Since 1994 I have been working in the areas of,

  • Youth Work (housing, therapeutic group work, counselling, case management)

  • Housing (community outreach, case management, supported accomodation)

  • Loss and Grief Counselling (loss of a child, stillbirth, traumatic loss and the loss of a pet)

  • Prisoner Advocacy and post-release community work

  • Counselling within Aboriginal Community controlled substance misuse and housing programs

  • Non-Clinical Community Mental Health (Team Leader, Therapeutic Group Design and Facilitation, community outreach)

  • Design, Facilitation and Supervision of Collective Narrative Therapy programs, student placements and community projects

  • Professional Supervision

  • Postgraduate and Undergraduate Student Supervision

Since 2012 I have been working independently in ways that recognise how systemic oppression and privilege intersect in peoples lives.

I am interested in assisting people to identify what they value, recognising their lived experience in dealing with problems and building upon this knowledge. Problems can dominate our lives, but I am curious how folks manage to hold onto what is precious.

My approach to counselling aims to honour your journey and the courage it takes to do this work. I love working with folks who want to step away from the pressures of ‘normativity’ to embrace their own unique and diverse ways of loving and thinking. I work in ways that open space to explore your relationship with gender, sexuality and relationships.

I work within a social work framework and utilise a range of counselling approaches that are trauma informed, lived experience centred and locate problems through an Anti-Oppressive lens. I utilise Narrative Therapy and Parts Work to facilitate connection and consultation within peoples internal and external systems.

I recognise that we are all influenced by multiple ideas and practices and these have real effects in our lives, but I hope that our conversations create a safer place to stand, catch your breath and re-negotiate your relationship with these discourses.

My family migrated from Scotland and Wales and I was born in Wangal and Wategoro Country (Sydney). I have lived in Kaurna Country (Adelaide) for most of our life. I am now working in Collingwood on unceded Wurundjeri Country and I hope through our work we can acknowledge the history and contributions of the Elders, Community Members and Ancestors of this place. My family has benefitted from the dispossession and ongoing oppression of First Nations people. In my own small way, I hope to join with folks to challenge the discourses that continue to support this violence with cultural humility.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor of Visual Art (UniSA)

  • International training and supervision program for responding to hardship and trauma: The use of Collective Narrative Practices (Dulwich Centre)

  • Masters of Social Work (Flinders University)

  • Masters of Narrative Therapy and Community Work (University of Melbourne - Dulwich Centre)

  • I continually do smaller trainings, research and develop my skills…this includes the ongoing co-research and lived experience with the lovely folks I meet with every day.

I really enjoy bringing together creativity, community work and individual counselling in ways that feel comfortable and connects with local practices.

I identify as queer and non-binary (use my name or they/them/she/her pronouns). I have white skin privilege and bring both lived experience and formal training when working with folks to tackle the effects of violence and trauma.

As an accredited Mental Health Social Worker with the Australian Association of Social Work (AASW) I am bound to work within the Social Work Code of Ethics. As a registered Medicare provider, we can utilise Mental Health Care Plans to access Medicare rebates.

To book a session, please leave a message for our assistant on 0423332969 or email jenniferswan5555@gmail.com.

If you have any concerns about the service you receive, please the Australian Association of Social Work (AASW) on (02) 6232 3900.