Cartoon illustration of three cute blue and yellow blobby characters, one is an adult caregiver sweating and looking stressed next to a crying baby and a disengaged teenager with a mobile phone.

Counselling Sessions.

Are you a caregiver who is feeling overwhelmed by stress? Struggling with chronic pain? Finding it hard to manage your emotions?

You are not alone.

Support is available.

Counselling provides a safe, compassionate space to explore what’s going on for you and find practical ways to feel more balanced, resilient, and in control.

I offer professional support tailored to your specific needs, designed to achieve your goals while increasing your sense of inner safety and calm.

With over 20 years working in the areas of children, families and education, I specialise in helping parents/carers, separated parents and professionals who work with children.

Portrait photograph of Sophie Banks, Founder of Inner Safeguarding, wearing blue jumper, striped-blue pants, resting arm on a windowsill looking at the camera and smiling.

What support is available?

  • When life feels relentless—whether due to work pressures, caregiving responsibilities, or major life changes—it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and exhausted.

    Counselling provides a safe, supportive space to express your thoughts, feelings, and experiences while uncovering the root causes of your stress.

    Together, we’ll explore practical strategies to help you manage stress more effectively, build resilience, and expand your window of tolerance.

    Counselling can help you clarify your goals, develop a practical plan, and create meaningful, lasting change—so you can move forward in a way that feels more balanced and sustainable.

  • Living with persistent pain is profoundly challenging—not just physically, but in every aspect of life. It can reshape how you move through the world, affect your relationships, and deeply impact your sense of self.

    Counselling offers a safe, compassionate space where your pain experience is heard, understood, and validated—without dismissal or judgment. Here, you don’t have to explain or justify what you’re going through: you can simply be.

    Together, we can also explore the science of pain—because understanding how pain works can be a powerful step toward regaining a sense of hope and control.

    With the right knowledge, emotional support, and holistic strategies, real change is possible. Over time, as we work gently with your nervous system, you may begin to notice shifts—not just in how you experience pain, but in how you feel within yourself. And slowly but surely, those shifts can lead to a meaningful reduction in pain symptoms and renewed hope for the future.

  • If you feel trapped in cycles of anger and guilt as a caregiver, you’re not alone—and you’re not failing. These feelings don’t mean you’re a bad parent or carer; they’re signs that you’re overwhelmed and in need of support.

    Counselling offers a safe, judgment-free space to explore what’s beneath these reactions, helping you understand your triggers and gently expand your window of tolerance—at a pace that feels right for you.

    Through self-compassion practices and evidence-based techniques, you’ll learn to shift from reactive patterns to more grounded, intentional responses. Over time, you can develop greater capacity to meet challenges—including difficult moments with children—with more calm and confidence.

    Together, we’ll build your emotional toolkit so you can move through frustration with more self-understanding, share safety with those around you, and feel more resourced—even on the hardest days.

Cartoon illustration of two cute blobby characters sitting facing each other, smiling in a counselling session, one yellow and one blue. The blue character has eyes closed, a single grateful tear and its body is filling up with water.

Get support tailored to your specific needs

Inner Safeguarding provides a safe, judgment-free space to share your thoughts, feelings and experiences, feel seen and heard, learn evidence-based techniques, set achievable goals and reclaim your life!

  • Cartoon illustration of a cute blue blobby character floating in the air in a blissful state.

    Find calm

  • Cartoon illustration of a cute yellow blobby character standing with one hand on heart, feeling happy and peaceful.

    Reduce pain

  • Cartoon illustration of a cute blue blobby character holding a broom smiling while looking down at a smashed cup on the floor.

    Increase coping

“Asking for help isn’t weak, it’s a great example of how to take care of yourself.”

— Charlie Brown (Charles M. Schulz).

FAQs

  • Each session costs $125

    50-minute session

  • No! The good news is that you do not need a Health Care Plan or a referral from a GP to attend counselling.

    This means that you can book right away, and there are no caps on the number of sessions you can attend.

  • Simply complete and submit the ‘Enquire | Book.’

    I will respond as soon as possible (within 24 hours). We can either have a brief 15-minute (free) phone call or email exchange to make sure we are a “good fit.”

    After making a booking, I will email you intake forms to complete together with all the meeting information you need.

    NOTE: An online booking system is coming soon!

  • Entirely up to you!

    We can discuss your needs, goals and any financial constraints in the first session and then make a plan that suits you.

    You can decide to attend more sessions, or to stop attending at any time. You are never locked in.

  • Looking after your specific needs and goals are the priority in every counselling session. During the first session, we will spend some time exploring these. Then, we can make a plan and set some goals. Of course, we can review and vary the plan and goals at any time. Sometimes, you may just need to offload or debrief a situation. Our sessions are always centered on your needs at the time.

  • Yes. Your privacy, and the confidential nature of counselling, is very important and strictly protected by law.

    There are only three (3) situations where it may be necessary and/or appropriate to share certain information with others:

    1. If you consent in writing (e.g. you ask me to refer you to another service or allied health professional)

    2. If I am concerned you may harm yourself or someone else, including a child

    3. If I receive a subpoena issued by a court of law compelling me to provide certain information to a court.

    In each of these situations, I would speak with you first wherever possible.

  • A quiet space, where you can be alone and speak freely without being overheard or interrupted by anyone.

    Good, stable internet connection. (We will also put a back-up plan in case there are any connectivity issues.)

    You may like to have some water and tissues nearby in case you need them.

    Otherwise, I will email you a link and login information before each session.

  • Sessions are currently available online, so you can access support from the comfort of your own home.

    For those based in Melbourne’s inner north, in-person appointments may also be available upon request.

  • Life happens! It is understandable that from time to time you may need to either cancel or reschedule your appointment.

    There is no charge for cancelling with more than 24 hours’ notice.

    However, a $50 fee may apply for less than 24 hours’ notice.

    Please email me as soon as possible to cancel or reschedule: hello@innersafeguarding.com.au