Counselling in Hobart, TAS

Please reach out via email. Hello! I'm Lauren (she/they) and I am an Arts Psychotherapist and Counsellor based in the Outer Eastern suburbs of Naarm (Melbourne). I have lived experience of being neurodivergent (AuDHD) and I am currently exploring my own queer identity. I am passionate about neuro-affirming care and psychoeducation around neurodivergence, and holistic care for youth, women and queer folk living with disability and trauma. I am a mum to one human teen and one elderly Siamese cat. I am an established artist who dabbles in art journaling, mixed media art, photography, dance and movement and more.

I work with people of various cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds in both specialist health services (justice, family violence), schools (from Prep to Year 12) and specialist mental health services (adult residential services). I also facilitate group wellbeing programs for individuals & businesses, and have co-facilitated group workshops focused on teaching people practical skills to manage distress. I work best with people who are ready to take what we discuss in session, and implement this in their lives. I am a Director on the board with Australian Association of Psychologists Incorporated (AAPi).

Johanna focuses on working with singles, couples, and families. She also works with men's sexual health difficulties, delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, and out-of-control sexual behaviours like porn addiction in addition to family therapy, fertility challenges, and low libido, women's sexual health issues, including preconceptions and conception, hypoactive sexual desire disorder .Johanna is sex worker friendly. Johanna is capable of working with poly/open partnerships and is LGBTQ, kink, and fetish friendly. Johanna also works with clients of the NDIS.

A client would attend the clinic to address their presenting concerns, without the fear of judgement, stigma or shame. A client might be feeling lost, hopeless or worthless and feeling the need to get some assistance with their mood and negative thoughts.

Women Assist is a professional counselling and psychotherapy service that supports all people who identify as women with their mental health and well-being. We are a trauma-informed and culturally sensitive service, offering counselling and psychotherapy via telephone or online video platform.

My approach, is seeing clients where they need a safe space to talk. As I work with clients it's allowing myself to have privilege to be walking alongside them in creating a new story with new unique outcomes. Teaching clients the problem is the problem and not themselves.

My wealth of lived experiences including gender transition inform my collaborative client centred counselling approach. Whilst presenting issues may include depression, anxiety, identity incongruence, dysphoria, trauma, interpersonal challenges, addiction, loneliness, and more, I seek to work with the underlying causes as I believe that through addressing the root causes of the presenting symptoms that psychological wellbeing can be achieved without judgement or further pathologisation.

Clinical team: ADHD assessment (bio-psycho-social assessment + medical review) Adult team: Neurodivergent affirming counselling and Therapeutic ADHD coaching Youth team: Therapeutic ADHD coaching / counselling Neurodivergent couples counselling Careers coaching | Executive coaching | Leadership development