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Small Steps Counselling

Online Trauma-Recovery Counselling — gently supporting people to process, heal and move beyond their trauma experience...

Brisbane-based, Telehealth (Australia-wide)

Despite our best efforts, some experiences don’t just stay in the past...

They have a way of lingering - in how you feel, how you respond, how your body reacts - even when your life looks relatively okay from the outside.

A lot of people I work with are fully functioning.

They’re working, showing up, doing what needs to be done. They're getting by day-to-day.

But underneath that, there’s often a sense of unease or tension… or feeling on edge… or just not quite being able to settle.

Sometimes it shows up as anxiety, sometimes as exhaustion, sometimes as brain fog, sometimes as disconnection.

Sometimes it’s harder to name than that - it's more like just a sense that something isn’t quite right.

What I want you to know is that those responses aren’t random.

And they’re not a sign that something is wrong with you.

They’re "symptoms" and they're usually the result of a system that learned how to cope, at a time when it needed to be able to.

This is often what trauma looks like over time - not just as something that happened, but in the way it continues to shape how you feel, think and move through your life.

The work I do is less about going back into everything that’s happened - unless you want to - and more about helping you to understand how your past experiences are still showing up for you now.

How they’ve shaped the way your mind responds, how your body reacts,
how you relate to yourself and to others.

And then supporting you to shift those patterns in a way that actually feels safe.

Not forced.
Not rushed.

Not overwhelming.

A Brief Note on What "Trauma-Recovery" Looks Like at Small Steps Counselling...

At Small Steps, trauma-recovery counselling isn’t about pretending that your trauma didn’t happen. And it’s definitely not about pushing you to “move on” or "deal with" anything, before you’re feeling ready.

At Small Steps, recovery means supporting you to feel safer, steadier and more in connection and attunement with yourself - even in those moments when you're triggered by past trauma experiences. 

Counselling at Small Steps is about working with what’s showing up for you now, not forcing you to deep dive into the past - if that’s not what you currently want or need.

Recovery, in the Small Steps space, means gently building on your resilience, strengths, clarity, capacity and fostering a stronger sense of your self - so life for you starts to feel a little less like just surviving, and a little more like living.

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A Little Bit About Me...

Hi, I’m Kristy — an integrative, wellness-oriented counsellor, counselling educator and meditation teacher offering online trauma-recovery counselling for adults in Brisbane and across Queensland and Australia.

I work with people who are carrying the ongoing effects of trauma - quite often long after the original trauma experience has passed - who want support that feels calm, respectful and genuinely human.

My approach is collaborative, calm and deeply empathetic, shaped both by professional training and my own lived experience. I integrate evidence-based talk therapies, body-based regulation skills, psychoeducation and mindset work to support you as a whole person - not just as a set of symptoms or problems to "fix".

I bring warmth, patience, curiosity, compassion and a genuine belief in your capacity to heal and grow in ways that feel realistic and sustainable for you.

Clients often tell me they feel safe enough to be real in my therapy space - even with the parts of themselves they usually keep hidden to others.

Small Steps is a space where we take things one small step at a time.
No pressure. No performance. No judgement.
Just thoughtful, authentic support - specifically tailored to you.

Why Choose Small Steps Counselling?

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Why Choose Small Steps Counselling?

At Small Steps the support you receive is:

 Individually tailored to your specific needs 

Centred on your overall growth and wellbeing

 Integrative, eclectic and collaborative in approach 

 Inclusive, neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed 

Welcoming, affirming and safe for all women, LGBTQIA+ and gender diverse individuals

 Delivered by a qualified, registered and experienced Counsellor 

Delivered by a Counsellor with lived experience of life's many adverse challenges...

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Client Stories...

(For privacy and confidentiality - names, ages and client stories are fictionalised examples of real cases) 

Client - "Darian, 42 yrs"

Background: Darian works as a freelance graphic designer, which offers him flexibility but also brings financial stress and unpredictability. He’s recently moved house after breaking up with his long-term boyfriend and is living alone for the first time in years. While always friendly, Darian tends to keep people at arm’s length and often feels a sense of disconnection — from others, and from himself.

Current Situation: Darian came to counselling feeling “off” but couldn’t quite articulate why. He described himself as “wired and tired” — feeling constantly tense, struggling to sleep, quick to shut down and often overwhelmed by small tasks. In early sessions, he found it hard to explain how he was feeling or what it was that he needed. Instead, his body did the talking, with shallow breaths, clenched jaw, consistent fidgeting and a nervous energy that made stillness uncomfortable for him. He wasn’t sure where to begin and what to say, only that something didn’t feel right.

Focus for Counselling: Together, we started with some nervous system psychoeducation and grounding practices — helping Darian to understand his stress responses and develop ways to soothe them. By learning to regulate his body first, he gradually became more comfortable with opening up. Over time, we started to explore the emotional layers beneath his physical tension, work gently with his story, build on his self-awareness and shift the long-standing beliefs that had been keeping him stuck.

Counselling Services...

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Intake Counselling Session - New Clients

Counselling Session

1-to-1, Adult Clients, Telehealth Session (online)

1 hr I $140

Read More about Intake Sessions

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Counselling Session - Ongoing Clients

Counselling Session

1-to-1, Adult Clients, Telehealth Session (online)

1 hr I $140

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Read More about Ongoing Sessions

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'TALK & TREAD' COUNSELLING SESSION 

Counselling Session - Ongoing Clients Only     

​​

​1-to-1, Adult Clients, BRISBANE-BASED, Outdoor Location 

​​1 hr I $140

Read More about Talk & Tread Sessions

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15-Minute Enquiry Call

​​​1-to-1, Adult Clients, Phone Call 

Considering counselling? Book a free 15-minute call to explore your goals for therapy and briefly address any questions. This 15-minute phone call gives us a chance to clarify what you’re looking to achieve and ensure you feel comfortable and informed before moving forward.​

​​​15 mins I FREE​

A Little Bit Of Inspiration...

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity."

Amelia Earhart

Contact

Contact Me...

email: kristy@smallstepscounselling.com.au 

Brisbane-based, Telehealth availability across Brisbane
Telehealth Sessions Queensland / Australia-wide

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I acknowledge and honour the Turrbal and Jagera people as Traditional Owners and Custodians of Meanjin, the land on which I was born, live and work. I offer respect for country and the traditional peoples who have and do reside here, and pay my respects to Aboriginal Elders past, present and emerging. 

Small Steps Counselling is notcrisis counselling service.

If you are in need of emergency support, please call 000.

Other supports include:

Lifeline (24-hour crisis line) - 13 11 14

Women's Crisis Line - 1800 811 811

1800 Respect National Helpline - 1800 737 732

13 YARN - 13 92 76

QLife - 1800 184 527

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