Almost 30 years ago we started our collaboration, and The Expressive Therapies Institute of Australia was born. Our trading name has been revised to Expressive Therapies Australia. We have been fortunate to have trained thousands of graduates from many parts of the world in the various modalities of our style of Expressive Therapies (ET).
Originally based in Brisbane, we moved to live near Fremantle, Western Australia (to work at the University of Notre Dame Australia), and then relocated to Adelaide (to work for the University of Adelaide). Perhaps the cycle has been completed with our return to Queensland, where we settled on the Sunshine Coast and spent some years with the University of the Sunshine Coast, then relocated to Brisbane, and established our Training and consulting rooms at Redcliffe, Moreton Bay. While continuing our mission to introduce ET as part of tertiary courses in counselling, our own Expressive Therapies Australia programs are now taught by a highly experienced team of trainers, nationally as well as in Singapore.
We have two trainers who teach our courses: Paula Huggins (our Sandplay Therapy and Expressive Therapies trainer for Singapore), and Andrea Snow (our assistant trainer for Sandplay Therapy at Redcliffe). These trainers have extensive qualifications and experience in their fields, as well as extensive ET training, and long-term supervision with us.
With this team of highly experienced trainers, we offer professional Certificate courses and one-day training in addition to professional renewal and supervision workshops. While our current focus is training in Australia and Singapore, we travel to present courses wherever there is interest and a desire by professionals to learn about integrating ET into their support for people in distress.
Helen has established her supervision practice from our Expressive Therapies Training and Consulting Rooms at Redcliffe, offering both in-person and online consultations.
Ph.D., M.Ed.(BEM), Dip T., Cert HB & TP, Dip. ERC.
Mark has been conducting courses in Expressive Therapies (ET) around Australia for over thirty five years, since 1989, in Asia since 2001, and occasionally in New Zealand and for many agencies around Australia.
Mark was originally a primary school teacher and then founded a remedial reading clinic in Sydney. He has worked briefly with handicapped children and conducted individual and group programs for emotionally disturbed youth. For five years Mark held a senior staff position at a training centre in the Blue Mountains, NSW, as lecturer in Emotional Release Counselling for Children, Breathwork Therapy, Dreamwork and Sandplay. He then directed courses at a personal growth and training centre in Toowoomba for eight years. He has completed further studies in Transpersonal Psychotherapy with Dr Stanislav Grof, and holds a Diploma of Teaching (primary), a Masters in Education, majoring in Behaviour Management. His PhD research explored links between Multiple Intelligences Theory and the therapeutic alliance in counselling with adult clients. Mark also completed advanced Sandplay Therapy training with Ruth Ammann, a close colleague of Dora Kalff, the founder of Sandplay.
One of the originators of Expressive Therapies, Mark now works as a psychotherapy and counselling trainer around Australia and Asia through Expressive Therapies Australia. With partner Helen Wilson, he regularly runs programs for various welfare agencies and education departments around Australia. He was a counsellor for over 28 years, working with adults, couples, adolescents and children. He is now an academic member of the Australian Counselling Association, and a part-time lecturer with the Australian College of Applied Professions.
Mark lectured in counselling at the University of Notre Dame, Australia, in Fremantle for five years, then lectured in the Graduate Program in Counselling and Psychotherapy, within the School of Population Health at the University of Adelaide, where he prepared new courses for the university on Counselling Children and on Expressive Therapies. He was a Senior Lecturer in Counselling at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Mark held his first exhibition of fine art abstract photography in September 2010, with a second exhibition in July 2011, and a third solo exhibition in October 2012, sharing his passion for creativity and the way photography has become his mindfulness practice.
Contact Mark Pearson
Mark's academic website:
markpearson.com.au
Mark's art photography website:
waterwayspics.com.au
See a full list of Mark's publications
PhD., M. Couns. B. Bus. (HRM) G. Dip. ERC. Cert SP Cert. HB & TP Cert. ERC.
Helen is co-founder of Expressive Therapies Australia, with Dr Mark Pearson, and the senior trainer in Expressive Therapies and Sandplay Therapy, around Australia and internationally.
