Thrive Counselling and Coaching

My son (6years) has been attending Patricia’s service for issues around learning and behavioural difficulties, self esteem and bullying.I watched my son’s mental health deteriorate during the first few weeks of year 1 and discovered he was having issues with another child at school and struggling to stay focused during class time which lead to his own behavioural issues.I engaged Patricia’s service and instantly my son warmed to her as she is a grandmother and my son is his close to his nanny. She has a warm friendly personality with a soft calm voice that instantly made my son relaxed and at ease.She used techniques similar to theraplay to include his interests of lego and play dough as they casually chatted about what has been bothering him while they played. He instantly opened up and felt supported after his first session as we made a plan to address the issues. He now always ask when does he get to see her next, we have been back numerous times and I’m getting my happy confident boy back.She has explored and explicitly addressed the different zones of regulation and helped to reinforce when it’s safe to play with someone, boundaries with himself and other children, and when to stops and console someone if they are sad.She has explored relationships my son is having with his peers and the roll on effect different behaviours are having on himself and other children and how to navigate these situations in a positive way.She has also helped me as a parent find my voice and the language to address issues at school and the flow on affect bullying and learning difficulties are having on my sons learning and development.I would highly recommend Patricia for anyone young or old struggling with mental health issues. She has a diverse background and an abundance of knowledge and is also currently furthering her studies and highlights the issues that can arise if problems and trauma are not dealt with.

I've been speaking to Patricia for almost a year for both counselling on family matters as well as career coaching. She's been extremely helpful on both fronts and supported me through many difficult times. She grasped my family dynamics immediately and understood my childhood traumas really well. She's also able to link one event with another, and provides new perspective as well as clarity in different situations. It feels great to have someone who's there for me, to listen to my personal issues I might not want to share others, and provide lots of useful coping mechanisms.

Fantastic councillor. Highly recommend. Well informed about trauma and an excellent TA therapist.

Patricia saw my 13 year old son after we had experienced some behavioural issues at home. She is manage to get him to open up, but then preceded to berate me and my parenting in front of my son. I tried to asked questions to understand better and she would cut me off, telling me ‘no’ and ‘stop’. I was extremely disappointed and left feeling humiliated. I would not recommend.