Grad Dip in Psych, M Couns, B Social Work (Hons)
AMHSW
Catalina migrated from South Korea to study a Bachelor of Social Work in 2003 and has lived here ever since. She started working as a Social Worker in 2007 in Parkes NSW before moving to Brisbane in 2008. As a Social Worker, Catalina regularly provided counselling services to clients. After several years, she found that she enjoyed assisting clients in this way, which led to her completing a Master of Counselling degree.
Catalina has extensive experience in counselling. Her experience includes but is not limited to: NDIS; veterans; migrants; disability; domestic violence; and seniors; and she has undertaken advanced training in Grief and Loss.
Philosophy of Counselling
Catalina says:
I believe the function of counselling is to assist the client on a journey of self-exploration, to increase his/her level of self-understanding and self-awareness. I as counsellor act as the guide or facilitator of this journey.
I do not act as the self-appointed expert on the client’s life who dispenses advice to the client on what he/she should be thinking, feeling, and doing, or provides answers/solutions to client questions/problems regarding themselves and their lives.
In my experience, clients are much more inclined to own and undertake an answer/solution if it is of their own creation. I believe the client is in possession of the answers to his/her questions on some level of consciousness based on his/her experience in life; it is my job to help the client find those answers, and to help them identify, develop, and mobilize their own resources to successfully solve problems and meet challenges”.
Therapeutic Approach
Catalina’s favoured therapeutic approaches are post-modern therapies such as Narrative Theory.
She believes in healing that takes into consideration the whole person – physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual – and that counselling is a pathway for growth and healing. It is an opportunity for the client to explore his or her own thoughts and feelings in a safe environment.
By building a healthy therapeutic relationship, as a therapist Catalina is best able to guide the client in discovering more about themselves and their patterns of behaviour. This also provides a setting that helps the client to establish new, healthy patterns of behaviour.
To make an appointment try Online Booking. Alternatively, you can call Vision Psychology Brisbane on (07) 3088 5422.
Articles of Interest by Catalina Nam:
- Elderly Discrimination in the Workplace
- Intercultural Therapy
- The Impact of Culture, Birth Order and Gender Roles
- Prejudice between ATSI and non-ATSI Australians
- PTSD (Part 1) What is Trauma?
- PTSD (Part 2) Trauma the Brain Remembers
- The Development of a Child
- Imaginary Friends
- What assumptions underpin the Western Psychology