Juliette Kirkwood, PACFA

With 20 years of clinical experience, Juliette Kirkwood supports adults and adolescents through a broad range of mental health and life challenges, including stress, anxiety, relationship difficulties, trauma and abuse, career concerns and significant life changes. She has particular experience working with psychiatric disorders, women’s mental health, postnatal depression, substance misuse and complex trauma rooted in childhood abuse. Juliette’s practice is grounded in the belief that healing engages both mind and body, and she prioritises compassionate, steady therapeutic relationships that foster lasting change.

Alongside conventional counselling methods, Juliette draws on extensive training and practice in Dance Movement Therapy, using the body as a pathway for people who find it difficult to access or put their experiences into words. She has developed and delivered DMT programs in community organisations and women’s health retreats, and has provided care in both inpatient and outpatient psychiatric hospital settings. Her background also includes five years as a school counsellor and five years lecturing in Dance Movement Therapy at Excelsia University College (formerly Wesley Institute) and the IKON Institute of Australia, experiences that inform a reflective, research-aware approach to practice.

In private practice she commonly works with people who have histories of complex trauma, applying trauma-informed principles with an emphasis on nervous system regulation and embodied awareness. She works collaboratively at a pace that feels respectful and empowering. Juliette holds the PACFA credential and provides therapy in English and Arabic within Australia.

Embodied and trauma-informed approaches delivered online

Juliette integrates Dance Movement Therapy into her work, using movement and bodily awareness as tools to help people access emotions and sensations that can be hard to name. This approach can be helpful for those who find verbal expression limiting or who carry trauma in the body.

She also draws on trauma-informed care that emphasises nervous system regulation and embodied awareness, focusing on pacing, safety and practical strategies to manage overwhelm. This approach supports people working through complex trauma, anxiety and stress-related concerns.

Finding the right therapeutic approach is part of the collaborative process. Juliette works with each person to identify which methods best suit their needs, goals and preferences, and adapts the work as therapy progresses in partnership with the client.

Online therapy options include video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging, offering flexibility for people balancing work, family or mobility needs. These formats make it easier to maintain continuity of care across life changes and to access appropriately qualified or registered professionals from different locations, while preserving the collaborative and embodied focus of Juliette’s practice.