCHOTHERAPIST Private Online Therapy · Brisbane-Based Trauma therapy. Trauma? Let’s resolve that.
You are not broken. Your nervous system is stuck on alert – and that can change, gently, without reliving what happened.
BOOK A PRIVATE CONSULTATION35+ five-star Google reviews · Some relief by the end of your very first session
★★★★★
“It only took one session with Sarah to relieve from some of the personal pain I was holding onto from a traumatic personal event.”
Samantha J. · Google Review
WHAT I TREAT
Trauma shows up in many ways.
It isn’t only flashbacks. It’s a body that never fully stands down – in your sleep, your reactions and your sense of safety. The source is the same. So is the way through.
- 01.
Flashbacks
Being pulled back into the event, as if it’s happening again, right now.
- 02.
Nightmares and restless nights
A mind and body that won’t fully stand down at night – vivid dreams, or waking on alert.
- 03.
Hypervigilance
Always scanning for danger, and never quite able to relax, even when everything is fine.
- 04.
Being easily startled
A jolt of adrenaline at a sound, a movement, a raised voice.
- 05.
Avoidance
Steering around the people, places and conversations that stir it up – and watching life narrow around it.
- 06.
Emotional numbness
Feeling flat, distant or shut down, even with the people you love most.
- 07.
Irritability and anger
A short fuse, and reactions that arrive faster and harder than you mean them to.
- 08.
Intrusive thoughts
Unwanted memories and images that arrive uninvited and refuse to settle.
- 09.
Difficulty concentrating
A mind that can’t settle on anything, because part of it is always on guard.
- 10.
Feeling permanently changed
The sense that something in you changed for good – that you’ll never get back to who you were.
No matter what happened, or how long you’ve carried it – your suffering can be resolved.
VICARIOUS TRAUMA
When the trauma wasn’t yours.
You didn’t live it, but your nervous system did. Nurses, carers, first responders, lawyers, therapists, social workers – the work asks you to absorb what others survived, and the body keeps score.
It wasn’t your trauma. Your body doesn’t know that.
You’ll never be asked to recount the cases. My treatment is confidential, independent and entirely separate from your employer or professional body.
“Sarah is a person who can connect to anyone instantly. She gets you and is passionate to get you to where you want to be.”
What it can look like…
- Intrusive images Other people’s worst moments arriving in your head, uninvited.
- Hypervigilance off duty Scanning for danger at the supermarket, on the school run, in your own home.
- Emotional numbness Feeling nothing, so you can keep functioning.
- Exhaustion sleep won’t shift Running on empty, and still turning up.
- Difficulty switching off Cases and clients following you into the evening and into bed.
- Guilt about struggling Believing you should be able to handle it, because it wasn’t even yours.
WHY UNDERSTANDING IT HASN’T SET YOU FREE
Trauma isn’t stored as a rational memory.
You may understand exactly what happened, and why you react the way you do. That insight matters. But your body is still responding as though the danger is here.
The conscious brain · Prefrontal cortex
Where insight lives.
Rational thought and understanding – the level talk therapy works at. It knows the event is over, but it can’t switch off the alarm below.
The subconscious brain · Limbic system
Where the alarm is still ringing.
The fight, flight, freeze response. It never got the message that you survived, so it keeps firing – which is exactly where my treatment goes, gently.
You know it’s over. Your nervous system never got the message.
WHAT A SESSION INVOLVES
Three simple steps.
STAND THE ALARM DOWN
A simple, gentle process, a little like a guided visualisation, that helps your nervous system release the old threat response and finally register that it’s over. You stay fully conscious throughout. Where it suits you, this may include Attachment-Focused EMDR.
TEST THE RESULT
Before you leave, we confirm the change has settled – so you don’t just hope it’s different, you feel that it is.
My personal mission is to ensure that you feel some relief by the end of your very first session.
REAL STORIES, REAL RESULTS
What it feels like on the other side.
★★★★★
“I’ve been attending different therapies for more than 10 years with little actual progress!
I have only attended 4 sessions over three weeks and I feel amazing! […] My anxiety is reduced around trauma, I created new healthy boundaries and found a strength and confidence I’d long forgotten.”
★★★★★
“She helped me release the negative impact of this issue without needing to dwell on past traumas.
