Linda Elsey Biography

Clinical Counsellor – 13 years in mental health services

Positions Held: Project Manager/IT Manager/Trainer/Facilitator/Counsellor

Background:

Linda was the baby of the family with three older siblings. She grew up in Mullumbimby, NSW, until she was six, when her family relocated to the western suburbs of Sydney. Her two eldest siblings had left home when she was a baby, so it was just her brother and her together throughout childhood. Linda completed her HSC, then completed a diploma in computer operations, which led her into a career in Information Technology (IT), where she spent twenty-five years. During that time, she gained a diploma in business management and project management as well as many IT courses. It was a very steep learning curve keeping up with the constantly changing technology platforms.

Employment Experience:

Linda spent twenty-five years working and contracting for many private and government organisations in her capacity as an IT professional. Working long hours and travelling interstate and overseas for work called for a change. Linda wanted to obtain a long-term goal of working for herself in her own home environment. It was a big decision for her to leave a career at the top of her game and start over.

Linda spent the next year studying to obtain the qualifications necessary to change career paths into counselling: she had a passion to help others heal from adversity, and throughout her career, she encountered many. Once qualified, Linda went through the difficult journey of setting up her own private practice: it was a tough time starting a business and building a client base. After a few years, the business began to gain momentum, and today she has a thriving practice.

Linda’s counselling career started in 2009. She has achieved considerable experience, knowledge, and qualifications, but she never stops learning / training to benefit her clients.

Linda spent four years with the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors (AIPC) assessing student counsellors for their practical assessments for their Diploma in Professional Counselling. She contracts for an organisation that provides home-visit counselling to the elderly as part of in-home care packages. She is also registered with a number of Private Health Funds that offer rebates for counselling. Linda is currently contracted to provide Employee Assistance Program Counselling (EAP) for eight different EAP organisations. She is registered as a Department of Justice Victims of Crime counsellor and is a registered counsellor with Work Cover N.S.W. (icare) as an accredited provider of counselling services to injured workers.

Linda is an Australian Counselling Association (ACA) Clinical Counsellor, a Clinical-Level 4 member. She is a member of the ACA College of Clinical Counsellors. As a trained and Registered Counselling Supervisor with the ACA College of Supervisors, she provides clinical supervision services to professional counsellors from a range of backgrounds and, through EAP work, to groups ranging from six to fifteen people.

Linda is a skilled facilitator with five years of experience, contracted by Corrective Services NSW as a program facilitator, running 10-week programs with offenders in the community. She has been trained in and runs the following programs: Foundations, Domestic and Family Violence, Addictions and Aggression.

Linda served for 7 years on the board of the Professional Counselling Association of ACT-NSW, where she also served as Website Manager. In addition, she was the Convener of ACA’s Gosford Branch for seven years, providing free group supervision to practitioners at Gosford and at the Newcastle branch meetings.

Importantly, Linda has hundreds of hours of face-to-face/phone and video work with clients using EMIT/EMDR as a means of assisting them to achieve their counselling goals, especially in the areas of trauma, anxiety, depression and addictions.

Trauma Specific Training/Experience:

  • Level 4 EMIT/EMDR Practitioner and Trainer

Qualifications:

  • Master in Counselling – Monash University
  • Graduate Diploma of Counselling – Addictions / Family Therapy / Loss & Grief
  • Diploma of Counselling
  • Diploma Clinical Hypnotherapy
  • Clinical Supervision Training – Phillip Armstrong
  • Cert IV in Training and Assessment

Advanced Study Majors:

  • Abuse Counselling
  • Career Counselling
  • Loss & Grief Counselling
  • Child Development & Effective Parenting
  • Relationship & Conflict Resolution
  • Workplace Counselling
  • Applied Suicide Intervention Skills
  • EFT Emotional Freedom Technique
  • Reiki Master

Membership & Registrations: 

  • ARCAP (Australian Register of Counsellors & Psychotherapists)
  • QMACA (Australian Counselling Association)
  • ACA College of Supervisors
  • ACA College of Clinical Counsellors
  • GMAIPC (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors)
  • Registered Mental Health Practitioner

Areas of Counselling Specialties:

Trauma, Crisis, Critical Incident Stress, Relationship Issues, Clinical Supervision, Stress Management, Mediation and Conflict Resolution, Loss and Grief, Group Work and Training, Behavioural Difficulties, Addictions, Anxiety, Spiritual and Personal Issues, Couples Counselling, Workplace Counselling, Abuse, Children/Teenagers/Adults/Elderly as well as the LGBTIQ community.

Other team member profiles:
Cath Edwards
Grahame Smith
Glen Hughes
Ken Schmidt