WELCOME TO ARCADIA COUNSELLING

Why a career change?

For close to 19 years I ran my very successful family portrait business, Dragonfly Portraits which focused on documenting pregnancy, newborns, children and families all the way up to Grandparents. After such a long time, it is quite simply time for a change. I have exceeded each and every one of my goals as a photographer, I have served the community as best as I could and I can see I am now simply needed elsewhere.

As you can imagine working closely with families at often sensitive times in their lives taught me a lot about human connection. I worked hard to continuously connect with all types of people very quickly, in a truly authentic manner so my clients would feel comfortable enough to be their true selves and allow me to photograph more than a likeness. Allowing me to document their love for each other so that when they looked back on their photographs they would feel that love, and their children would feel that love for generations to come.

I had a passion for people but quickly developed a skill that would prove beneficial in many aspects, particularly with children where parents would often comment on how beautifully their children responded to me. I wanted to take this greatly honed skill into another pursuit.

I also have a personality type which is known as being highly sensitive. I notice everything when it comes to energy and people. Energy is very much my first language. Sensitivity is defined as a heightened ability to perceive, process, and respond to ones environment. Sensitive people absorb more sensory information (often unconsciously), and think more deeply. Learning what this was all about and teaching myself how to thrive in life with this trait has been an ongoing chase and also a major reason behind my ability to connect. Often people who are highly sensitive are misunderstood, being told to toughen up, labeled as fragile. This is not the case, highly sensitive people mostly just have truckloads of empathy. This is an area that is growing in support and understanding thankfully, but we still have a long way to go and I am more than happy to be one of those people with thorough understanding and also lived experience, who is here to support other highly sensitive people.

My own personal life experiences have led me to embrace resilience and develop a growth mindset, allowing me to view challenges positively, seeing them as opportunities for learning and shared experience. My experiences with grief/loss, pre and post natal challenges, parenting struggles and triumphs, and working through stress and supporting people through anxiety have led me to approach my specialist areas with lived experience.

What are my areas of focus?

Having the range of knowledge and skills the last 20 years have brought me, I have chosen to focus my counselling in supporting people through grief and loss, pre and post natal support, and also stress and anxiety. I aim to also specialise in working with children by early 2025 as I complete further training in working with children.

Study will always be an ongoing adventure for me as a counsellor as I aim to have the most current and effective range of qualifications and further evidence based training as I can.

For now though, grief and loss has really caught my attention as an area I would like to support people in, and my lived experience and understanding of what expecting and new parents go through is another area where I feel more dedicated support is needed.

Since May 2024 I have been an active volunteer Crisis Supporter with Lifeline Australia. I find working in suicide prevention very rewarding but it has also pushed to the forefront, the benefits of everyday, healthy living and mental flexibility for each one of us. Advocating what we can all do on a daily basis to support our frame of mind is what I will be doing through my social pages and blog, followed up by counselling sessions available for those needing extra support through stress and anxiety, life challenges and changes.

What options for Counselling are available?

Currently, I am offering sessions online (Telehealth) only. I am close to working with a colleague to secure an in person, face to face in a Camden location also. Details will be released as I work through this exciting opportunity. I am starting with hours available of Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm, but this will be flexible and if you require a day or time outside those hours please get in touch.

I look forward to this new chapter, chasing a new career at this stage in my life has been a steep learning curve but a very exciting one!

Thank you as always, simply for being here,

Karen 🙂