The white owl is the symbol of wisdom and endurance, representing big dreams along with the ability to achieve them. It is the sign of new beginnings and moving forward powerfully.
White Owl Counselling is the culmination of a number of dreams – to work with people in a peaceful space to achieve lasting change and wellbeing in their lives, to focus on my passion of providing holistic, evidence based therapy, and to live and work in a rural area.
Diana (Dee) Jackson
Accredited Mental Health Social Worker
BA in Social Welfare CSU; B Soc Wk Honours Class 1 UQ; Membership of the AASW, DIploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy.
Q: What is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker? Accredited Mental Health Social Workers are social workers who have extensive postgraduate training and experience in the field of mental health. AASW Accredited Mental Health Social Workers are registered providers with Medicare.
About me:
I have experience working with adults with a range of issues, including anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, childhood trauma, adult ADHD, grief, adoption, hoarding and squalor, hearing voices and problematic substance use. I use a client focused, recovery based and trauma informed approach, and bring a holistic, social work perspective to therapy.
I began practicing as a social worker in 2007 and have been an accredited mental health social worker since 2012. Whilst working in a community mental health organisation, I became accredited as a mental health social worker to address a need for general counselling services for the most marginalised people in our community. During this time I gained significant experience in working with people who hear voices; people who experience issues with hoarding and squalor; and people with complex trauma.
Amongst my roles, I worked as a group coordinator setting up a group program and running a number of therapeutic groups including mindfulness, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) skills groups, Hearing Voices groups, Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) for psychosis, Buried in Treasure groups and Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) groups. After a stint working in a specialised Queensland Health housing project as a mental health clinician, I moved to Gympie to establish a fulltime counselling career. Since arriving in Gympie I have pursued my passion of working as a generalist counsellor in a rural area.
I am a master class level trained Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist and a qualified clinical hypnotherapist, and incorporate my training in Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) Skills, Meditation and Mindfulness into my practice.
Hypnotherapy
I suggest hypnotherapy for stress, relaxation, phobia, pain, confidence and smoking cessation.
Hypnotherapy also works well as a complementary therapy to other modalities.
Hypnotherapy is a combination of hypnosis and therapy. Hypnosis is the process of inducing a state of trance, which is a deeply relaxed state that quietens the conscious mind and allows the therapist to speak to the receptive and focused unconscious mind to create a deep and lasting change of old habits, thoughts and emotions. The client remains aware, and can terminate trance if they wish.
Successful hypnotherapy is very much a partnership between a client who is motivated to change and a therapist who uses their skills to facilitate the process along. A therapist does not “do” hypnotherapy to a client.
The first session usually involves an initial assessment and hypnotherapy begins on subsequent sessions. The number of sessions needed varies on the nature and severity of the problem, the goals that have been set, the client’s motivation and whether there are other related problems that need to be addressed. As a rough guide treatment on average takes between 3 and 6 sessions.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy
The length of EMDR therapy varies greatly depending on a number of variables – such as whether a person has experienced single incident or complex trauma, and other therapeutic preparation that may be needed. This will be discussed with the client during the assessment phase.
Find out more about EMDR on the resources page of https://emdraa.org/emdr-resources/
Services
- Medicare – with a mental health care plan from your GP you will receive a medicare rebate (currently $82.30) to help with costs for up to 10 sessions per year.
- Telehealth services available (not for hypnotherapy)
- Private – you may self refer but will not be eligible for any rebate without a referral from a GP
- NDIS therapeutic supports: as per NDIS price guide (for self managed and plan managed participants)
- WorkCover (with referral from GP and approval from WorkCover)
- Hypnotherapy – standard fee
- Supervision for mental health clinicians and social workers – standard fee
Fees:
$150 for a standard 50 minute consultation (standard fee with no rebates or funding)
Cancellation Policy:
A cancellation at short notice is a loss to three people: a) the individual who is delaying their therapy process, b) another individual who has been on a waiting list to see a therapist, c) the therapist who has spent time preparing for a cancelled session.
If for some reason you need to cancel or postpone your appointment, please give at least 24 hours’ notice, otherwise a cancellation fee may be charged. Please note Medicare does not pay me a cancellation fee.
Diana (Dee) Jackson
Accredited Mental Health Social Worker
