Find healing, growth and wholeness

Counselling and psychotherapy
to help you live fully

Servicing Manly, Balgowlah, Dee Why and the rest of the Northern Beaches
Online therapy available internationally (Sydney GMT+10)

Welcome. You’ve come to the right place if this sounds like you:

  • You have a hard time navigating relationships;

  • You feel stuck, lost or like you “don’t fit in”;

  • Your inner world can be hostile, critical and harsh;

  • You struggle to accept parts of yourself;

  • You often feel overwhelmed or lonely;

  • You find it hard to say “No” or set boundaries;

  • You often feel like you’re “not good enough”.

You’re not alone and this doesn’t have to be your story forever.

If these statements resonate with you, you may often feel overwhelmed and exhausted by your efforts to fit in with who you think you should be. Over time, this may lead to bouts of depression and anxiety. You might be disconnected from yourself and wonder who the real you actually is. Perhaps you have developed unhealthy strategies for coping with life’s challenges that are no longer working or cause you more problems.

I believe you can have a very different experience in life. One that feels much more free, authentic and meaningful. 

Sunlight shining through trees and a path in the forest to metaphorically suggest counselling and therapy will meet you wherever you are in life.

Your story matters.

However confusing or complicated your story may seem, I'll stay right with you and support you in making sense of how you got to where you are now. I will help you become aware of patterns that may be repeated in your life. As we unpack your experiences together, you’ll be able to gain insight and understanding of how you take part in your interactions with others and the world around you. I’ll support you in processing painful and complex events that may have impacted how you experience life now. We will work together to discover what gets in the way of you living a fulfilling and meaningful life, in which you can be fully yourself. 

two outreached hands to demonstrate that I believe that everyone can benefit from therapy.

How I work

I provide a safe space in which you will feel welcomed and supported with all of what’s coming up for you. I will meet you with curiosity, empathy and compassion for the whole of you, not just the “good” parts of you. I always work at your pace and will not push you to get close to anything you don’t feel ready for.

I use creative, experiential and playful methods to help you explore and make sense of your experiences. You’ll gain tools and strategies to take care of yourself when you feel overwhelmed, learn to better understand yourself and the parts of your life that are causing you pain. This will lead to more freedom and a life that feels meaningful and authentic.

Daniela Macaulay in a counselling session under a tree in Manly on the Northern Beaches

Why work with me?

My journey of becoming a counsellor and later a psychotherapist wasn’t by any means straightforward or smooth. It involved overcoming many of my own challenges, changing careers, moving countries, lots of therapy and endless life lessons. There were many obstacles along the way and I am still learning how to navigate life in some ways. I have learnt, however, to be accepting of myself with everything that makes me who I am. This has made a huge difference in my life.

I am very passionate about helping others live a fulfilling and meaningful life. I combine my counselling and psychotherapeutic training and experience with all I have learnt in my own therapy and life. I have completed a counselling degree and an intensive psychotherapeutic training. Prior to starting my private practice I worked with disadvantaged clients who experienced trauma for approximately 5 years and I have now been a therapist for almost a decade.

Most importantly, I will meet you as another human being, an equal, someone who knows what it is to suffer and cares. I’ll be with you and support you in finding your own way to thrive in life.

Areas of support

I can support you if you are experiencing:

•  Negative self-image

•  Relationship problems

•  Depression

•  Anxiety

•  Disordered eating

•  Body image issues

•  Trauma

•  Loneliness

•  Low self-esteem

•  Feeling stuck and lost

The benefits of therapy include:

Relationship Counselling Illustration

Improved relationships

Self-Esteem Counselling Illustration

Improved self-esteem

Stress Counselling Illustration

Lower stress levels

Physical Health Counselling Illustration

Improved physical health

Mental health strategies and skills illustration

Strategies and skills for managing life’s challenges

Identity and self worth psychotherapy illustration

Strong sense of identity and self-worth

Therapy can help with creativity illustration

Increased creativity and productivity

Counselling can help you make healthier choices illustration

Ability to make healthier choices

 Latest Journal Entries

  • "Daniela made a really big impact on my life"

    I was contemplating the idea of counselling for years but it always felt so overwhelming and confronting. I had anxiety for so many years that it felt like it was part of my personality. I was just pushing myself to be the perfect, efficient, unrealistic version of myself. I was also pushing my body through excessive exercising and strict dieting or unhealthy eating habits to look a certain way without any consideration for how it made me feel. How it made me feel was not even the question that ever crossed my mind.

    Daniela gave me so many life skills of how to deal with and process emotions and different situations, how to have a voice and raise it in a way that works for me. How to create boundaries and how to let people in, how to deal with anxiety in different situations and how to deal with difficult people without getting mentally drained, upset or triggered.

    I’m a very different person now to what I was when we met. I trust my own judgement much more than relying on external validation. I’m better at knowing how I feel and why and I’m much more at peace with myself. Aside from my original, more critical and negative internal voice, I now also have a wiser, more positive, rational and kinder voice of Daniela in my head and I hope that it will always be there to remind me to breathe, to analyse what’s going on and to be kind. Daniela made a really big impact on my life and I will be forever grateful for the person she helped me to become and for the time she spent helping me overcome some really difficult moments in my life.

    — Female Client Testimonial, 2024

  • "Daniela has helped me through my depression and anxiety"

    Before I met her, I thought my depression and anxiety was relatively well managed compared to my worst times and it was the best it could get. However, Daniela has shown me that it can get much better. She listens carefully and she gives me space so that the therapy session is oriented around what I need the most at the time. Her occasional guidance is very gentle, and she is very transparent which makes it easy to build rapport. I’ve seen many counsellors before but Daniela is the best I’ve talked to and I feel very happy to have her as my therapist.

    — Female Client Testimonial, 2023

Are you ready to talk?