AMANDA BATE
BHSc (Comp Med), MBA, M. Couns. BA Psych, Dip Clin Hyp & Psych
Amanda has been working in the helping industry for over 20 years and has spent the last 20 plus years educating herself in multiple degrees and doing over 40 courses in order to provide hope and support to others that desire to change their life.
Amanda's childhood was exposed to the world of drugs and crime. This way of life became her and her families new 'normal'. Amanda though chose a new 'normal' and crafted a different life for herself, making a conscious choice to pursue alternative pathways that align with her true calling. Unfortunately, it wasn't the same for some of her family members that have lead to being incarcerated and their world being turned upside down overnight. What Amanda noticed was that because they didn't do the work on themselves to break negative patterns and old paradigms, they ended up repeating the patterns and instead create maladaptive coping mechanisms. Amanda is a qualified counsellor, psychotherapist and clinical hypnotherapist. She holds qualifications in an MBA, Masters of Counselling, Diploma of Clinical Hypnotherapy and psychotherapy and furthering her studies with a Bachelor of Psychology. Amanda has a deep desire to assist individuals in changing their story to change their life. For full list of Amanda's qualifications, click here. Amanda's current work involves working with individuals who are either incarcerated or are heading that way due to criminal charges - specifically trafficking charges, by supporting them through counselling sessions that formulate the basis of a professional Character Assessment Report. These sessions are aimed at exploring the underlying issues and reasons for choosing a their current pathway and identifies what strengths and resources were present in these moments, and then taking those strengths and implementing them in their current and future reality. For some, this means putting processes in place to run their own legitimate business. Character Assessment Reports are based on individual sessions that are aimed at uncovering the root cause of problems, and then implementation of solutions to move forward with a more positive outlook. Understanding the repeated patterns of behaviour provides a foundation in order to break the chain and prevent looping in the same cycles. Court Support Letters &/or Parol Letters are letters that are written in conjunction with your family, friends or employer to assist them in hashing out positive aspects for the accused, and then written in a manner that is appealing to the reader. Programs 'Çhange Your Story, Change Your Life Trafficker Rehabilitation Program' is aimed at supporting individuals charged with trafficking to explore reasons behind their drivers for trafficking, and how to take those strengths and implement them in the outside world such as running their own legitimate business. There are limited resources for the rehabilitation of drug traffickers, which ultimately results in them ending back in front of the courts for yet another stint in the prison system. Amanda volunteered her counselling services to a NFP called 'Australian Anti Ice Campaign’. This platform provided a foundation to understand more about the drivers behind drug use and the stories of trauma and abuse that keep people from living their best life. |
"Behaviour is a function of or an interaction of both personality and environment" - Lewin
What is counselling? And how can it help?
Counselling, psychotherapy and therapy are terms used interchangeably but basically are very much the same. For the purpose of this site, we will use the term counselling. Counselling offers individuals a chance to express themselves without fear of judgement from another. Having someone to talk to about things that are challenging you in your life right now such as anxiety, depression, relationship issues such as separation, divorce, or you have some experience of trauma or addiction that is stopping you from living a quality life, can be so beneficial. Your online counselling session may include the use of modalities such as cognitive behavioural therapy, narrative therapy, solution-focused therapy, mindfulness techniques and various other techniques to assist in moving beyond the story that's keeping your trapped in your pain. Benefits of seeing a counsellor are many, such as verbalising your thoughts and emotions that you may have never been comfortable in sharing or let alone understanding. You may feel a sense of relief for just expressing yourself. You gain insight into your self-awareness and come to understand that you're not alone. Often the hardest part of the journey to understanding more about oneself is just taking the first step! So what are you waiting for? Amanda. |