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Our Counsellors

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Tom Jose 

Mental Health Counsellor

A mental health professional with experience providing counselling and support to individuals from diverse backgrounds. He is passionate about helping clients navigate personal, emotional and social challenges while promoting wellbeing, resilience and personal growth. Tom provides a safe, confidential and culturally sensitive space for clients to explore their concerns, develop coping strategies, and achieve positive outcomes. He is committed to empowering clients to build confidence, improve wellbeing and reach their personal and professional goals.

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Lilia Reis

Mental Health Counsellor

Lilia is a compassionate counsellor with a strong background in psychology and community services, having worked in the sector for over nine years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, a Post Graduate qualification in Community Safety and has recently completed a Postgraduate qualification in Counselling, reflecting her deep commitment to supporting others through therapeutic practice. Her early career in Melbourne gave her valuable experience in diverse and complex settings, including Domestic Violence, Child Protection, Alcohol and Other Drugs, CALD support and Corrections. This foundation shaped her holistic and trauma-informed approach to client care. Driven to further her understanding of Aboriginal cultures and strengthen her work with remote and regional communities, Lilia relocated to the Northern Territory. Lilia brings warmth, insight, and professionalism to her counselling practice. She draws on a range of evidence-based approaches tailored to individual needs, including person-centered therapy, trauma-informed care, and strengths-based strategies. Her work is grounded in empathy, cultural sensitivity, and a belief in the importance of safe, trusting therapeutic relationships. Outside of her counselling work, Lilia enjoys travelling, cooking and spending time with her puppy—prioritizing balance and self-care in both her personal and professional life.

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Kate Scobell

Mental Health Counsellor

Kate is a qualified social worker with over a decade of experience supporting individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds through healing, adjustment, and personal growth. She has worked in community corrections, AOD rehabilitation, and trauma-informed counselling, with a strong focus on Aboriginal and CALD clients. Kate’s approach is compassionate, respectful, and culturally responsive. She draws on evidence-based methods such as CBT, motivational interviewing, and somatic practices. Kate supports clients experiencing grief, trauma, emotional distress, and behaviour change, and believes in walking alongside people as they rebuild confidence, connection, and wellbeing.

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Hellen Webster

Mental Health Counsellor

Hellen Webster is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker and Psychotherapist in Alice Springs. She provides culturally responsive, inclusive and trauma-informed support that respects each person’s identity, language, values, family, community and connections. Drawing on Choice Theory, Reality Therapy and Lead Management, Hellen supports people through relationships, transitions and personal challenges. She also has vast experience delivering coaching, counselling, mentoring, professional development and capacity-building supports. Including supporting people with workplace concerns, employment preparation, workplace transitions and maintaining meaningful work. Her compassionate, strengths-based approach promotes cultural humility, shared decision-making, emotional safety, resilience and meaningful growth, while recognising people as experts in their lives, experiences and hopes for the future.

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Maria Madona Alphonse

Mental Health Counsellor

Maria is a warm and engaging psychologist with clinical expertise across the life span from children to geriatric populations. She is a Board Approved Psychology Supervisor. She is skilled in assessments, treatments and group work. She has expertise working with multicultural clients, international students and migrant adjustment. Main areas of her work include anxiety, depression, OCD, personality issues, family counselling, domestic violence, neurodivergence, adjustment, pain management, grief, career, academics and trauma. Main therapeutic modalities include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Solution focused brief therapy, Emotion focused therapy, Mindfulness, Trauma informed approach, Cognitive Analytical Therapy and Transactional Therapy.

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Smruthy Nair

Counselling Supervisor - Supporting Practitioner Development

Smruthy is a psychologist with a passion for simplifying the idea of mental health. She has extensive experience working with children, adolescents and adults, in India and Australia. She has worked with young people and adults identifying with diverse cultures, abilities, bodies, and sexualities, and she has a particular interest in working with people in cross-cultural contexts, and working through complex and cultural trauma. Smruthy provides supervision to provisional and registered psychologists, and mental health professionals working in public and private services across health, education, and community services. Supervision is tailored to upskill practitioners in the areas of trauma treatment and culturally affirming and inclusive practice. Supervision hours can be counted towards requirements for the 4+2 or 5+1 internship programs for provisional psychologists. A therapist since 2011, in addition to clinical practice Smruthy has experience working in inclusion and advocacy in education, youth mental health, multiculturalism, family violence and complex trauma. Committed to intersectionality and collaboration, Smruthy’s work relies on using an anti-oppression and systems focused lens, and she brings this perspective to the areas of community upliftment, policy analysis and practice development.

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Mathews David

Counselling Supervisor - Supporting Practitioner Development

Mathews is a skilled and experienced Registered Migration Agent (RMA) and an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker. Mathews brings 12 years of professional experience in working in Social services and worked with International organisations such as International Trade Union Confederation, the world's largest trade union federation as a coordinator for Migrant outreach Project. He also held senior positions in Therapeutic services under Department of Territory Families and Department of Health, Northern Territory Government.

Contact Us

Darwin, NT
79–81 Cavenagh Street,
Darwin City, NT 0800
Brisbane, QLD
3/141 Melbourne St,
South Brisbane, QLD 4101
Perth, WA
AMP Tower,
Perth, WA 6000

Contact us

Email: info@ignitepotential.org.au

Tel:  0414-010-730/ 0452-603-446

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Ignite Potential acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land that we are on, the Larrakia people. We acknowledge their sacred, long-standing and continuing relationship to country, sea and community. We express our respect to their Elders past, present and emerging and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across Australia.

© 2024 by IGNITE POTENTIAL

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