Suzanne Hall Trauma Psychologist Doncaster East, Melbourne

Life probably looks like it’s going well on the surface, but something from the past keeps getting in your way.

You may already know where it comes from. You’ve spent time reflecting, had therapy before, or understand the connection between your past experiences and the struggles you’re having today. Yet as much as you’ve tried, you just can’t seem to resolve it.

I work with adults who feel ready to understand themselves more deeply and work through the experiences that continue to shape their relationships, confidence and sense of self. Through Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), I help people move beyond insight alone, so they can create meaningful, long-term change rather than simply managing symptoms.

How I can help

I work with people who are wanting to understand and work through the lasting impact of past experiences such as

• Childhood trauma and difficult early relationships
• Difficult family relationships
• Sexual assault and sexual trauma
• Ongoing effects of childhood experiences in adult life
• Difficulty trusting others or feeling secure in relationships
• People-pleasing, boundaries and relationship patterns that leave you feeling stuck

Whether you’ve known for years that your past is still affecting your present, or you’ve only recently reached a place where you feel ready to work on it, therapy offers an opportunity to move beyond simply understanding what happened and begin working through it.

A different approach to trauma therapy

Rather than seeing your reactions, relationship patterns or ways of coping as the problem, I see them as the ways your mind and body adapted to survive difficult experiences.

Many of the people I work with already have a good understanding of themselves. They know where their patterns come from and have often done therapy before. They’re not looking for someone to simply listen or offer another coping strategy. They’re looking for someone who believes their experience, understands what they’re carrying, and can help them work towards the deeper, lasting change they’re seeking.

I want therapy to feel like a place where you can be yourself, where your experiences are taken seriously, your feelings are listened to, and you don’t need to convince me that what happened mattered.