❗Mudgee face-to-face counselling has closed
A support group for people (16+) who have lost someone that they love to Suicide.
People who attend this group will be supported to:
Learn how suicide is "contagious" and how to protect themseves and others from suicide in teh future
Answer for themselves in an authentic and helpful way the question of "why" this happened
Learn how to deal with grief that is complicated by suicide
The next group (Semester 1 2026) will be run on Sundays at 2:30pm. This time has been chosen to allow working people and parents the opportunity to attend. Dates have also been chosen in order to allow breaks over school holiday periods for those responsible for children.
For Term 1
Sunday 1st of March 2026 @ 2:30
Sunday 15th of March 2026 @ 2:30
Sunday 29th of March 2026 @ 2:30
Another 3 Dates for Term 2 TBC with the group at a later date
Each session will cost $50 per participant and/or the participant's sponsor. Once you join the group you will be charged this amount regardless of whether or not you attend the group.
Rebates may be available through Medicare of up to $30.10 per session with GP referral. Rebates will only be given if you actually attend the session.
When you consider that one counselling session with me is usually $289 (and it is unlikely that you would get any qualified counsellor happy to see you for under $150 per session) I think that you can agree with me that this group is a great deal for you!
As you can see from the registration buttons above a discount of 1 free session can also be given to people who pay for all of the sessions upfront.
Each group will meet for 90 minutes and there will be between 9 and 10 groups in the year.
Most groups will run fortnightly for 2 school terms in the year with catch up dates booked for the other two terms to give a full years support.
Medicare permits between 4 to 10 people in a group. I will be operating groups between 6 - 10 people as a protection because, if some people do not attend a session, the others can not claim the Medicare rebate if the group falls below 4 people. If less than 4 people arrive on a call that meeting will be cancelled.
These groups are set up in such a way that you will not be asked to tell your story. This is to protect you and also the others in the group who may be distressed in hearing your story. All that other participants will know is that you have lost someone that you loved to suicide.
If you want somewhere to tell your story, especially in detail, I would recommend telling the details of your story to your individual counsellor (the group can help you find one if you do not have one for yourself).
There may be times when you are asked to reflect on the impact of elements of your story in order to identify what treatments you are most likely to need. The appropriate treatments that you can do on your own will be discussed in the group during that session and additional support options if you are still distresed will also be offered.
The group will learn about:
the effects of sexual assault on the mind, body and relationships
the factors that impact on which effects will happen to whom and how strongly they will happen
How to reduce the effects of sexual assault on the mind, body and relationships including:
focused psychological strategies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapies to help manage the effects on the mind
focused psychological strategies including Social Skills Training to help manage the effects on the relationships
focused psychological strategies including relaxation strategies to help manage the effects on the body
information about how to get further support financially, with counselling and socially for what you have been through
Yes, groups have been set up so that people can join under a different name. The software being used also allows for facial features to be changed if you are worried about being identified. If you are concerned about this please contact me prior to the groups starting so I can talk you through how to protect your privacy/ anonymity.
Yes, this is a great idea! If you come with a friend or family member you are able to benefit from each other's support as well. We only encourage you to bring family and friends who have experienced childhood sexual assault as well. If you have adult (16+ years of age) female friends/ family who you would like in the group with you please encourage them to register as a member for the group. If you wish you can contact me before hand and ask me to hold a spot for them for a short time.
Rebates may be available through Medicare of up to $30.10 per session with GP referral. (For more information on how to get a GP referral please see below).
If your GP has diagnosed you with a mental health condition such as Anxiety, Depression, Borderline Personality Disorder or PTSD in the past they may be very happy to refer you to this group.
Your GP may wish to complete a mental health treatment plan in order to make this referral and they may ask for a long appointment with you to complete this referral.
If you have been diagnosed with a mental health condition you are eligible for up to 10 group sessions a year and 10 individual counselling sessions. Joining this group will not affect any individual counselling that you may get under Medicare and better still the group is designed to help you find individual counselling options (if you want them) that are better than what is available through Medicare.
You can provide this letter to your GP if you would like an easy way of explaining to them what you want/ need in order to claim your Medicare rebate for this group.
If you are a family member or friend of someone who you would like to support to attend this group you can reach out to me seperately to organise how you can pay for their attendance. Please note, however that should they also get a Mental Health Plan the medicare rebates will go back into their account. You may wish to use this to encourage them to attend sessions (as the rebates will only go in if they attend), You may also want to talk to them about paying you back this money to reduce your costs but this agreement will need to be between you and them and I can not take part in those discussions.
If you are an organisation wanting to organise counselling for a client (or staff member) who experienced childhood sexual assault please reach out to me and we can discuss if the group will meet your client or staff member's needs and any restrictions that there might be on the funding that is used.
You (or someone that you love) may have been through childhood sexual assault and you may wish to gift this program to someone else. If you would like to do so please reach out to me and we can discuss the details of what you would want for a scholarship (ie how many times you would like it to run etc) and if you want a scholarship for a new student set up in your name (or the name of someone that you love).
If you would like to learn more about applying for a scholarship for yourself, a friend/ family member or client please contact me and discuss.
Scholarships vary in their conditions.
Scholarships that are currently available include: