Testimonial
she instilled belief and hope within me, amongst my severe self doubt of where I stood and what I wanted to achieve. She continuously helped me reframe my past, and the cards I had been dealt, in a way that helped me better understand. She acknowledged it, which I often found unfathomable to do on my own, as well as the role it played in my present moments but inspired the courage in me to not let it keep dictating my future. It gave me the strength to take back the power and control that was often misused by others. The strength I knew was always there though so deeply clouded by my self loathe and riddled by shame, guilt and an undying fear of judgement surrounding my usage and SA I suffered through as a child
JB, VIC
Australia
Anita has been a testament to my ability to grow and overcome an abundance of hurdles that I’ve faced with curiosity, whilst helping me navigate my feelings of judgement and shame I put upon myself driven by my experiences. With her gentle approach in my times of need, she's helped me to learn and understand myself on a deeper level by focusing on each issue at hand in depth, with ongoing encouragement and compassion. Anita’s ability to incorporate personal anecdotes when needed has shown me that I am not alone in how I feel and what I have experienced, and that our traumas don’t define us. If anything, they can inspire vulnerability in others, and most importantly, ourselves.
I was introduced to Anita through my beautiful step-mum, whilst struggling with an active addiction living abroad in Berlin. Lost within myself and my own mind and in the midst of completely breaking, Anita showcased her ability to meet people where they’re at, which requires a level of empathy that few adhere to. I can say she exceeded this exponentially. With a gentle touch, whilst also making sure I held myself accountable where applicable, Anita worked with me to target the root of my drug usage begging the question why, instead of focusing on the symptom (being the drugs). The severity of this, as she warned me, could go one of both ways, but it was time, time to heal. Time to allow myself to fully flourish as I had always longed for others to do.
Anita accompanied me throughout this journey of healing with warmth and countless lessons, whilst giving me the opportunity to fully indulge myself within these and take them on board within my own time and space, despite often coming back with the same situation in different scenarios (most notably, rewarding myself with using after patches of abstinence, completely in contradiction to the goal I now know, I wasn’t fully ready to work towards). Despite this, she instilled belief and hope within me, amongst my severe self doubt of where I stood and what I wanted to achieve. She continuously helped me reframe my past, and the cards I had been dealt, in a way that helped me better understand. She acknowledged it, which I often found unfathomable to do on my own, as well as the role it played in my present moments but inspired the courage in me to not let it keep dictating my future. It gave me the strength to take back the power and control that was often misused by others. The strength I knew was always there though so deeply clouded by my self loathe and riddled by shame, guilt and an undying fear of judgement surrounding my usage and SA I suffered through as a child.
Anita is the definition of ‘our traumas don't define us’ and the power of vulnerability in others, and one's self. It’s a message I hope I have, and continue to, inspire in others who find they’re lost within themselves. She will say that it was all my doing, but without her guidance and exceptional empathy and her longing to understand others, free of judgment and shame that we often enclose within ourselves, I wouldn’t be able to sit here and reflect with the same compassion and love she displays.
For as long as I can remember I’ve had a broken, distorted view of myself and my place in the world. I’ve embarked on countless counselling and psychology sessions over more than 30 years which have not even touched the surface of what I’ve discovered in my sessions with Anita. I realise now I wasn’t in the right space to take the time to work though things. I wanted a quick fix without doing the hard work and I certainly hadn’t met the right person to do that hard work with. Somehow I always managed to turn a blind eye, bury things that little bit more, project my issues onto other people and just get on with things regardless, often turning to alcohol when I was younger to help me calm my busy thoughts.
Since July last year I’ve been blessed to have been working with Anita and to say it has been life changing is an understatement. I’ve gone from feeling like I’m a strange and horrible person to someone who has now identified the reasons for the multiple layers of my hurt, labelled her own coping strategies, identified certain triggers, feels solid in herself (a wonderful term picked up from Anita!!), and feels armed with appropriate ways to cope with the triggers when they rear their ugly head. Terminology amongst other things has contributed to giving me the most amazing sense of control over my busy, anxious brain.
Recently I had a ‘wobbly’ moment in my weekend (another great term from Anita!) and for the first time ever I felt an overwhelming sense of calm, inner peace and trust in myself. I’ve never experienced anything like it. Normally my anxiety takes over, my thoughts run away from me, my behaviour changes and I feel completely out of control. Somehow and this time in particular I knew that I had the strategies I’d need to cope in that wobbly moment, and I knew that I’d be ok. I can only describe it as a ‘warmth’ inside me. The anxiety was still there but it wasn’t forefront in my brain. It was like a light switch had been turned on. My heart felt peace and true to my thoughts that moment passed. To feel the weightlessness in this moment in a world where I normally feel burdened with anxiety and negative thoughts was truly remarkable.
No doubt I have a journey ahead to really embed these strategies and ensure that they become my first port of call rather than the self-sabotage techniques I’ve used in the past. Given my experience the other weekend I’m truly confident I’m on the right track. This is going to be a great next chapter in my life!
