Katharine Heading , ACA

Katharine Heading is a counsellor and a member of the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) who brings 17 years of experience to her work. She draws on a long career that began in a remote Tasmanian mining town and moved through formal study in clinical psychology and diverse roles supporting people with gambling addiction, anxiety, depression, trauma, grief and loss, palliative care needs and suicide prevention.

Her professional path includes roles at Relationships Australia Tasmania, work within the Department of Psychiatry at the Royal Hobart Hospital addressing issues such as specific phobias and obsessive-compulsive concerns, and facilitating groups with community organisations focused on gambling and betting addictions. Later work in western Victoria included senior management of community health programs spanning generalist counselling, youth services, homelessness, family violence, dual diagnosis and alcohol and other drugs.

In private practice Katharine emphasises tailoring therapy to each person, working from the view that people are experts in their own lives. She supports clients to reach their goals by highlighting strengths and life experience and using positively affirming language. Her approach combines practical techniques to re-regulate nervous system dysregulation, with hypnosis, relaxation and meditative strategies, and she also offers equine supported and nature-based approaches to counselling and psychotherapy.

Hypnotherapy and Nature-Based Techniques Delivered Online

Katharine uses hypnotherapy as a core clinical approach - a gentle, guided method that helps people access deeper relaxation and shift patterns of anxious thinking or unhelpful habits. Hypnotherapy is often used alongside breathing, relaxation and meditative strategies to support nervous system regulation and to address issues such as anxiety, trauma-related reactivity, sleep difficulties and addictive patterns.

She also integrates equine-supported and nature-based approaches into her work when appropriate. These methods draw on interaction with animals and natural settings to promote grounding, emotional awareness and new ways of relating to stress and grief, offering a different pathway for people who respond well to experiential, non-verbal processes.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process and Katharine works collaboratively with clients to identify techniques that fit their needs, goals and preferences. Together they explore which methods best support progress and adjust the plan over time.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging, giving flexibility to fit therapy around work, caregiving or geographic limits. These formats make it easier to maintain continuity of care, schedule sessions more conveniently and access licensed professionals from different locations.