About Me

Hey, I'm Sarah

I'm a counsellor based in Mickleham (Merrifield) and Narre Warren, Victoria, and the founder of Pawsitive Directions. I work with women aged 21 and over who are living with anxiety, overwhelm, low mood, grief, life transitions, and the kind of exhaustion that comes from carrying too much for too long.

I believe that healing doesn't have to happen in a clinical room. Some of the most meaningful shifts I've witnessed with clients have happened outdoors, in motion, or in the quiet company of animals. Not because those things are magic, but because they help the nervous system feel safe enough to do the work.

I grew up on cattle farms in South Gippsland, and I came to this work through my own lived experience, supporting family members through long-term struggles, and the profound difference that nature and animals have made in my own life. That's not something I take lightly, and it shapes everything about how I show up for the women I work with.

What I stand for

Real life, not just the clinic room

Counselling should hold up in your real life, not just in the session. We practise new skills in the places you'll actually use them, so they come home with you.

From surviving to thriving

Real life, not just the clinic room

Some seasons of life are about getting through, and that counts. But it’s okay to want more than just getting by. Together, we’ll work towards a life that feels good to live, not just one you’re holding together with duct tape or bailing twine.

Needs, not just concerns

Real life, not just the clinic room

Safety and effort, always

What brings you in matters, but so do the needs underneath it, like rest, safety, connection and purpose. Drawing on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, we make sure the foundations are steady so lasting change has somewhere to stand.

Safety and effort, always

Your safety and the welfare of all animals involved are my first priority in every session. If I don’t have the answer, I’ll do my best to find it, and we’ll work out together what suits you.

Unlearning old patterns

Safety and effort, always

Unlearning old patterns

Many of the ways people cope are learned in childhood and once helped them get by. When those patterns no longer fit the life you have now, they can be hard to change alone, especially if no one ever showed you another way. You don’t know what you don’t know, and that’s where our work together begins.

Support that sees you

Safety and effort, always

Unlearning old patterns

Too many women have walked away from support feeling misunderstood. I want you to finish our work feeling genuinely supported and understood as an individual.

Person-centred counselling

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy

You’re the captain of your own ship (The expert of your own life). I’m the passenger beside you, offering suggestions and pointing out what I notice along the way, but you always choose the direction.

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy

Trained in the AWARE™ model, with animals involved only when it is right for you and for them.

Nature-based Therapy

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy

Nature-based Therapy

Where appropriate, I integrate time in nature and the presence of animals as part of the therapeutic process, grounded in research and always ethically guided.

Gestalt-based work

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Nature-based Therapy

Paying attention to what you notice, feel and sense in the present moment, often alongside the animals, to build awareness of yourself and your needs.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Noticing the links between thoughts, feelings and actions, and finding new ways to respond.

ACT and mindfulness

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Helping you build psychological flexibility to move toward what matters to you, even when difficult thoughts and feelings are present, with practical, accessible mindfulness woven into sessions.

Solution-focused and brief interventions

Focusing on your strengths and what is already working, with practical steps you can take now.

Creative and expressive therapies

Solution-focused and brief interventions

Art, movement, photography and even video games, used as creative/ experiential ways to explore feelings/ thoughts and processes when words are hard to find.

Gried and loss support

Solution-focused and brief interventions

Gried and loss support

Gentle support through loss of loved ones, including the loss of a beloved animal. With a strong focus on memory making and honoring their memory.

My Team

My animals are central to who I am and to the work I do. I share my home with a cat, two birds and multiple fish. They are not props or tools.

They are family, and they join sessions at my home clinic or online, only when it is genuinely appropriate and beneficial for the client.

Ninja, ginger tabby
Terra, cockatiel
Blu, Quaker parrot
Tropical African Cichlids and friends.

All animals involved in Pawsitive Directions sessions are well cared for, never forced to 'perform', and always given the choice to engage or not.

Qualifications and Training

Diploma of Counselling (CHC51015), Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, including CBT, ACT, solution-focused therapy, grief and loss, and brief interventions

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy, Equine and Animal Assisted Psychotherapy Institute (AWARE™ model, including Gestalt-based work)

Advanced Study Majors through AIPC in Grief and Loss, Mindfulness-Based Therapies, Expressive Therapies, Relationship and Conflict Resolution, and more

Member of Australian Counselling Association, level 1, No.27343

Member of IICT International Institute for Complementary Therapists

Fully Insured with BMS

About Me

Hey, I'm Sarah

What I stand for

Real life, not just the clinic room

Real life, not just the clinic room

Real life, not just the clinic room

From surviving to thriving

Real life, not just the clinic room

Real life, not just the clinic room

Needs, not just concerns

Real life, not just the clinic room

Safety and effort, always

Safety and effort, always

Safety and effort, always

Safety and effort, always

Unlearning old patterns

Safety and effort, always

Unlearning old patterns

Support that sees you

Safety and effort, always

Unlearning old patterns

My Approach

Person-centred counselling

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy

Nature-based Therapy

Animal Assisted Psychotherapy

Nature-based Therapy

Gestalt-based work

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Nature-based Therapy

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

ACT and mindfulness

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

Solution-focused and brief interventions

Solution-focused and brief interventions

Solution-focused and brief interventions

Creative and expressive therapies

Solution-focused and brief interventions

Solution-focused and brief interventions

Gried and loss support

Solution-focused and brief interventions

Gried and loss support

My Team

Ninja

Ninja

Ninja

Terra

Ninja

Ninja

Blu

Tropical Fish

Tropical Fish

Tropical Fish

Tropical Fish

Tropical Fish

Qualifications and Training

Ready to take the first step?

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