Cherie Gardner

Counsellor and Psychotherapist

1 Bryant Drive, Tuggerah, NSW, 2261

T: 0425 214 665

E: cheriegardnerpsychotherapy@gmail.com

Grief is the emotion we feel when an important relationship ends. Often the ending is caused by death, but grief can also be felt when a relationship is lost for other reasons. We don’t grieve for all lost relationships; only those that have, for one reason or another, become meaningful to us over time – people we love or admire (family, partners, friends, teachers), and jobs, places or things we treasure. When these people or things are gone, we often feel grief and feel very alone.

TRAUMA

Trauma comes from a deeply distressing or disturbing experience. When one experiences trauma it can disrupt ones ways of living, self-regulating and being in the world.

There are what I like to call “big” traumas which is what we all think of when we hear about trauma, like car accidents, going to war, sexual assault, natural disasters, domestic violence to name a few.

These big traumas have a huge impact on how we exist in the world and can often lead to people living a life they are dissatisfied with without really knowing why they are in the rut they are in. What some people don’t realise is that we can also have “Small” Trauma’s that make a great impact on our life as well. Growing up we can suffer seemingly small and repeated emotional trauma’s from our caregivers that can lead us to creatively adapt to help us emotionally survive, but as adults we find those same protective mechanisms we have developed no longer serve us and actually get in the way of our growth and happiness.

Psychotherapy can help in working through your trauma, big or small, and finding ways to soothe your central nervous system to come back to a place of safety and calm.

Services

Relationship issues

Trauma and PTSD

Grief and loss

Depression, anxiety and stress

Addiction & compulsive behaviours including drug and alcohol addiction

Anger management

GRIEF AND LOSS

DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY

Anxiety and Depression are the two most common problems people face today. This can be a challenge for people to face alone, and I support people through awareness and skills to accept and work through their stuckness and fears, working with suffering and turning it into growth.

SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES OF PEOPLE WITH ADDICTIONS

Often families of people suffering from addiction are focused on getting their loved one the help they need, but often forget that they themselves are going through one of the hardest things a person can go through. Being powerless to help someone you love make a change, and watching them go through immense struggle and heartache is extremely challenging.

It is crucial for family members to get the help and support they need. Through counselling and Psychotherapy you can get help so as to not feel so alone in this process and to help work on the bouondaries that often get crossed when addiction is present in someones life.

ADDICTION

People suffering with addiction issues and their families need support to help initiate change. I have extensive experience in addiction and knowledge of the addict mind. It is often one step forward and two steps back for people who are struggling with a dependency on anything external, which can be a long hard road, but not an impossible one.

I see clients with any form of addiction, from drug and alcohol abuse, gambling, sex and pornography, phone addiction to food addiction.

“What’s out of our awareness runs our lives”