Mrs Dee Hardy
Counsellor, Psychotherapist
Shifting Tides Counselling & Mediation
Paradise Point, QLD 4216
In Person + Telehealth
Philosophy & Vision
Are you stuck in a cycle of conflict, feeling unheard in your relationships? Is anxiety or depression taking control of your life? Imagine a future with less stress, more contentment, and a sense of inner peace that empowers you to handle whatever comes your way. I’m Dee, a compassionate therapist dedicated to helping individuals and couples break free from negative patterns and build healthier, more fulfilling lives.
I work with clients from all walks of life, providing a safe, supportive space to explore challenges and develop practical strategies for growth. Let’s work together to create the change you’re seeking. Reach out today, and let’s begin your journey to a brighter future.
Background
I wasn't always a counsellor. My diverse working life has taken me on a unique journey. Owning my own businesses—initially in Sydney and then moving to the Gold Coast in 2010—allowed me to work with people from all walks of life, from the young to the mature, across various genders and cultures. These experiences shaped my understanding of human behavior and connection.
With over 25 years of mentoring, life coaching, and counselling, I’ve combined professional knowledge with native intelligence and lived experiences. This blend allows me to support individuals both privately and in the workplace, guiding them towards growth and fulfillment.
Services
Mending Relationships and establishing healthy connections
Developing Emotional Resilience
Strength Based Strategies to effect work/life balance
Mentoring and Guidance Counselling
General wellbeing and tune up sessions to get back on track
Manage Anxiety
Coming to Terms with Loss and understanding Grief
Dealing with Depression and finding strategies to heal
Fur baby - Grief and Loss
Quality Provision
I am a member of the following counselling organizations: AIPC, ACA, ARCAP.
Board Positions:
1. Governing Board, Independent Non-Executive Director, Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors (AIPC)
2. Board Member, Australian Counselling Association (ACA)
Areas of Special Interest
Accreditations
- DIP. Professional Counsellor; MACA - 2021 - AIPC
- Grad. Dip. Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner - 2023 - Mediation Institute
Modalities
ACT - CBT - Compassion-Focused Therapy - Emotionally Focused Therapy - Marriage and Family - Mindfulness - Motivational Interviewing - Narrative Therapy - Person Centred - Solution Oriented - Trauma-Informed
Therapy Approach
Shifting Tides Counselling employs integrative positive psychology practices through a solution/future focused, person-centred approach to therapy, utilizing holistic and evidence based methodologies to obtain optimum results.
Tilly, is our 'fur therapist'. A Maltese Shih Tzu cross... her specialty is to offer love and support.
It's Your Story - Participating in your own life is what's most empowering. Be curious about yourself - open your internal dialogue and look at opportunities for change. Create the narrative of your life.
Let's take this journey together - shifting to a more fulfilling and positive future, working with you to discover strengths and skills to manage your best Life.
Professional Associations
- Australian Counselling Association - Level 2
Practice Locations
7/34 The Esplanade
Paradise Point QLD 4216
Easy parking on the street and surrounding areas
Bus stops in the area
Appointments
Office hours 9:00am till 5:30pm Monday to Friday
After hours appointments, extended sessions and Telehealth counselling available on request. No GP referral required.
Fees & Insurance
50 min Sessions:
Individual Counselling session - $130
Relationship Counselling session - $180
After hours Counselling session - $155
90 min Individual Sessions - $180
90 Min High Conflict Relationship sessions - $260
Languages
English
Dutch
Payment Options
Payment required on or prior to your appointment and can be made by credit card, EFTPOS or direct deposit.
Contact Dee
Please contact me to make an appointment
A conversation with Dee Hardy
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A healthy curiosity of human behaviour, not 'why' but 'how' someone comes to be who they are and what manifests due to life experiences.
I like people - prior to my formal qualifications, I have been mentoring, guiding, counselling individuals for over 25 years - a natural and intuitive instinct to create a safe and trusting platform for individuals to find their pathway and to help them find their 'empowerment'.
What is important for the client? To be seen as a 'whole' individual - my approach to counselling is holistic and integrative. -
Being Non judgmental and totally accepting of others - we are all individuals and that should be celebrated, not berated or crushed.... I love the uniqueness of all...and not to take personally another's journey and experiences that may impact on how they feel and how they behave... this is not about you... it is about them.
Can I learn from this? Your own life experiences can provide an incredible platform of learning about oneself... you have the power and choice to see that opportunity. -
Gut health - it is intrinsically aligned with our overall wellbeing and in particular, mental health...
For a healthy body, it does need to be holistic... a poor diet and counselling can only reach so far in the successful outcome... and indeed, a healthy body and poor state of mind will also fall short of the ultimate and optimum 'you'. -
Listening first and foremost.... reading between the lines of the words, combining acute body language insights as well as the critical element of proving a safe therapeutic environment of complete congruence, empathy and compassion.
CBT, Positive Psychology and Solution/Future Focus Therapy, ACT, Mindfulness, Narrative Therapy, NLP and many other combinations pending on the clients needs. -
When a client has made an appointment to see a counsellor, they are more than likely committed to the process... if they are mandated by others or coerced in some way by others, then the process may vary.
The therapeutic relationship is the most important factor in the process of progress... without that connection, the outcomes will not be as satisfactory.
The first phone call, the first session - the counsellor/client connection needs to be a person-centred ethos with the client feeling safe enough to open up. -
Personally, I have undertaken many therapy sessions in my lifetime, to assist with seeing things beyond my emotional connection to a certain situation, as and when required...this has been an invaluable process that has enabled me to see the merits of therapy and indeed, these last 12 months have shown me through my Griefline Voluntary work how positive an impact one can have, just to be present for someone at a time of need... there is nothing more satisfying than being there and giving back.
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Giving back! Offering that platform that may give someone that feeling of hope, justification, shift at a time of their lives where they may be stuck in or wish to move from... the brainstorming with patients and 'pulling at that string' to find their strengths and skills... love that!
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In so much as - do I get bothered, angry, upset...sure....but not at the expense of my inner self..
I am a classic case study of 'the glass is always full'... this is my default and I have done so my entire life, being able to see the 'other side'...I reframe and rephrase automatically... eg: when anxiety hit 15 years ago, those feelings in my tummy...I got to a point where I changed the narrative around those feelings...it was no longer 'anxiety' but 'excitement' of what the possibilities of a new future could be... using NLP strategies to reframe those automatic thoughts from negative to positive. -
Information overload provided by the insistent and ongoing access through social media and technology - we need to learn to switch off technology, get back to basics... smell the air, feel the water... don't just throw down your cup of coffee... be in the moment! Hold that warm cup, smell the aroma, really take in that first sip, the second and just be.... we need to learn to be present.
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Rasputin! The new re mix by MAJESTIC & BONEY M... upbeat, happy and just 'go' to for me!
I love all art as it is an expression of the person so I really am curious when I see art.
Ongoing self development books such as Dalai Lama - The Art of Happiness, Erchart Tolle, The Power of Now.
For my holiday read... espionage/spy thriller... anything by Daniel Silva!