Individual therapy and counselling in the Blue Mountains or online via telehealth
Skills for growth and healing
Learning how one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviour affect each other is important self-knowledge. So is the ability to feel the dynamic flow of sensations in the body. Evidence shows becoming fluent in these body-mind skills is foundational to growth and healing.
Where I can help:
I offer therapy and counselling in the Blue Mountains, seeing clients in person at my Lawson practice and via telehealth across Australia. People come to me for a range of reasons. Some arrive with a specific condition they want to address. Others have a less defined sense that something needs to shift, such as sadness, anger or shame they can't quite name. Both are good reasons to seek support.
I work with adults experiencing:
Anxiety and stress
Grief and loss
Trauma and post-traumatic stress
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Phobias
Low self-esteem
Major life transitions
A desire for greater self-awareness and personal growth
The essence of my approach
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Noticing
I help clients pay attention to thoughts and awareness in-the-moment. This shines a light on both helpful and unhelpful beliefs and judgments that affect my feelings and actions.
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Embodied emotional awareness
I'm always nudging clients toward their ever-changing sensory and emotional landscape. This is a life-skill that brings grounded awareness to life.
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A responsive, regulated nervous system
I help clients achieve a more balanced and responsive nervous system. This helps in being able to adjust and respond to change without adverse reactivity.
What counselling can do
Most people notice change in more than one area of their life when they commit to doing this work. Some of the shifts I see most often in clients:
Greater ability to manage difficult emotions without being overwhelmed by them
Healthier, more honest relationships
Clearer thinking and better decision-making under stress
Relief from symptoms of anxiety, trauma, and other conditions
Stronger sense of self and personal direction
More ease in day-to-day life
These changes don't happen overnight. But with consistent effort and a good therapeutic relationship, they're achievable for most people.
Myths and realities about counselling
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Reality: most people achieve positive results in a relatively short time. The length of counselling depends on your needs and goals.
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Reality: therapy is collaborative. A therapist will guide you to explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviours, develop new skills and awareness, then guide you to develop your own solutions.
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Reality: Sometimes ‘yes’, sometimes, ‘no’. Achieving calm and clarity takes time. Progress is mostly gradual. And feeling emotional discomfort is a normal part of changing old mental and behavioural habits for new ones.
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Reality: Therapy can benefit anyone experiencing stress, life transitions, or emotional challenges, and includes seeking personal growth or relationship improvement.
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Reality: a trained therapist has no personal agenda whereas well-meaning friends or family members will often bring personal agendas and biases to conversation. A skilled therapist brings objectivity, honesty and fresh insight to the therapeutic conversation.
Meet Dan - registered psychotherapist and counsellor in the Blue Mountains
I'm a registered psychotherapist based in Lawson, in the Blue Mountains of NSW, with postgraduate qualifications in psychology and counselling. I've been working with individuals and groups across a wide range of concerns for more than 20 years and my approach draws on cognitive-behavioural therapy, mindfulness, and somatic (body-based) methods.
Before returning to psychotherapy, I had a career spanning clinical psychology, public health, journalism, and adult education. That breadth shapes how I work. I bring genuine curiosity to each person I sit with, and a belief that the therapeutic relationship itself, built on honesty and trust, is where change begins.
My location: in-person or telehealth available
My Blue Mountains clinic is at 74 View Street, Lawson NSW. I also work with clients across Australia via telehealth. Call 0411 156 015 or book your confidential appointment by clicking on the button below.
Book Your Appointment
Book Your Appointment
Pricing for counselling in the Blue Mountains and via telehealth
50-minute session: $180
Note: Medicare does not cover counselling, psychotherapy or couples therapy
Frequently asked questions
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Counselling fees vary depending on the practitioner and their qualifications. As a general guide, sessions typically range from $120 to $250. My fee is $180 for a 50-minute session. Medicare does not cover counselling or psychotherapy, so this is an out-of-pocket cost. Some private health funds offer partial rebates. It's worth checking your policy.
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Counselling tends to focus on specific, present-day concerns such as a difficult relationship, a period of stress, a life transition. Psychotherapy goes deeper, looking at longer-standing patterns of thought, feeling, and behaviour and where they come from. In practice, the two overlap considerably. I offer both, and the work we do together is shaped by what you bring and what you're hoping to change.
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A psychotherapist works with you to understand the patterns, such as emotional, cognitive, and behavioural, that are getting in the way of the life you want. That might mean exploring where certain responses come from, developing new skills for managing difficult emotions, or building greater awareness of what's happening in your body as well as your mind. It's collaborative work. I don't tell you what to do. Instead I help you develop your own insight and capacity.
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Yes. I offer therapy telehealth sessions to clients across Australia in NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, and NT. Online sessions work in the same way as in-person appointments and are available to anyone who prefers to work remotely or can't attend in person.