About Me and How I Work

Everyone has a different background

I began my career in early childhood education, where I became interested in alternative methods focused on creative expression and nature connection. I followed this interest to different parts of the world, including Arnhem Land, Italy and Mexico, learning with many different people and communities. These experiences taught me a lot about the kind of guidence that helps people grow and develop. Most importantly, I learned that any attempt to be of genuine help to people individually, begins with deep listening for the uniqueness of their subjectivity. This insight motivated me to train first as an art therapist, then as a clinical counsellor and psychotherapist.

The aims of therapy go beyond symptom-reduction

Alleviating the symptoms of distress is an important part of any therapy process, but there is much more to psychological and emotional health than this. In my experience, people find therapy most helpful when it goes beyond symptom-reduction, to address deeper, more personal aspects of life. For example, the ability to form and nurture fulfilling relationships; the need to grieve and mourn; to find meaning and purpose; the ability to play and rest; to work; to make conscious choices; to experience and express a range of emotions; to be alone. Each - and sometimes all - of these aspects of life can become the subject of change sought and experienced in therapy.

So much is below the surface and back in time

At the heart of therapy is the relationship between inner and outer experience. Put simply, our inner experience affects how we think, feel, and relate to others - and in turn - our lived experiences influence the contents and composition of our inner lives. This inner-outer dynamic begins to develop early in childhood, when we are without the faculties of awareness and language that develop later on. So, returning to this time in therapy, with its associated feelings, is often an important part of understanding what is happening both on and beneath the surface.

The primary way that I work is called Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

This is a flexible approach which places emphasis on the relationship between therapist and patient. I also integrate theory and techniques from several related fields of practice, including Existential Psychotherapy, Emotion-Focused Therapy, Somatic Experiencing and comtemporary psychoanalysis.

Availability of appointments

To enquire about the availability of appointments, please contact me︎︎︎. I try to respond to all enquiries within 2-3 days.

Make an Enquiry︎︎︎

Private Health Rebates

Private Health rebates are available through BUPA, St Luke's Health, Police Health, GMHBA, Westfund, Emergency Services Health, Phoenix Health, see - u by HBF, AIA Health, Mildura Health, Teachers Union Health, Teachers Health, Nurses & Midwives Health, Unihealth.

Daniel Silver

Counselling & Psychotherapy