[…] I now feel lighter, genuinely optimistic, and finally free from a burden I’d carried for decades.”
★★★★★
“I don’t like talking about my problems.
[…] Knowing this, she didn’t use talk therapy and delve into the problems, but asked just enough to create some personal insight.”
WHY WORK WITH ME
The difference you’ll actually feel.
LIVED EXPERIENCE
I didn’t learn about PTSD from a textbook. I lived more than a decade of it, and resolved it. I know what real safety feels like on the other side.
NO RELIVING REQUIRED
You’ll never be asked to recount or relive what happened. My treatment resolves it gently, without reopening the wound.
SAFETY FIRST
Safety is the foundation, not an afterthought. We move at your pace, so your nervous system feels safe enough to let go.
NO WAITLIST, NO REFERRAL
An independent private practice means no GP referral and no Medicare waitlist. Begin when you’re ready.
IS THIS RIGHT FOR YOU?
My approach isn’t for everyone – and I’d rather be honest about that.
This is for you if…
- Your body still reacts as though the danger is here – startling, bracing, not sleeping
- You’ve done therapy that helped you understand it, but never changed how you feel
- You’re ready to resolve it, not keep re-examining it indefinitely
- You want a gentle approach that doesn’t require you to relive what happened
It may not be the fit if…
- You have complex needs that call for specialist or medical trauma care
- You’re in acute crisis and need immediate clinical or psychiatric care
- You’re looking for ongoing, open-ended talk therapy rather than resolution
- You’re not quite ready to make a change right now – and that’s okay
Trauma deserves care, not a hard sell. Your private consultation is where we work out, gently, whether this is right for you – and if specialist or medical care would serve you better, I’ll say so honestly.
MY PROMISE
If I’m not the right help, I’ll get you to whoever is.
Sometimes what looks like PTSD is being held in place by something else – a medical condition, a mood disorder, or a level of complexity that needs a different kind of care. If that becomes apparent while we’re working together, I won’t leave you to work it out alone. I’ll help identify what’s actually going on and act as your champion through the system, so you get a shortcut to the right care instead of years of trial and error.
I can’t stand needless suffering. Either way, you’ll leave with a clear path forward.
The jolt at every unexpected sound. The nights you don’t sleep. The distance you keep from the people who love you. None of that has to be the shape of your life.
01.Do I have to relive what happened?
No – and this matters most of all. Because we work with the subconscious rather than re-analysing the past, you never have to recount or relive it. You share only what you choose to.
02.How is this different from trauma counselling, or seeing a psychologist?
Trauma counselling and psychology typically work with your conscious understanding of what happened. I work beneath that, with the nervous-system response still holding the charge – which is why the change tends to be faster and more lasting.
03.I’ve had PTSD for years. Can it really shift?
How long you’ve carried it doesn’t determine how long it takes to resolve. What matters is that the nervous system is still holding it – and that can change, often more gently and quickly than people expect.
04.I work in a caring profession. Do I have to talk about the cases – or leave my job?
No, on both counts. You never have to recount what you’ve witnessed – you share only what you choose to. And most women in these roles keep doing the work they love; they simply stop paying for it with their health.
05.Will I be hypnotised, or lose control?
No. You remain fully conscious and in control at every moment. The change work is gentle – closer to a guided visualisation than anything you’ve seen on stage. I don’t induce hypnosis unless a client specifically asks for it.
06.Do you use EMDR?
Yes – where it suits you. I’m trained in Attachment-Focused EMDR (Parts 1 & 2), and it’s one of several nervous-system methods I may include in your Bespoke Therapy Program. EMDR is available online, or in person in Brisbane on request. Read more about EMDR.
YOUR NEXT STEP · BRISBANE AND WORLDWIDE
Ready when you are...
Let’s help you feel safe again.
Book your private 15-minute consultation. We’ll talk gently about what’s been happening, and how I can help you resolve it – without reliving it.
No pressure and no obligation – just an honest conversation about what’s possible for you.
I work with no more than 10 women at a time. Book your private consultation today.
BOOK A PRIVATE CONSULTATION RETURNING CLIENTSBy phone or online. No referral or mental health plan required.
35+ five-star Google reviews
