Practitioner

Christine Urja Refalo is the principle of New Pathways Counselling and Support. She provides confidential counselling and therapy services to individuals, couples, and older adolescents. Urja (Grad. Dip. Relationship Counselling; Ma. Gestalt Therapy) is a qualified relationship counsellor, Gestalt psychotherapist, workshop facilitator and trainer. She has been practising in the Coffs Harbour area for 10 years and prior to this was facilitating meditation and meditative therapy workshops for 15 years. Urja is a member of the Psychotherapists and Counsellors Federation of Australia and Gestalt Australia & New Zealand. She participates in ongoing professional development as well as providing professional development workshops on Contemporary Gestalt therapy to psychologists, social workers, psychotherapists and counsellors.

In her work with clients, Urja aims to clarify their understanding of themselves and their situation, exploring with them what underlies their motivation to live life as they do. At times, life can throw us unexpected challenges, leaving us feeling overwhelmed and unable to function as usual. Trying to do it alone, without support or someone to co-think with us, can often leave us feeling like there is no way forward.

Urja values an approach to counselling that supports our sense of connection to ourselves and others. She encourages an increased awareness which includes being ‘at home’ in our bodies, our ability to respond to others and our recognition of our interdependence in the world. She does this by listening holistically, responding to her clients from a confirmed and deeper understanding of their experience. By assisting them to explore themselves and their situations at a pace that suits them, clients are more able to handle challenges and difficulties in a better and satisfying way.

Urja is able to work with a broad spectrum of issues and works effectively alongside medical interventions that include medication and post psychiatric care. The counselling and therapeutic support she offers is a path to live a more enriching, authentic and satisfying life and for some others a path to live a life which is ‘normal’ and ‘well’.

“Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them”. Albert Einstein.