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Counselling & Psychological Support
About
Counselling & Psychological Support
Service
Mental Health Support That Sees the Whole You
Everyone deserves to feel heard, understood, and supported—especially when life feels heavy.
We offer compassionate, collaborative care for people navigating mental health concerns, identity, relationships, and everyday challenges. Our team includes trusted, qualified mental health professionals who bring a deep understanding of the unique experiences within trans and gender-diverse communities.
Whether you're struggling with anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, or just need someone to talk to - we’re here.
A Team You Can Trust
Our mental health team includes:
- Psychologists
- Mental health social workers
- Mental health nurses
- Speech pathologists (supporting communication, identity, and voice)
Together, we provide trauma-informed, gender-affirming care grounded in empathy, respect, and real-world experience.
What We Support
We offer evidence-based care for a wide range of mental health concerns, including:
- Depression and low mood
- Anxiety and stress
- Eating and body image issues
- Post-traumatic stress and trauma-related challenges
- Grief and loss
- Navigating big life transitions
We also support people experiencing:
- Discrimination at work, school, or in healthcare settings
- Bullying and harassment
- Strained family or friendship dynamics
- Gender identity exploration and affirmation
No matter what you’re facing, you don’t have to go through it alone.
Care That Works With You
We believe in collaborative care. That means we work not just with you, but also with other trusted providers and support networks in your life—if and when it feels right for you.
Whether it’s your GP, a community support worker, or a family member you trust, we’re here to make sure your care feels connected, not fragmented.
We take the time to understand your goals, your strengths, and your story. From there, we build a plan together—at your pace, and on your terms.
Safe. Respectful. Affirming.
Your identity is never questioned here.
Your voice is central to your care.
And your safety emotional, psychological, and physical is our priority.
We understand the added layers that discrimination, marginalisation, and identity-based stress can bring to mental health. Our clinicians are trained and experienced in working with people from LGBTQIA+, trans, gender-diverse, neurodivergent, and culturally diverse communities.
Clinical Supervision, Education & Consultancy
Dr Stuart Aitken (he/him), Sexual Health Physician, and Olivia Donaghy (she/her), Psychologist and Psychology Board-Approved Supervisor, provide expert education, training, and consultancy in gender affirming care across health, mental health, education and community sectors. With decades of combined experience working alongside trans children, young people, adults, and their families, they offer tailored, evidence-informed support to clinicians, services, and systems committed to inclusive and equitable care.
Topics can be tailored to your organisation’s goals and audience, for example:
Masterclass in Gender Affirming Prescribing and Monitoring Health Outcomes
Optimising Health and Education Outcomes for Trans Youth in Schools
Transitioning the Family: Supporting Families of a Trans Child
Non-pathologising mental health assessment and formulation with LGBTIQAP+ populations
Risk and protective factors: LGBTIQAP+ youth
Together, Stuart and Olivia bring a unique, interdisciplinary approach that blends medical and psychological expertise, practical clinical insight, and a deep commitment to human rights and trans health equity. They offer:Workforce training and professional developmentClinical supervision Strategic service consultancyWorkshop and seminar deliveryResource and protocol development
Geek Out
Insights from GHA practitioners, GHA clients
and peer reviewed research
faq
Frequently Asked Questions
You can refer yourself. Contact us directly to schedule a navigation appointment. We can recommend the referral type that is best to reduce your out of pocket costs in future appointments so you can claim medicare rebates for some of our services. Private health insurance may offer rebates with or without a referral, it's best to check with your provider.
Your first visit is a chance for us to get to know you and your goals. Clients tell us that navigating trans healthcare can be challenging and we are here to help you create your personalised care plan so will start with questions to get to know you, your health history, goals and letting you know what we offer.
Absolutely. We provide affirming care for people of all gender identities and expressions, including non-binary, gender fluid, agender, and gender nonconforming individuals.
No, like any medicine or healthcare intervention there is a process of assessment, discussion of options, risks and benefits which is important for you to make informed decisions about your health. At GHA we tailor information to your developmental age and brain wiring (neuro affirming) and because everyone’s journey is unique we will work with you to determine the best path forward. We call this individualised care
At GHA we have brought together mental health and medical specialists to work as a team so you don’t need to ‘get a letter’ from a psych to access a medical specialist. This communication between the team is managed in a multidisciplinary care review meeting every week. We can talk more about how multi disciplinary teams work at your navigation appointment.
Yes and no, most of our services attract some amount of medicare rebate if you have been referred. When you have your care pathway mapped out you can check with your health insurer whether they can provide a rebate instead.
We recommend gathering any relevant health professional letters, and if applicable, mental health reports or diagnostic reports or documentation that you think are helpful in forming a complete picture of your health and wellbeing. We will also ask for the names and contact details of other health professionals you see for us to contact if you give us your consent.
