(Clinical Dip. Gestalt Psych., M.Sc. Gestalt Psych., B.Sc.(Comp. Sci.), PACFA Reg. Clinical #23201).
Hi, I’m Carolyn. I am Australian-born-Chinese and a passionate UK-trained, PACFA registered clinical psychotherapist specialising in the Gestalt approach.
I am located in Umina Beach (on the NSW Central Coast, near Woy Woy and Gosford) for face-to-face therapy and available online for those in further regions.
If you haven’t had counselling or psychotherapy before it can seem quite daunting but there really isn’t anything to worry about. Everything you say is welcomed without judgement. We talk about what you want and how you’d like your life to be different. It’s not about putting you under the microscope for analysis!
Together and in collaboration we create an honest, supportive and at times slightly challenging therapeutic relationship. The Gestalt approach is not about fixing you, telling you how to live your life, or trying to make you be in a way that doesn’t feel true to you; it’s about enabling you to have more flexibility in how you act so you can do things differently and not feel so stuck. Therapy will quickly come to feel more natural and familiar, and you’ll get so much you get out of it! It’s your time and space.
I look forward to hearing from you!
What is the Gestalt approach to counselling?
Simply put, it’s a holistic (mind, body and environment), humanistic (people focused), relational (talking together) approach.
During therapy we can explore past experiences that relate to what you’ve come to therapy for, your current experiences as well as attend to your ‘here-and-now’ present moment experiences.
Gestalt follows the philosophy that change and growth will occur as a natural process through fully understanding and experiencing who and how you are right now. Gestalt is a proven and effective therapeutic approach.
What I love about Gestalt is the holistic approach of seeing a person as a whole: mind, body and environment/context, rather than just mind/thoughts or body. Clients really feel that the experiential creativity that opens up in the moment really adds an extra dimension and depth to the therapeutic experience. When relevant, these experiential interventions can really reveal so much more – and are completely optional!
What do people come to talk about?
I provide open-ended counselling and psychotherapy to individual adults (18 years+). I work with a wide range of issues so please contact me to discuss and we can take it from there. Don’t fear that what you bring won’t be “serious enough” for us to discuss; anything that is making you unhappy or making your life feel difficult or is on your mind is good enough. If you want to improve your life and yourself, then chances are you can benefit from therapy!
Some topics clients bring include, though are not limited to:
- Difference: belonging and fitting in, cultural differences, loneliness, isolation, being in a minority, judgement, shame, anxiety.
- Relationships: work interactions, friends, family and personal relationships, setting boundaries, resolving fractures/disconnections, depression.
- Empowerment: improving self-confidence/self-esteem, understanding your response to and dealing with confrontation, how to feel better about yourself.
- Identity: finding your sense of who you are and how you fit in dealing with different issues such as ethnicity, culture, and beliefs.
- Grief and loss: coming to terms with relational ruptures that can include infidelity, divorce, illness or bereavement.
- Life changes and existential crisis: living with uncertainty, making big decisions, dealing with traumatic experiences, life and death, feeling generally overwhelmed, anxious, or stressed.
Meeting with me
Once you get in touch with me, we briefly discuss what it is that brings you to seek counselling/psychotherapy. We’ll usually arrange an initial consultation where we can talk a bit more about what you’d like from therapy and you can ask any questions you might have about the process, etc., or if you’re only after a one-off session, just let me know!
Following our initial meeting if it feels right for you, we can arrange a generally on-going weekly 50-minute sessions for as long or short a period as needed. Feel free to discuss what you have in mind with me.
My practice is based in Umina Beach on the NSW Central Coast which is close by to Woy Woy, Gosford, Pearl Beach, and Patonga. I am also available for online therapy for those further away.
Contact Me
Please contact me via email: cchoy.umina@gmail.com or by phone on 0421 191 698 and leave me a message if you go through to voicemail.
My fee is $150/session (50 minutes). Rebates are available for certain private health funds with relevant policy plans (BUPA, Medibank Private, AHM) and Australian Regional Health Group (ARHG) health funds (St Luke’s Health, Police Health, GMHBA, Westfund, Emergency Services Health, Phoenix Health, see-u by HBF, AIA Health and Teachers Union Health).
Please note I do not offer Medicare Mental Health Plan rebates, nor do I provide Court Reports or Letters of Support.
My location is on Ryans Road, Umina Beach (about a 5 minute drive from Woy Woy station; 10 minute drive from Tascott, Pearl Beach, Empire Bay and Phegans Bay; 13 minute drive from Patonga and Point Clare; and 15 minutes from Killcare).