Counselling Services
Individual Counselling with Liz O’Neill
All sessions at Among Puffins are one-on-one and held online, making support accessible wherever you are in Australia.
1. Free 15-minute inquiry call
A relaxed, no-pressure chat to ask questions and get a feel for whether this service feels like a good fit for you.
2. Getting started: your first session
First sessions are about getting to know each other, unpacking more deeply into what's brought you here, a bit about your background, and what you're hoping to get from counselling.
3. Ongoing sessions
50 or 75 minute sessions available. Weekly, fortnightly or whatever rhythm works for you. Short-term or longer-term support available.
4. Referrals & resources
If at any point you need something outside my scope, I'm happy to help connect you with other services or practitioners who can support you.
What To Expect
Are you navigating any of the following?
Common experiences Among Puffins Counselling can support you with:
✓ Anxiety & stress
✓ Low mood
✓ Burnout
✓ Avoidance
✓ Anger
✓ Overwhelm
✓ Grief & loss
✓ Anticipatory grief
✓ Suicide Loss
✓ Losses others don't recognise
✓ Difficult family patterns
✓ Self Harm
✓ Shame & guilt
✓ People-pleasing
✓ Loneliness
✓ Difficulty with boundaries
✓ Self-worth & confidence
✓ Feeling disconnected
✓ Neurodivergence (diagnosed or self-identified)
✓ Masking & exhaustion
✓ Living with Chronic illness
✓ Navigating a new diagnosis
✓ Feeling dismissed by systems
✓ Identity exploration
✓ LGBTQIA+ experiences
✓ Gender diversity
✓ Consensual non-monogamy
✓ Relationship difficulties
✓ Life transitions
✓ Meaning & purpose
Specialised Areas
Counselling Approaches
I utilise evidence-based talk therapies which can include gentle somatic work. Relational safety, cultural responsiveness, and neurodivergent-affirming care are centred in their application.
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![Cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, green grassy top, rocky faces, and some birds flying around. Among Puffins Counselling. Emotion Focused Therapy. Counselling for life's invisible challenges]()
Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)
EFT supports you in recognising, understanding, and safely expressing your emotions—especially those that may have been suppressed or misunderstood in the past.
Potential Outcomes
Better understanding of what you’re feeling and why
Feeling less anxious, low, or emotionally shut down — more alive and connected.
Handling tough emotions with more ease and bouncing back more quickly.
Building healthier relationships and feeling safer to be yourself.
Reacting less intensely, avoiding less, and staying more present in challenging moments.
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![Rocks and crashing waves at a rocky shoreline. Among Puffins Counselling]()
Narrative Therapy
Many of us carry stories shaped by trauma, shame, or other people’s expectations. In narrative therapy, we gently explore these narratives and begin to reauthor them—centering your voice, your values, and your truth. Like puffins navigating unseen currents, this work helps you reclaim the deeper meaning and strength in your journey.
Potential Outcomes
Feeling kinder towards self
More confident in your choices
Letting go of harsh self-judgement
Letting go of blame towards yourself
Making sense of painful experiences
Stronger sense of who you are and what truly matters to you
Feeling more grounded and in control during big life changes or in relationships
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![A group of six Atlantic puffins standing on grass and dirt, with a blurred natural background. Among Puffins Counselling]()
Parts Work (drawn from Internal Family Systems Therapy)
We all contain many parts—some loud, some hidden, some protective, some in pain. Parts work creates space to understand and care for these different inner voices without judgment. It's a way of exploring your internal world with curiosity and compassion, helping you feel more whole and integrated, rather than fragmented or overwhelmed.
Potential Outcomes
Feeling more in control of your emotions
Quieting the inner battles & being less hard on yourself
Greater self-understanding and compassion
Feeling more present, connected, and grounded in your day-to-day life.
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![A puffin walking on soil and holding a small fish in its beak, with coastal rocks and green vegetation in the background. Among Puffins Counselling]()
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT invites you to make room for difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them. It helps you connect with what truly matters to you, and take meaningful steps—however small—toward a life that aligns with your values. Like the puffin adapting to shifting tides, ACT supports you in moving forward with purpose, even in uncertain waters.
Potential Outcomes
Feeling less overwhelmed, less down, and more at ease in daily life.
Being able to face hard feelings or situations without shutting down or running from them
Stronger connection to personal values and life direction
Finding better ways to manage the challenges of chronic health issues, past trauma, or neurodivergence — with more self-understanding and support
Feeling more motivated, fulfilled, and connected to a sense of meaning in life.
Get in touch
If you think Liz might be the counsellor you’ve been looking for, reach out via the contact form.
Let us know:
What you're looking for support with
Your availability (Days/times that work for you. Liz generally works Tuesdays & Thursdays including evenings. If you’re a new client, Liz is happy to arrange an inquiry call at a time that works for you outside of these hours).
Any questions about counselling, pricing, availability and scope of practice. Check out my FAQ Page incase your query has already been answered!
Enquiries are answered within 24-48 hours.
CURRENTLY ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS!
No waitlist. No referral required. Concession rates available.
Get in touch today to discuss
Liz is an experienced online counsellor and therapist providing trauma-informed, anti-oppressive support for women and LGBTQIA+ adults in Melbourne, Victoria, and across Australia. She specialises in working with people who have felt marginalised, misunderstood, or let down by traditional medical and mental health systems.
Liz offers counselling for a wide range of emotional and psychological challenges, including depression, anxiety, stress and burnout, grief and bereavement (including suicide loss, disenfranchised grief, and illness-related grief), childhood and developmental trauma, chronic illness, neurodivergence (including ADHD and autism), identity exploration, relationship challenges, and life transitions.
As an anti-oppressive and non-pathologising counsellor, Liz believes your emotional responses make sense in the context of your lived experience. She draws on Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), Narrative Therapy, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) to help clients understand their emotions, explore protective patterns, and build a more compassionate, steady relationship with themselves. Liz provides a safe, affirming space for clients to process grief, trauma, and difficult emotions without feeling judged or pathologised.
Liz offers LGBTQIA+ affirming therapy, neurodivergent-affirming counselling, and trauma-informed support in an online setting. Appointments are available Tuesdays and Thursdays including evenings via Telehealth, allowing clients in Melbourne, Victoria, and across Australia to access therapy from home.
Her approach helps clients build resilience, develop self-awareness, manage stress and emotional challenges, strengthen relationships, and move toward healing and personal growth. For anyone seeking online counselling in Melbourne or Australia that is compassionate, relational, and grounded in respect for lived experience, Liz provides professional, tailored therapy that meets each person where they are.