She holds a degree in Human Resource Management and a Masters in Counselling through UNE, where she was awarded a faculty medal. Dr Helen also holds a Ph.D., from the University of Notre Dame Australia, where she and Mark tied for the University medal in 2010.
Having completed all three levels of training in Emotional Release Counselling and Transpersonal Studies, Helen achieved the level of Post Graduate Diploma. In addition, she has a Certificate in Emotional Release Counselling with Children and a Certificate in Sandplay Therapy. Helen also completed advanced Sandplay Therapy training with Ruth Ammann, a close colleague of Dora Kalff, the founder of Sandplay. In 1998 Helen completed further studies in Transpersonal Psychology and Holotropic Breathwork with Dr. Stanislav Grof. Helen holds three certificates in clinical counselling supervision, and has maintained a private practice as a clinical supervisor and counsellor for the last 30 years. Her in-person practice is located at Redcliffe/Moreton Bay.
For six years Helen was a Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Counselling at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle. She then worked part-time as a lecturer in the Graduate Program in Counselling and Psychotherapy at the University of Adelaide, then lectured in the Master of Counselling Program at the University of the Sunshine Coast. Currently she devotes most work time to conducting Sandplay Therapy trainings around Australia, providing clinical supervision.
Previous experience includes several years in the field of anti-discrimination and anti-harassment within the tertiary education and public service sectors. Helen has been conducting professional training in expressive therapies for the last 30 years both through Expressive Therapies Australia, and previously at The Portiuncula Centre. Some of her research interests are in the field of perinatal studies, self-compassion as a support for women who have survived breast cancer, as well as a continuing desire to develop activities for creativity in counselling for emotional and mental wellbeing.
M.SocSC(Counselling), Dip.MLD; Cert. Sandplay, Cert. ET with Children
Paula is a Counselling Therapist, trained in Sandplay Therapy and Symbol Work, Non-Violent Communication, Family Constellations, Mindfulness, Expressive Therapies with Children & Adolescents, as well as strengths-based approaches to counselling. She holds a Masters in Social Science (Counselling), in addition to a Diploma in Managing Learning Disorders and Child Psychology. Paula was a co-founder of the Waldorf Steiner Education Association in Singapore in 2003 which inspired her to re-train as a counsellor and seek ways to integrate the head-heart-hands approach to therapy.
From 2009 to 2020, Paula worked as a School Counsellor in International Schools and maintained a small private practice focused on empowering adult and teen clients to heal and grow. In July 2020 she established the Gentle Art of Expressive Therapy, working expressively with children, teens and adults. She delivers workshops for adults focused on personal growth, communication skills and parenting strategies as well as sandplay training and supervision for professionals. Originally from London in the United Kingdom, Paula is a mother of two sons and has lived in Singapore as a Permanent Resident since 2000.
Paula passionately believes that we can change the world: one compassionate connection at a time.
Contact Paula Huggins
Gentle Art Blog:
gentleart.blog
Email:
gentleart2016@gmail.com
Phone: +65 9818 5012
M.Couns., B.Sc (Psychology), Dip. Couns.
Andrea is an assistant trainer of this course and has a private practice – Sage Counselling - based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. An advocate of expressive therapies and all it's modalities, Andrea has been assisting Dr Helen Wilson in training emerging Sandplay therapists for over 5 years. She holds a Masters degree in Counselling, a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, a Diploma in Counselling and has advanced training in Sandplay Therapy and Symbol Work.
Extensive experience at managing and training diverse cultural teams as well as co-ordinating and lecturing in counselling at a University level, means Andrea combines her passion for expressive therapies with her love of teaching. Raised in a military family and relocating often, Andrea understands the impact of change and the importance of connection in relationships. Working with young people, adolescents and adults, Andrea supports individuals from a client-led, and feedback informed relational depth framework.
Contact Andrea Snow
Sage Counselling & Psychotherapy:
sagecounsellingservices.com
Email:
info@sagecounsellingservices.com
Phone: +61 405 345 783
