Hello, I’m Anna -
I practice on Wangal country in Sydney, Australia - nourished and informed by the harbours, creeks and waterways, the angophora trees and sandstone of Sydney - as well as my connections to my Estonian and Scandinavian lineage. My pronouns are she/her.
As a registered counsellor & psychotherapist, massage therapist and group facilitator, I weave together knowledge from arts, mental health, wellbeing, education, disability and community sectors.
I provide spaces where you can reconnect with your emergent sense of aliveness - where exploration, growth, and transformation develop through genuine connection.
My approach balances deeply respectful listening with creative exploration of what's possible. My own life has been dedicated to creative practice and exploration as an artist, and to nurturing and growing my connections to place and to the larger self - nature.
“The spaces you hold are very sweet. I feel a safety that allows me to open in a very special way” - Carmen, group program participant
Foundations I bring to our work -
> My therapeutic practice is founded in the idea that when we're truly met, without agenda or expectation, our innate vitality can naturally emerge.
> Alongside my therapeutic training, I draw upon body-based, creative and nature-informed practices as doorways to greater aliveness.
> With over twenty five years of practice and training in body-based modalities, I have lived understanding of how somatic awareness can inform and transform our movement through life.
> My life-long art practice isn't separate from my therapeutic work - both emerge from the same belief - that transformation and healing happen in the spaces where we dare to be authentically present.
> What others might label as "dysfunction," I recognise as intelligent responses to complex and difficult experiences. My therapeutic approach honours these adaptations while creating conditions where new possibilities can emerge.
"Anna creates a safe space that allows me to relax into the truth of my experience in any moment. I feel held and I can explore what I need." - Marina, Counselling client
Safety is not the absence of threat. It is the presence of connection.
- Gabor Mate
Throughout my career, I've worked with:
> individuals and groups as a counsellor and psychotherapist
> school students as a classroom teacher and community artist
> diverse communities developing communication and relating skills
> older adults and people with disabilities as a somatic massage therapist
> people of all ages as a creative arts facilitator
> cultural institutions as an education program facilitator
> community members with lived experience of disability and mental health challenges
My formal education includes:
Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy Western Sydney University
Masters by Research in Creative Arts Charles Darwin University
Graduate Diploma in Education, Secondary Visual Arts University of Newcastle
With additional training in areas of specialty.
I receive regular supervision and professional development to ensure I continue to offer approaches that adapt to your individual needs and circumstances.
I look forward to exploring how we might work together through counselling & psychotherapy, massage therapy, or upcoming workshops.
Interested in something custom-designed for your group, event, or workplace? Please reach out - let's talk about possibilities.