About me
Hi, I’m Julia (she/her). I am a PACFA registered Counsellor and Psychotherapist on unceded Dharug, Wangal and Gadigal land.
I work holistically to provide inclusive, non-pathologising therapy. I have worked in schools, non-profit and private mental health settings. I hold a Masters of Counselling and Psychotherapy and a Bachelor’s degree in Gender Studies and Psychology.
What happens in counselling?
I approach talk therapy as a place for genuine connection, reflection and meaning-making.
Changes that can occur through counselling can include: insight, new ways of relating to ourselves, our emotions and our wider world. In counselling I acknowledge the varied effects of oppression, as well as the daily acts of resistance people and collectives use against such forces.
What brought me to become a counsellor?
I arrived to the world of counselling by my work in community services and deep-dive into cultural and gender studies, queer theory and psychology. Frustrated by the harms of diagnostic frameworks and the colonial bio-medical model for mental health, I approach psychotherapy as a way to participate in ongoing processes of healing, social activism and social change.
Therapeutic Services
Ellis Counselling & Psychotherapy
Sessions are available online or in person Sydney CBD or Diverse Art Therapy studio Newtown NSW. I use a sliding scale fee model. I offer short-term counselling and longer term psychotherapy; depending on what suits you best.
I am unable to provide adequate and skilled support for someone who is responding to an acute crisis and/or who may benefit from specialised support or a collaborative team. For example:
using violent or controlling behaviour
responding to violence and/or coercive control from others
acute suicidality
severe alcohol and drug use
hearing voices
acute health issues
Collective Care, Projects & Groups
With your consent, I can provide opportunities to join with others (anonymously) who have been responding to hardship or injustice. Some projects include anonymous letter writing and collective poetry tasks. These can provide ways to collectivise problems, share solidarity and resistance skills.
I have facilitated various poetry groups including partnerships with Cumberland Women’s Health Centre and WestWords. These groups published anthologies of poetry written by women who have negotiated contexts hostile to their humanity. Here you can read the poetry anthologies Apples: An Unapologetic Anthology From The Core and Undoing.
If you are interested in participating in these projects or are curious about the varied intersections of poetry, meaning-making and community, please get in touch with me.
Acknowledgement of Country
Ellis Counselling and Psychotherapy acknowledges and pays deep respect to the Traditional Custodians of the lands, rivers and sea on which we walk - including Wangal, Gadigal and Wallumedegal Clans. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.