when life changes you, who are you now?
Specialist counselling for adults navigating profound loss, midlife upheaval, professional disruption and the aftermath of medical trauma.
"You’ve always been the one who copes. Until now. Something has happened, a loss, a career collapse, a relationship ending, a diagnosis, and you no longer recognise yourself. This is where we begin."
you may be in the right place if...
Often, what's needed isn't more strategies, but the space to understand what's actually happening, and what it means for you.
you're grieving something or someone others don't fully understand - a loss that doesn't fit the standard narrative
you've been through a divorce, a redundancy, or a major life change and feel lost
you're a professional who has always held it together, but something has finally broken through
you feel like you don't recognise yourself anymore
you've received a diagnosis that has turned your world upside down
four areas of deep specialisation
Rather than treating these as separate issues, this practice understands them as different expressions of the same challenge: the loss and reconstruction of identity.
complex grief & non-death loss
Grief with no funeral. Loss with no name.
Estrangement, ambiguous loss, disenfranchised grief.
Mourning someone still alive - dementia, addiction, distance.
Pregnancy loss. The end of a version of yourself. Loss of a pet.
Grief that has been going on too long, or never started.
mid-late life transitions & reinvention
Divorce and the identity that went with it.
Retirement. Empty nest. The question of what comes next.
Migration and the grief of leaving a self behind.
The disorientation of starting over at 40, 50, 60.
Not knowing who you are outside the roles you've held.
professionals & leaders in transition
Burnout that has gone past tired into something else.
Redundancy and the loss of a professional self.
Leadership exhaustion. The cost of holding it together.
Returning to work after illness and not quite fitting.
High-functioning on the outside. Struggling on the inside.
medical trauma & post-illness identity
Cancer survivorship. Fear of recurrence.
Loss of bodily trust after diagnosis or surgery.
Chronic illness and the self that disappears into it.
The gap between recovery and feeling like yourself again.
Grief for the life you had before.
a second career built on lived experience
After 15 years in management and leadership, I returned to study and built a second career as a counsellor.
Much of my work centres on identity disruption, and the gradual process of making sense of who you are when what once fit no longer does.
Yolande Barkhuysen
Master of Counselling
ACA Member | Clinical Supervisor
how this practice works
specialist, not generalist
Most practices see everyone. This one doesn't.
The work here centres on identity disruption and reconstruction, for people drawn to depth in how they understand themselves and what comes next.
relational depth over managed outcomes
This is long-term, tailored therapy. The kind that takes seriously how you got here, not just symptom relief.
a therapist who knows this territory
I understand this terrain both professionally and personally, and that understanding guides the work we do together.
a focus on medical trauma
Serious illness reshapes identity in ways that generic mental health support does not always address. This practice offers experience and genuine understanding for those living with or beyond a significant diagnosis
for adults who want a certain kind of therapist
Someone with clinical training and life experience. Someone who understands the pressures of professional life, family complexity, and what it costs to keep functioning when something fundamental has shifted.
a private-pay model
This is a private-pay practice. Sessions are not billed through Medicare, so no GP referral or Mental Health Care Plan is needed.
There are no imposed session limits and no diagnosis required. Nothing is recorded in the Medicare system.
For some clients, that privacy matters.
ready to begin?
If you’re wondering whether this practice is the right fit, you’re welcome to reach out for an initial conversation.
There’s no obligation, just a chance to talk and see whether this feels like the right place to begin.
Yolande Barkhuysen, Master of Counselling
Australian Counselling Association (ACA) | ACA College of Supervisors
If you are in crisis, please contact Lifeline 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636
I acknowledge the Whadjuk people of the Noongar nation as the traditional custodians of the Country and its waters on which I live and practice. I pay my respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging; and honour the traditional custodians’ culture, knowledge, wisdom, languages, and ongoing connection to Country.