Taina is a warm, compassionate and non-judgmental counsellor in Rothwell who supports individuals and couples to develop greater understanding, connection and confidence in moving forward. She holds a Master of Counselling from Edith Cowan University and is a Level 2 Registered Counsellor with the Australian Counselling Association. Taina has experience working with adults, couples, adolescents and autistic young people across private-practice, clinical and telehealth settings. She understands that beginning counselling can feel vulnerable and places great importance on creating a space where clients feel genuinely heard, respected and able to speak openly.
Taina has a particular interest in helping couples understand the patterns that keep them caught in conflict, defensiveness or emotional disconnection. She works with concerns including recurring arguments, communication difficulties, loss of trust, attachment-related patterns, unmet emotional needs and changes in intimacy or connection. Rather than deciding who is right or assigning blame, Taina helps both partners feel heard and supports them to look beneath the immediate conflict to understand the feelings, needs and experiences influencing their responses. Her aim is to help couples communicate more openly, respond to one another with greater understanding and make informed choices about the future of their relationship.
Alongside her couples work, Taina has experience supporting people with anxiety, trauma, grief and loss, identity, self-esteem, boundaries, life transitions, bullying and social difficulties. She also has a special interest in supporting people recovering from cults, high-control groups and emotionally abusive relationships. Taina is drawn to work that enables people to understand themselves more deeply, reconnect with their own values and strengths, and develop greater trust in their perceptions and capacity to make meaningful choices.
Taina’s approach is person-centred, trauma-informed and integrative. She does not believe that therapy should be one-size-fits-all and works collaboratively with each client or couple to understand what will be most helpful for them. Her practice draws from Gottman Method Couples Therapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Gestalt Therapy, mindfulness, and psychodynamic and existential approaches. Taina has completed Levels 1 and 2 of Gottman Method Couples Therapy. At the heart of her work is the belief that meaningful change becomes possible when people feel safe enough to explore their experiences honestly, develop greater self-understanding and feel empowered to approach their lives and relationships differently.
