Individual and Relationship Therapy 

Maggie sees individuals and couples in-person and online via zoom. New referrals are currently limited to: i) individuals who have previously completed one or more of her mindfulness or compassion group programs or residential retreats; and ii) couples who have completed or are willing to complete the Relationship Renew program online or as part of the residential Bali Retreat. Unfortunately, for privacy reasons, Maggie does not accept counselling referrals from Castlemaine residents, including surrounding areas, however this restriction does not apply to any of the groups, trainings or retreats.  She welcomes diversity and is committed to inclusive practice.

Maggie is a Mental Health Social Worker, registered with the Australian Association of Social Workers, with more than thirty years experience working in the field including in the areas of: Oncology & Palliative Care; Women’s Health; Carers Victoria; and Community Health.  She has a Masters in Relationship & Couple Counselling and teaches relationship therapy at Swinburne University and Relationships Australia Victoria (RAV) in Kew. She has also completed a Masters in History, with her undergraduate Arts Degree including two years of honours-stream psychology at the University of Melbourne.

Maggie’s Private Practice days and hours are Tuesdays and Fridays (Rm 5), upstairs in the Geo Clarke Building, 203 Barker Street Castlemaine, 9 – 5pm.   The cost of a 60-minute session is $185 for couples or $175 for individuals, inclusive of GST.  Initial consultation for couples is 120mins ($250, incl.GST)

Individuals

Maggie combines her counselling work with teaching mindfulness and compassion courses and retreats, and limits new referrals to people who have participated in one or more of these trainings. This enables deep therapeutic work that often includes a mindfulness or other practice component. The therapy is body, emotion and process-focused and her specialty areas include relationships, trauma, loss and grief. 

Relationships

Couples decide to seek counselling for all sorts of reasons. They may feel their relationship is in need of a tune-up, or perhaps there is an issue that feels too big to be resolved without help, or high stress is arising from changes such as new baby, teenage issues, job loss, grief, sexual differences, mental health, addiction, menopause, ageing, infidelity, a shift into consensual non-monogamy, or financial difficulties. While the presenting problems are diverse, the relationship field now understands that many of the underlying issues are shared and universal, which is why Maggie has now built in a 6-week foundational live, online training, Relationship Renew which can also be completed as a residential retreat in Bali. This course provides all the new and transformative relationship theory in the group setting but still ensures you share the more personal exercises and practices just with your chosen other in the privacy of your dyad. If you or your partner are unsure about the prospect of a group training, or the relationship feels distressed, traumatised or on the brink of separation, private sessions can still be arranged before, during and after the training.  

Rebates

Individual clients who have a GP Mental Health Care Plan can claim up to 10 sessions per year, receiving about $75 back per session from Medicare. Medicare doesn’t have a category for Relationship Counselling, so if you are coming with your partner, it is important to consider this and plan financially before you commence the process.  Often depression or anxiety is caused from relationship distress.  If this is the case and your GP is supportive, you may each be able to claim back a rebate for up to 10 sessions per year, providing the sessions are not being used for additional individual therapy.

Maggie works part-time with no administrative support. If timely reply to an email hasn’t occurred, please text Maggie on weekdays only, between the hours of 8am-6pm. 

If you are unable to attend your appointment, please text Maggie in advance, 24 hours or more beforehand if possible, so that someone else can take up that appointment time. A late cancellation fee of $60 will be charged if less than 24 hours notice is provided. 

For booking information and more general information about Relationship models that Maggie draws from or recommends, please click the buttons below.