Counselling and Psychotherapy Merricks – Irene Rose Counselling and Psychotherapy

At Irene Rose Counselling and Psychotherapy, we provide committed counselling and psychotherapy in Merricks to facilitate personal healing, growth, and emotional understanding. This serene area of the Mornington Peninsula provides individuals with room to breathe, think, and reconnect with others and themselves.

Merricks is famous for its serene beach vistas, rolling vineyards, and fertile natural landscape. However quiet it seems on the surface, most residents still live with the pressures of everyday life, relationship issues, internalised conflicts, or past emotional scars. In an environment such as Merricks, counselling and psychotherapy can provide an exceptional chance to process those issues gently and allow for emotional well-being.

 The Role of Therapy in a Rural Coastal Setting

Living in a semi-rural or coastal place like Merricks can bring both peace and isolation. While nature offers relief, people may still carry stress, unresolved grief, or trauma in their bodies and minds. These feelings don’t simply disappear in a beautiful setting. In fact, the quiet may amplify them.

Our approach is to meet each person exactly where they are. Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, past trauma, burnout, or feeling stuck in a major life transition, the counselling space offers deep support. We listen with care, offer evidence based practices, and create a safe container for reflection and emotional release.

A Therapy Style That Puts You First

We don’t use a one-size-fits-all method. Instead, we tailor therapy using a blend of different therapeutic modalities based on your needs. Some people need help calming their nervous system. Others need to express feelings creatively or reconnect with their inner child. Some need tools to re-frame old patterns or break free from looping thoughts.

With soul centred psychotherapy, we guide people to examine not only their emotional problems but also deeper meanings and purposes of life. This approach invites you to explore your inner world tenderly using images, metaphor, and symbol.

Therapies That Support Body and Mind

For people who carry stress physically, we may begin with progressive muscle relaxation. This easy yet effective technique assists in the release of tension accumulated in the body and alerts the nervous system to wind down.

 

We also provide Tapping (TFT, EFT), a technique that soothes emotional distress by gentle tapping on acupressure points. It's particularly helpful for anxiety, phobias, and managing emotions.

 

Focusing assists clients in softly tuning into body sensations to reach below conscious feelings that perhaps do not yet have words. This technique can clarify muddled emotions or inner conflict.

 

Bi-lateral stimulation processing (EMDR) is employed to assist clients in reprocessing traumatic memories in a safe manner. It can de-intensify past experiences that still impact day-to-day life.

 

For those who are feeling stuck in thought processes or require greater access to the unconscious, Hypnotherapy offers a gentle means of accessing inner knowing and rewiring beliefs.

 

Using Creative and Experiential Tools

For those who struggle to find words or prefer creative expression, we use “sand play therapy” and “art and expressive therapy”. These techniques allow for storytelling and healing through images, shapes, and movement.

Symbol work helps clients make sense of personal archetypes and inner dynamics. It often brings up surprising insights and fosters healing from the inside out.

We also use soul collage, a creative process that lets you explore different parts of yourself using images, textures, and personal reflection. This approach is gentle and deeply affirming.

In many cases, clients find healing through working with parts, where they explore different aspects of the self, such as the inner critic, the wounded child, or the wise inner guide. By listening to each “part,” clients can reduce inner conflict and restore balance.

Sometimes, words unspoken weigh the most. Empty chair work or letter writing can help clients express what they never got to say to a loved one, a former partner, or even a younger version of themselves.

Deepening Meaning through Ritual and Reflection

Life transitions often ask for more than just problem solving. They call for meaning therapeutic ritual can mark those moments, loss, letting go, change, or new beginnings. These simple, symbolic acts can be surprisingly powerful in bringing peace.

For spiritual alignment, chakra healing works to clear emotional blocks through energy focused practices. This modality is gentle, calming, and often paired with other talk therapies.

We also explore dream work, a way to bring unconscious material into the light. Dreams often speak in symbols, and we work together to understand what your inner world may be communicating.

Myth, metaphor, and story are powerful tools that allow clients to connect their personal journey with larger human themes. This helps bring a sense of coherence and belonging, even in pain.

Mindfulness ties many of these approaches together. Whether it’s pausing between breaths or learning to stay with emotion without running from it, mindfulness teaches you to return to the present moment.

The Heart of What We Do

Every session is grounded in presence, kindness, and real care. We don’t just want to “fix problems.” We want to help you reconnect with your inner strength, trust your process, and move forward with clarity and self-respect.

The people who come to us are often going through something big, a relationship crisis, loss of a loved one, burnout, emotional confusion, or past trauma that won’t stay buried. We walk beside you through those moments.

You don’t have to have all the answers before coming in. You don’t need to be “broken enough” to deserve help. If something doesn’t feel right, or you simply want to grow emotionally or spiritually, counselling is a good place to start.

Why Counselling and Psychotherapy Matter in Merricks?

Merricks is a place where people often turn inward. The environment invites reflection. But reflection without support can become rumination. That’s where therapy helps. It gives form to your thoughts and structure to your healing.

People here are often close to nature but far from large services. We aim to fill that gap with quality, heart-led therapy that understands both rural rhythms and inner storms.

Therapy is not just about talking. It’s about being seen, held, and encouraged to grow. It’s about bringing light to the darker parts, with compassion and care.

Contact Us

Counselling and psychotherapy can support you through trauma, abuse, grief, addictions or sleep difficulties. We also help with anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, stress, anger, low self-esteem, and life transitions. Whether you’re facing difficult decisions or moving through new life stages, we offer the tools and support you need to move forward.

For enquiries, contact Irene Rose Counselling and Psychotherapy
mail@irenerose.com.au or call us on +61 3 5910 4800.

 

CONTACT ME