About Shobana
Hi, my name is Shobana. Firstly, I am a mother and a wife in a loving relationship of 15 years. I am passionate about helping relationships to thrive. I’m a Sri Lankan Tamil, who migrated to Australia with my family as a teenager. Having struggled with social anxiety and self-esteem issues in my younger days, my own personal journey and therapy helped me to overcome these challenges. As with many other migrant families, mine also had a stigma around counselling and mental health. My values and personal experiences triggered my passion and desire to undertake training in this field.
My professional experience as a counsellor includes a number of years of working in various organisations, namely: Relationships Australia as a Family Advisor; at STARTTS, providing specialised trauma counselling for children and adolescents from refugee backgrounds; at Uniting Counselling & Mediation as a Family therapist, and as a school counsellor for Catholic Care. Having worked with people from a wide demographic and my own lived experiences as a migrant, I provide culturally sensitive therapy services.
In my private practice, I am committed to helping those struggling with the pain of broken relationships to heal and strengthen their bond. I found myself drawn to the evidence-based Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) approach and have completed advanced training in EFT from the Australian Centre for Emotionally Focused Therapy.
MY APPROACH
If you are looking for a counsellor who can look beyond your symptoms, get to the root causes of your issues, and really understand what is going on for you and your relationship, then you have come to the right place!
Research shows that those who have had a secure childhood characterised by a supportive and nurturing environment tend to have improved emotional well-being and the ability to form secure relationships in their adult lives. So I believe strongly in this proven modality of Emotionally Focused Therapy that is rooted in attachment theory. The efficacy of EFT for couples is shown to have a 75% success rate, and of these couples, 90% have long-term outcomes.
I also continue to attend ongoing professional development, and regular clinical supervision with a certified EFT supervisor, to ensure my practice is ethical and within the boundaries of my professional competence.
Qualifications: Graduate Diploma in Counselling, Graduate Diploma in Education, and Bachelor of Science
Advanced Training Undertaken: Emotionally Focussed Therapy (EFT) for Individuals, Couples, and Families, Systemic Couple and Family Therapy, and Sand play therapy.
Registrations: Clinical Member of Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA). Registration number: 22975.