Upcoming Workshops:

Animal Companion Grief and Loss Support

Grief is not meant to be experienced alone

Grief for an animal—be it a companion, support, working or rescue animal—is real, deep, and often overlooked in our society. Many of us are told, explicitly or quietly, that our sorrow should be smaller because our loved one wasn’t human.

We gather to gently challenge that idea, to instead acknowledge the profound bonds we share with our animal companions, and to speak openly about the grief that follows their loss. There is no fixing, no hierarchy of loss—just listening, shared humanity, and room for the love that remains.

This space is gently held in a death café style by experienced, PACFA-registered counsellors. We’ll keep the group small—up to 14 participants—so there’s room for everyone who wishes to contribute.

There is no requirement to speak or to share if you don’t wish to. Simply being there for and with others who have lost treasured animals will be noticed and appreciated.

Date and Time:

Wednesday 25 March 7.30pm - 9.00pm AEDT

Online via Zoom link

Cost:

Free —Just register your interest using the MAKE AN APPOINTMENT button above—or email pawsaffect@protonmail.com

We’ll reserve your spot and send you a pre-session information sheet

Simple Satisfaction Skyrockets!

This workshop is designed to share easy, effective tips to
improve your own general life satisfaction and that of your
relationships with others.

Based on both current, evidence-based and age-old,
trusted and proven techniques, we will help you to simplify
the application of these inspiring principles into your
daily life.

Some of the topics that we will be covering in this workshop are:

  • Simple tips to feel more self-empowered - how to be more aware, moment to moment, that we do have more control over the thoughts we are thinking, than we often feel we have. We can also choose the way we react to others, after we have had our knee-jerk initial reaction, in a way that serves us better.

  • Effective tips to be more self-aware of our feelings and when those negative thoughts pop up, to gently be able to pivot them towards better feeling thoughts - remembering that we have more control over our lives and feelings of satisfaction, than we think we do.

  • Relief-fostering tips to help us release our resistance to things we keep pushing against in our lives, focusing instead on where we want to go. Recognizing that we all have an innate and inbuilt emotional guidance system, that constantly lets us know the most helpful, satisfying thoughts/actions on the path towards what we want in life.

  • Inspiration vs motivation and the power of our focus - how to lean in the direction of being more inspired to do things, and less trying to motivate ourselves, meaning we constantly bumping up against procrastination. Remembering how to do things because we feel pulled, not pushed and utilizing the power of our imagination.

  • Learning the best ways to steadily replace old habits of thought with ones that feel better and therefore serve us better, utilizing the simple truth that we cannot control anything apart from the way we feel and recognizing the relief and freedom this brings.

Date, time & venue:

Sunday (date to be confirmed) - 9.30am-12.30pm - including morning tea which we will provide

Our office - 64 Bridge Street Eltham

Cost:

$50.00 per person ($30.00 for Health Care Card holders).

Feel free to register your interest now using the MAKE AN APPOINTMENT button above.

We’ll happily reserve your spot for now - and when we firm up a date / alternative dates, we’ll send you a pre-session information sheet and confirm which date you might prefer to attend.

Relationship Repair Workshop

This workshop will show you effective, simple and
sustainable techniques to help repair ruptures in
relationships, based on gentle, equal needs expression
and practical ways to support your partner in your joint
goal of vastly improving your relationship.

Based on a variety of trusted and effective couples counselling techniques, this process is different to many more traditional couples programs - it’s safe, equal and extremely effective supported dialogue structure enables everyone to be fully heard.

It also allows for both partners to take turns to express both their hurts and their hopes, in a safe and non-blaming way - stating their feelings from an ‘I feel this way, when this happens...’ perspective.

Both partners always have equal time to verbalise how their arguments as a couple, are always an expression/trigger of a past pain and an unmet need and a request for more support in specific areas, from each other.

This fosters a sense of curiosity and compassion for each other, enabling both themselves and their relationships to thrive in a more fulfilling and self-empowering way.

Once couples discover why their partner acts the way they do and what their unmet needs specifically are, partners have a much better chance of being able to comfortably stretch emotionally, to offer more targeted and effective support to each other. This is the cornerstone of a thriving relationship!

Date, time & venue:

Sunday (date to be confirmed) - 9.30am-12.30pm - including morning tea which we will provide

Our office - 64 Bridge Street Eltham

Cost:

$50.00 per person ($30.00 for Health Care Card holders).

Feel free to register your interest now using the MAKE AN APPOINTMENT button above.

We’ll happily reserve your spot for now - and when we firm up a date / alternative dates, we’ll send you a pre-session information sheet and confirm which date you might prefer to attend.

Workshops - Frequently Asked Questions

  • Workshops are open to adults interested in learning, reflection, and personal and relational growth. You do not need to be a counselling client to attend.

  • No. Workshops are educational, supportive and reflective group experiences.

    They are not therapy sessions as such, and do not replace individual or couples counselling.

  • Workshops are facilitated by the counsellors associated with Counselling in the Comfy Chair - Kirrily and Andrew - and may sometimes include guest facilitators. Details are provided for each workshop.

  • Group size varies depending on the workshop and will be listed on the workshop page.

  • We ask participants to respect each other’s privacy, but confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in a group setting.

  • Cancellation and refund details are provided on the individual workshop page at the time of booking.

Independence disclaimer

All our workshops are provided by Counselling in the Comfy Chair (ABN 44 564 114 835).