Meet Michele

Hello, I'm Michele Elsom. I have worked in the field of early childhood for almost forty years. I have worked as a preschool and primary teacher and as a lecturer and tutor in early childhood education at Macquarie University and Notre Dame University. I am also a mother of 2 children. I now have a general counselling practice with a focus on helping families whether with parenting or with other issues, such as relationships, anxiety, depression or grief. I also provide counselling for couples. and am involved in ongoing professional development in this area at The Family and Couple Training Institute, plus am a student of the Gottman Method and Imago Couple work.

I hold a Masters of Social Health and Counselling at Macquarie University and a postgraduate certificate of Perinatal and Infant Mental Health. I am a practitioner of the Circle of Security Parenting program. 

My passion for working with families and children stems from my own experience of becoming a parent and raising my own children. With my early childhood background, I naively thought having children would be ‘a piece of cake.’ I was not prepared for a less than perfect pregnancy and birth plus the exhaustion of those early months of sleepless nights. I was anxious to ‘get things right’ and was confused by the avalanche of advice. I was also not prepared for the changes in my relationship with my partner and occasional bouts of self-doubt, guilt and depression. I sometimes felt socially isolated and without the kind of support that I needed. This experience led me on a long journey of reflection on my own parenting and ignited a passion and determination to provide support for families. 

Qualifications:

Macquarie University, Sydney - Masters of Social Health & Counselling

Macquarie University, Sydney – Post Graduate Diploma of Social Health and Counselling

NSW Institute of Psychiatry -Post Graduate Certificate in Perinatal and Infant Mental Health

University of New England – Post Graduate Diploma of Social Science (Psychology)

Circle of Security Training (Kent, Hoffman & Powell) - Intensive Course

University of Adelaide - Bachelor of Education

Adelaide College of the Arts and Education - Diploma of Teaching (primary)

Sydney Kindergarten Teachers College - Diploma of Teaching (Early Childhood)

Memberships:

Member of PACFA

Member of the Australian Association of Infant Mental Health

[/ap_team]

[ap_divider color="#333" style="solid" thickness="1px" width="10%" mar_top="0" mar_bot="40px"]