About
You don't always need to see a psychologist for mental health support. There are different kinds of allied health providers that specialise in mental health. As an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker we may be a better option for you!
Nice To Meet You
My name is Linda van Leeuwen
I am the founder of Mending Memories. I LOVE EMDR. There it is. I absolutely LOVE it. I see the transformations in my clients every day. And I have experienced the transformation myself doing EMDR therapy. It is 100% life changing! And the great thing is, it is permanent.
I was born in the Netherlands 42 years ago and I have been living and working in Australia for the past 13 years. I am a mother of 2 small children and 2 cats.
I have a special interest in helping people from the Neurodiverse community, survivors of domestic violence as well as parents experiencing parenting challenges / difficulties with their child(ren). I have lived experience as a child of a mother who experienced domestic violence as well as lived experience of developmental trauma related issues resulting in anxiety & panic. I identify as Neurodiverse as I am a HSP (Highly Sensitive Person as described by Elaine Aron - click here for more information on HSP).
I started working in the social work field in 2006 and have had the opportunity to work with hundreds, if not thousands, of strong and resilient people in the community in the fields of Domestic Violence, Family Intervention & Child Protection and Disability Support.
I have always had a special interest in mental health. Growing up, both my parents experienced mental health challenges and I always felt a strong need to understand them better. This has ultimately led me to EMDR therapy. It changed everything for me, both personally as well as professionally! I strongly believe everyone deserves to feel confident, happy and at peace. Free from worries, free from pain and this is what Mending Memories is about!
Do you want to feel free & at peace too? Keep reading as I know that we can help!
Why Choose Mending Memories
We highly value to have a strong relationships with everyone and we achieve this by being genuine, non-judgmental, respectful, humble and kind. We work from a partnership model and you can trust that we are not going to tell you how to live your life, or how you "should be" thinking about things. We ensure that you have the right to choose your own path, we are merely there to help you explore your options. Some options you may have not seen, or been open to, before. We respect that you are an expert of your own life, and together with some of our expertise, we can be a team and reach goals that you haven't been able to reach before.
Therapy toolsIn sessions your therapist provides a range of support options that are usually a mixture of different therapy movements but our passion lies with EMDR therapy often complemented with parts work (to address structural dissociation). Read more about parts work here.
Your therapist can include general counselling, solution focused counseling, motivational interviewing, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment therapy, parts work, Narrative Therapy and relaxation strategies in our sessions but our main focus is EMDR therapy. Our clinicians have completed full training with the EMDR Institute in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy and we provide EMDR to adults with all types of issues and all levels of complexity.
We have specialist knowledge in the areas of domestic violence and parenting issues.
Domestic ViolenceOur clinicians have succesfully worked with many people experiencing domestic violence as well as with perpetrators. We helped survivors see their own strengths which led to them feeling stronger and they have grown more confident. These people became better at making decisions about what they wanted for themselves and their children. They now have an increased sense of control and improved wellbeing and mental health. This did not necessarily mean they felt they had to leave the relationship! Some found better ways to stay safe or found different ways to have their needs met.
We can work with both survivors or alleged perpetrators, but not at the same time. Our work with you is HIGHLY confidential and we will not share anything you discuss with the other person.
Parenting challengesFor many years we supported parents in their journey to make changes to their lives in the best interest of their children. Linda particularly enjoys anything that is involved around parenting, childrens behaviours and trauma and attachment issues. Linda is trained in the Circle of Security Parenting Program and has run many groups over the years. She is also trained in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy complemented with many years of experience working in family intervention services prior to starting her work in private practice.
Parenting challengesFor many years we supported parents in their journey to make changes to their lives in the best interest of their children. Linda particularly enjoys anything that is involved around parenting, childrens behaviours and trauma and attachment issues. Linda is trained in the Circle of Security Parenting Program and has run many groups over the years. She is also trained in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy complemented with many years of experience working in family intervention services prior to starting her work in private practice.
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