About: Gina Bloom

 

Psychotherapist | Somatic Experiencing Practitioner | Counsellor

 

In many ways my journey has come full circle, coming back to working with people directly after many years working in the field of mental health research.

 

I initially trained as an academic with a background in myth and literature, and fine arts, doing double honours in Sydney, and postgraduate training in the UK.

 

Then I worked in the medical field, at a range of universities including Sydney Uni, UNSW, Cambridge (UK) and the University of Melbourne, and as a Consultant at research firms such as The Leading Edge and Blue Moon Resaearch and Planning. In 1999 I started Connect Research and Planning, which at its peak had 4 Partners and which provided services to Commonwealth and State Health Departments, Medicare, the Health Insurance Commission, Divisions of General Practice and most of the major pharmaceutical companies.

 

 

After a 20 year career in the mental health and wellbeing field as a researcher and project evaluator, this long-standing interest in healing and personal development became my main focus, so in 2010 I retrained as a psychotherapist and later as a somatic experiencing practitioner (SEP / trauma resolution therapist with the Peter Levine Institute).

 

Having observed the workings of the pharmaceutical industry and academic medical training from the inside, I understand both the value and the limitations of these approaches to wellbeing and personal development, and of the need for a more holistic, soulful approach.

 

Increasingly, as well as general counselling (see services) my practice includes working with a wide range of professional performers and other creative artists, as well as with people interersted in exploring their creativity and creative potential, eg:

 

• musicians (instrumental and edm)

• composers
• academics and students
• artists (visual, textiles, sculptors, film-makers, editors etc)
• curators,
• arts centre manager and other arts executives
• actors
• vocalists and singers
• dancers (classical, modern, conscious dance)
• writers , editors and poets
• Phd students
• (etc)

 

By utilising a combination of somatic experiencing and therapeutically-informed discussion, mentoring, and supervisionI I am able to help people expand their potential, and to identify and resolve creative issues and blocks and how to develop a sustainable practice

 

 

Training, qualifications and other related work.

 

I have discovered effective and empowering ways of helping people to navigate life challenges and to emerge as more healed, integrated, individuals:

 

• Through training (in my 20s) as a Voice Dialogue Facilitator
• By becoming a Transpersonal Psychotherapist
• As s a trauma resolution therapist (Somatic Experiencing Practitioner - SEP)
• Through my work as both a Facilitator, and a Music Therapist, on the international Path of Love process.

 

 

In addition to being a therapist in private practice I continue to develop my interest, skills and capacities in several ways:

 

• By having served on the Australian Association of Holistic and Transpersonal Counselors (AAHTC) Executive;
• By having lectured in both the Transpersonal Counselling and the Art Therapy streams at the Phoenix Institute of Australia (now IKON Institute) including teaching modules on Spiritrual Emergence, Ritual, and Counselling Skills
• By self-exploration and further training as an ongoing student of the Diamond Approach to Inner Work (since 2009) including doing the advanced DiVe steam (a prerequisite to Diamong Teacher training)
• By extensive study of the Enneagram, a way of helping to hack some our deeoper personalitry structures and issues
• By participating in the Learning Love Institute courses with Krish and Amana Trobe 
• By studying Relational Life Therapy (RLT) with Terry Real
• Doing the 1 year intensive 360 Emergence Apprenticeship training with Kate Shela and Amber Ryan
• Through regular yoga, meditation and exercise practices
• By consistently updating my professionals skills and qualifications
• And by providing Supervision to other therapists.

 

…. altogether allowing me to work together with you to help find a richer, more integrated, and happier experience of life.

 

Academic qualifications:

 

• Transpersonal Counsellor (Phoenix Institute of Australia),
• Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) (Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute, USA - the Peter Levine Institute),
• Voice Dialogue Facilitator (Voice Dialogue Australia),
• B.A. Hons (University of Sydney: University Medal in English Literature),
• M. Phil (University of Cambridge, UK: with Distinction)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Data Analysis (Statistical Computing, UNSW),
• Cert IV in Training and Assessment
• Certificate in Attachment Focused Sandplay Therapy & Symbol Work (Australian Counsellors Association)

 

 

Member of:

 

• Somatic Experiencing Trauma Institute (SETI)
• International Institute for Complementart Therapists (IICT)

 

 

Read more about my approach to counselling and psychotherapy here.

 

To make an appointment at Kind Counselling online, in inner Melbourne, or in the Byron Bay area please contact me directly on 0404 093 865 or send an email enquiry.