Rebekah Barson
Individual and Relationship Counsellor
About
Rebekah is a clinical Mental Health Social Worker, who has additional training in Psychotherapy (Victorian Association of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapists), Relationship Counselling (Relationships Australia) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT mindfully), who works with both individuals and couples.
Rebekah seeks to support her clients to discover the value of greater emotional awareness, and more flexible expression and management of emotions. Through the process of therapy, clients have the opportunity to develop a deeper ability for reflection, a greater sense of self awareness and resilience, towards creating meaning and wellbeing in life.
Rebekah has a compassionate and thoughtful approach to the emotional care and support of her clients, and provides a therapeutic space that is safe, supportive, and strengthening. Using a collaborative and strength based approach, Rebekah believes that change and healing is possible.
Speciality Areas
Counselling with Rebekah provides clients with an opportunity to be
heard and understood at a deep level that may not be available in their
daily lives. Clients experience a sense of connection, trust, and
acceptance while they explore the issues that have prevented them
from experiencing the wellbeing and quality of life that they are seeking.
Areas that Rebekah can help you with:
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Depression and mood issues
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Anxiety & stress
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Addictive behaviours
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Relationship and interpersonal issues (can be addressed as an individual or couple)
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Difficult life stages and transitions
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Mental health during pregnancy and early parenthood (perinatal mental health)
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Mindful parenting
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Past trauma and difficult early life events
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Grief and loss
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Social and emotional issues
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Delta Wellbeing @ Work - employee assistance program
Therapeutic Approaches
Therapeutic approaches offered are client - centred with a focus on well
being at all times, because every client is unique and so must treatment be. Rebekah has been practicing as a counsellor since early 2004 and has developed a deep and comprehensive understanding of these therapeutic theories and approaches.
Psychotherapy: within the safe and supportive therapeutic relationship, it is believed
that clients are able to find the words to describe and explore their experiences. Psychotherapy does not adhere to the symptom based model of ‘illness and cure’ but rather seeks to understand how personality develops over time, and how our early relationships and growing up experiences effect our current functioning. It looks to bring greater awareness and consciousness to our thoughts, patterns, feelings and interactions, in an attempt to develop more effective coping strategies and healthier relationships.
Interpersonal Therapy (IPT): as its name suggests, IPT focuses in how we connect to others and how this can contribute to our emotional state. By increasing awareness and understanding of our past and present ‘relational’ styles and patterns, IPT can assist people to develop more effective and fulfilling interpersonal relationships.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): ACT is derived from the core message about accepting what is out of our personal control and a commitment to do what we can do in order to improve and enrich our lives. ACT understands that we all experience the full spectrum of human emotions, even if we only like to feel ‘positive or ‘happy’ emotions, and that learning to sit more comfortably, or better tolerate the more difficult emotions, is key to emotional flexibility and emotional wellness.
Mindfulness Ideas and Practices: help us to bring attention, awareness and insight to our psychic and mental process in an accepting and non judgemental way. It aims to help people move away from rumination and over-identifying with past or future possibilities, by helping them to focus on and accept what is being ‘felt’ in any given moment. Mindfulness requires us to quieten our thoughts, emotions and reactions, in order to become curious about what is happening in, to and around us, and aims to foster a reflective quality to our actions and relations.
Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT): invites people to approach, attend to, regulate, make effective use of, and transform emotions. Two basic principles underlie the EFT model. The first principle is to create a genuine, empathic, valuing, therapeutic relationship which is seen as curative in its own right; and the second is deepening the clients emotional experience during therapy. The tasks of EFT are intended to heighten the clients inner emotional experiences, so that they can be more easily symbolised and thus processed consciously.
Rebates
Rebekah is registered with Medicare under the:
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Better Outcomes in Mental Health Scheme allows clients with a Mental Health Care Plan can receive a Medicare rebate for up to 10 counselling sessions in a calendar year.
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Non-Directive Pregnancy Support Counselling, which is a scheme that provides up to 3 counselling sessions to women who are pregnant or who have been pregnant in the 12 month preceding treatment (recently given birth, pregnancy loss, termination). Referral for this scheme is simple and only requires a note to Rebekah from your GP (no formal plan is required). See attached for more information.
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Chronic Disease Management Program (formerly the Enhanced Primary Care Program) allows clients with a GP Management Plan and Team Care Arrangements to receive a Medicare rebate for up to 5 counselling sessions.
Contact
Rebekah Barson
Individual and Relationship Counsellor
0418 544 568
Armadale and Caulfield