Ms Christina Kioulafas
Psychotherapist, Relationship Therapist
South Melbourne, VIC 3205
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Philosophy & Vision
Christina is an accredited counsellor and child psychotherapist. She has over 10 years of experience working with people of all ages and stages of their lives. Her specialisation is working with families, toddlers, children and young people around a range of issues. She has a lot of experience working with survivors of sexual abuse and domestic violence and their families and friends impacted by the trauma. Christina believes that each person has the capacity to heal themselves.
Background
Christina has a decade of experience working in the non profit sector, supporting families establishing themselves in Australia after experiencing trauma, loss and displacement. She work with schools, GP's and other health professionals to advocate for the client. Her specialty is children and young people who may have behavioural or social issues, learning disabilities, attachment issues or overall poor mental health. She practice a strengths based approach.
Christina is also a sessional university teacher in the counselling faculty.
Services
Quality Provision
Christina is a PACFA registered Counsellor. She attends regular supervision and professional development courses.
Areas of Special Interest
Accreditations
- GradDip Counselling & Psychotherapy - 2015 - Australian College of Applied Psychology
- GradDip Mental Health Science; Child Psychotherapy - 2018 - Monash University
Modalities
Attachment Theory - Developmental - Dream Work - Person Centred - Play Therapy - Psychodynamic - Sandplay Therapy - Trauma-Informed
Therapy Approach
Christinas approach is one of gentle curiosity, she brings kindness and compassion to the work. Getting to know you at your pace. She works toward goals together, no matter how small to help her clients to feel connected to themselves. She believes that the healing in therapy comes from a trusting relationship, that is where she starts her work.
Professional Associations
- Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia
Practice Locations
299 Moray Street
South Melbourne VIC 3205
Appointments
Available for telephone, face to face and online
Fees & Insurance
$120
Payment Options
Paypal, EFT, Cash
Contact Christina
Please contact me to make an appointment
A conversation with Christina Kioulafas
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I always thought I was a good communicator but I wasn't sure what to do with that skill. I stumbled to counselling and realised that it was about so much more than that. It was about listening, understanding and meeting people where they are at; mentally and emotionally.
I didn't really know where counselling would take me, thinking back on the last ten years its been an incredible personal and professional journey. -
I believe the psyche can heal itself, meaning with the right support and guidance, we have the capacity to heal ourselves. The client is expert and the therapist is merely there to facilitate growth and healing. My sessions are all about creating emotional safety so the client can be free to openly express themselves and get to the real core of the issue or emotion.
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I am interested in bringing unconscious thoughts to the surface, changing ingrained patterns of behaviour, childhood experiences and integration of our past traumas. When we are in a safe therapeutic relationship we have an opportunity to integrate the different parts of ourselves, our brain can create new pathways of understanding that can change our behaviour and thought patterns.
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Sandplay, play therapy, grounding, talk therapy. There is no one method that is best, we start with safety and trust, taking it from there. If there is a specific modality that is best for you, I am happy to discuss it.
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It's different for everyone. As a client it is on you to do the work outside the sessions. Notice and reflect on your behaviours and interactions. If you are committed to change you will see progress quite quickly, perhaps after 3-4 sessions. It really depends on the issues. Children tend to move through emotional issues quickly as they are less ingrained. Remember, for adults some patterns and traumas are carried around for decades. It can take some time to make progress, and even then its normal to regress. Therapy can be a lifetime of changes, 10 steps forward and 5 steps back. Even when you think you are past something, it can catch you by surprise and trigger you again, it's about how you manage it.
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It has certainly held a mirror up to me and shown me how to own all the parts of myself, even those I don't like. It has made me a better parent and partner, but I am still learning, Everyday.
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The analysis of the work, when I go to supervision and think about my clients and what they are going through, I actually then hold them in mind outside of the session. I like being the emotional holding place for my clients. It's a privilege to be the person they let into their rich inner world.
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Of course! I am human. As a mother of two young children, 'bad har day' has a new sleep deprived meaning.
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Disconnection from our true selves.
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I used to work at a Blockbuster Video for 7 years! Hard to choose a film...
Recent selections include
Book: Girl, woman, other.
Show: Handmaids Tale
Song: Kaytranada - Got it good
Art: Mattise