Neuro-affirming Counsellor in Inner North Canberra

I’m Rebecca, a registered counsellor in Inner North Canberra

I am a neuro-affirming counsellor in Inner North Canberra, at Turner and Australia-wide online. If you’ve spent your life feeling like you were running a different operating system to everyone around you, working twice as hard to keep up, hold it together, or simply pass as someone who finds all of this easier than you do, I want you to know: you’re not broken. You might just be neurodivergent in a world that wasn’t designed with you in mind.

I’m a Masters-qualified counsellor and member of the Australian Counselling Association (ACA).

Neurodivergent Counselling

I specialise in neurodivergent counselling, working with Autistic and ADHD adults and adolescents from age 15, particularly those who came to that understanding later in life. Whether you have a formal diagnosis, you’re on a waiting list, or you’ve arrived at a strong sense of your own neurodivergence through your own research and recognition, you are welcome here.

Life Transitions

I also work with people navigating significant life transitions: the kind that shake your sense of identity and leave you asking who you are and what comes next. For many of my clients, these two things are deeply connected, a late diagnosis is itself one of the most significant transitions a person can move through.

Why I do this work

I became a counsellor because people genuinely fascinate me, their stories, their resilience, and the remarkable ways they’ve learned to navigate circumstances that were never quite built for them. My understanding of the neurodivergent experience isn’t only clinical, it’s personal. Lived experience of neurodivergence shapes everything about how I show up. To me this is more than a job. This work genuinely matters, it is needed, and I am passionate about helping other humans.

In our sessions, there is no expectation of neuronormative performance. You don’t need to script what you say, manage how you come across, or explain yourself from scratch. You don’t need to mask. You can show up as you actually are – and we take it from there.

I care deeply – and also laugh easily. Compassion for my clients runs deep. My focus will always be on you and what you need.

How I work

I work in a Humanistic, Person-centred, Integrative way which means the approach follows you, not a fixed protocol. I draw on a range of modalities and use what fits, rather than applying the same framework to everyone.

These include:

  • Rogerian psychotherapy – deep listening, following your lead, at your pace, without agenda
  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – building a relationship with difficult thoughts and feelings rather than fighting them
  • Parts Work – getting curious about the different parts of yourself, including the ones that are hardest to be with and building self-compassion.
  • Motivational Interviewing – exploring ambivalence to change and building motivation for what you really want, without pressure
  • Creative approaches – for when words alone aren’t quite enough

Sessions are collaborative and client-led. We start with what you bring.

Counsellor in Inner North Canberra

Who I work with

My clients are adults and adolescents (from age 15) who are:

  • Late-diagnosed or self-identifying Autistic, ADHD, or AuDHD
  • Navigating the post-diagnosis period – the grief, the relief, the identity questions
  • Exhausted from years of masking and wondering what lies underneath
  • In the middle of a significant life transition – career, relationships, identity, or simply a long-overdue question about who they are
  • Experiencing burnout and trying to find a way through
  • Dealing with Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) or emotional dysregulation
  • Seeking a space where neurodivergence is understood, not just accommodated
  • Looking for a neuro-affirming counsellor in Inner North Canberra, possibly after feeling invalidated by previous practitioners

I see clients in person at my practice in Turner, and via telehealth for clients anywhere in Australia. NDIS funding is accepted for self- and plan-managed participants.

No referral is needed but I am happy to collaborate with your other care providers with your consent.

Ready to take the first step?

Book a free 15 minute call

Reaching out is the hardest part. You don't need to have it all figured out, or know exactly what you want to say. A tentative hello is enough.

But, a very important factor in the success of therapy is the relationship you have with your therapist.

I recommend prospective clients book a free 15 minute consultation to get a sense of whether we are a good fit before you commit. There's no obligation and no pressure.

Click the button below to access my online booking page and find a time that is convenient for you. We can speak by phone or video call.

Book

Please note that I only see people 15 years old or over.

Please also check out my FAQs if you have other questions. They may be answered there.

Request contact by email

To contact me via email, please send a message via the contact form below.

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A note for practitioners

GP, psychiatrist, psychologist, occupational therapist, allied health referrals

If you're a GP, psychiatrist, psychologist, occupational therapist, or allied health practitioner looking for a referral pathway for clients, I'd be glad to help. I work collaboratively and am happy to have a brief conversation before or after a referral to support continuity of care.

I also accept referrals for self- or plan-managed NDIS participants.

You can reach me directly on 0411 035 820 or via the contact form above.

More about me

In high school I realised that I wanted to enter the ‘helping professions’ and ended up studying psychology at UNSW. My life took a turn and I entered period of soul-searching when I was 24 and my mother died. For one reason or another I diverted from my path and returning to it in later life felt like coming full circle after a lifetime gathering experience.

I grew up in Sydney and met my husband during my undergraduate degree at UNSW. We were good friends for ten years before it became ‘more’. We moved to Canberra in 2000 and our three children arrived soon after. We love Canberra and haven’t looked back.

I discovered my own neurodivergence after my three children were diagnosed. So much fell into place then. My own and my kids’ experiences of neurodivergent support (or lack there of) is a major part of my decision to specialise in this area.

Creativity has been important to me my whole life. My main creative outlets these days are sewing and painting but there is always something else I want to try!

I also fell in love with nature at a young age and believe deeply in the restorative power of nature. I feel most spiritually alive in nature too. Caring for and trying to live as lightly as possible on the Earth is a pursuit I share with my husband.

My qualifications

This is a list of my official qualifications:

Master of Counselling

Graduate Diploma in Education (Primary)

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology

Certificate IV in Mental Health

Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment

In addition to these formal qualifications, I have completed further learning and professional development in:

Parts Work/Internal Family Systems (IFS)*

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Depth Enquiry ™

Neurodivergence/Autism/ADHD/AuDHD

* Please note that I am not an accredited IFS practitioner.