Meet Our Team
OUR COUNSELLORS ARE FRIENDLY, PROFESSIONAL AND ETHICAL
Our counsellors offer a safe space, underpinned by professional and ethical boundaries, to explore why you came to counselling in the first place and to support you throughout this time.
Our counsellors take a holistic approach, and you may be asked about your health and wellbeing in general, as well as the presenting issues.
Tushar Bist
Counsellor
Pronouns: They/He
I am a registered counsellor with PACFA. Working in/with the LGBTQIA+ community and holding physical and emotional spaces for them is very enriching for me. Being a person of colour and living in Australia, I also understand the complexities that arise especially when they intersect with queer identity and mental health.
I fully believe that the client has the agency to decide where they want their counselling to go and the pace with which they feel comfortable. My practice is person-centred, trauma-informed and resilience-based.
I love music, performance and am dabbling with amateur art.
Mirabai Rose
Counsellor/Psychotherapist
Pronouns: She/Her
Mirabai is a registered Counsellor and Psychotherapist with PACFA (PACFA Reg. Clinical), and is passionate about working with community.
Mirabai works alongside you as you explore your inner and outer life. Her role is to help you become master of your own body, wellness, thoughts, and emotions. Mirabai provides a nourishing,creative and safe environment for you to explore, challenge yourself, access your inner healer, gain insight and strengthen your inner resources and resilience.
Mirabai enjoys the land, hiking, tango and long lunches.
Joanne Byrnes
Counsellor
Pronouns: She/Her
Joanne is a clinical psychotherapist with PACFA and a Supervisor. Joanne has a Master’s degree in Gestalt therapy and is a family constellations facilitator. She has been working with Canberra’s LGBTIQ communities since 2008 and understands the added stresses that come with being part of a minority community. Using a client-centred and systems approach, Joanne supports her clients to overcome their stresses and anxieties so they can achieve their goals and reach their potential. She works creatively, empowering her clients to experience themselves in new ways.
Joanne enjoys a rural life looking after the land and her horses. She brings her experience working with horses into her therapy to facilitate mindfulness and healing. Joanne spends her spare time listening to classical music, reading and going to the theatre.
Tom Skelton
Counsellor
Pronouns: He/Him
Tom is the Manager Counselling Services and Wellbeing and is a passionate LGBTIQ and HIV-positive community focused counsellor. Tom enjoys his work at Westlund Counselling and Meridian immensely, so much so that he commutes to work from Sydney once a week. He sees Canberrans as both interesting and insightful people. For Tom, the Canberran HIV-positive and LGBTIQ communities have a lot of heart, integrity and untapped strengths, and it is these qualities that keep him coming back.
Tom has a Bachelor of Counselling, specialising in person-centred and strengths-based counselling with a strong focus on suicide prevention. Tom recognises that his clients are the experts in their own lives, and he demonstrates this through an affirming and validating person-centred approach.
Tom enjoys walking his two dachshunds, going to the coast with his husband, sewing and all types of fashion, as well as interior, visual or abstract design.
