Sheri Zala

Raising Consiousness in Supervision - Groups - Counselling

About

Sheri sitting on a beige couch in a counselling room, with colourful pillows, a bookshelf filled with books, and a large painting on the wall behind her.

I'm Sheri, a clinical, mental health and supervising social worker.

I am an Advanced Deep Brain Reorienting (DBR) therapist, with qualifications in DBR, Havening, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Supervision, EMDR, Couples Therapy and teaching.

I practice from Willunga on the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsular, south of Adelaide - where the traditional custodians of the land and waters, the Kaurna people, nurtured and tended spirit for thousands of centuries, and for which I give thanks and pay my respect.

With over twenty-five years practice counselling, I have particular interests around the impacts and adaptations from adverse experiences such as painful, abusive or neglectful childhoods, grief, shock, and trauma. I'm especially interested in working with the implicit self where our deepest beliefs, memories and patterns live and I believe that when we work relationally with the deep, emotional mind and body this can facilitate changes, integration and healing from past negative experiences.

I supervise individual clinicians as well as facilitating supervision groups which bring practitioners together for shared learning, and growth.

My Qualifications:

  • BA.Education (Sec)

  • BA.Social Work (Clinical, Mental Health, Supervisor)

  • MA.Couples and Relationships Counselling

  • Certified DBR practitioner, Sensorimotor Psychotherapist, EMDR practitioner and Havening Practitioner.

  • Other significant study includes: Psychology, Neuroaffective Touch, Touch Skills for Therapists, Somatic Experiencing, Couples therapy, and Systemic Supervision

I’m also a Blue Knot Supervisor and Facilitator; a Committee member for the Adelaide Trauma Collective; and part of the Adelaide Trauma Centre.

Services

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    Individual Supervision

    Specialist supervision for trauma-oriented therapies, attachment & developmental wounds, somatic approaches, and relationships.

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  • Group Supervision

    Small supervision groups focused on trauma and developmental or complex trauma - supporting individual counsellors/social workers/psychologists to come together and grow.

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    Counselling (Deep Brain Reorienting® or Havening Techniques®)

    Specialist counselling available utilising trauma oriented and evidenced based approaches DBR and/or Havening Techniques.

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    Workshops & Training

    Tailored workshops designed to support the integration of trauma-informed approaches into your client work.

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Approaches

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    Individual Supervision

    My model for supervision is relational and includes a bio-psycho-socio-cultural lens which emphasises embodiment and mind-body integration. My supervision approach is trauma and attachment informed, influenced by the ideas of therapeutic-supervision and working with implicit and explicit experience. By providing a blend of theory, mindfulness, and practical elements within sessions, my intention is to offer support, safety, and competence to practitioners which can translate into the lives of their clients. I'm convinced that if people show up for counselling, and therapists join with them, then supervisors needs to do the same thing. This is as much a personal as professional endeavour reflecting the goals of holism and integration.   

    I provide specialist clinical supervision for Accredited Mental Health Social Workers, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and for those seeking Havening Accreditation. I am a qualified supervisor.

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    Group Supervision

    Drawing upon theoretical maps such as attachment theory, polyvagal theory, structural dissociation, Deep Brain Reorienting, child developmental theories, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, core needs, adaptive survival strategies and mindfulness- group supervision with small groups up to 6 participants run monthly, fortnightly, 6-weekly, where we come together to raise consciousness, reflect, question, challenge ourselves, share our struggles and wisdom, support ourselves and others to provide transformative support to our clients.

    Groups run for either 60 minutes or 90 minutes and are facilitated by Sheri in a relational-embodied and therapeutic-supervisory approach which encourages depth exploration of client work, themes and patterns arising in our work with clients and provides a safe space for self-discovery, consciousness raising and professional development.

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    Counselling: DBR/Havening

    As a Certified Havening Techniques Therapist®.  (Developed by Dr Ronald Ruden, PhD and Dr Steven Ruden) I provide specialist Havening Techniques®: a psycho-sensory technique that utilises the natural electro-chemicals of the brain to help reduce the negative imprints of traumatic memories, used to treat other conditions such as phobias, panic attacks, stress, depression, somatic pain, grief, PTSD, and more.  Havening is a unique and gentle method for processing traumatic or distressing memories, often involving no discussion of the traumatic contents yet with great and prompt effects.

    Deep Brain Reorienting® (DBR) is a trauma-focused psychotherapy that targets the brain's earliest orienting responses to threat, particularly in the brainstem and midbrain. It helps individuals process overwhelming experiences by working with subtle, pre-conscious physical sensations that arise before emotional or cognitive responses. DBR facilitates healing by gently accessing and resolving the core shock or rupture that occurred during traumatic events, often leading to profound shifts in emotional and relational patterns. Sheri has completed all levels of training in DBR and offer specialist DBR sessions.

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Contact Me

Interested in working together? Contact me and I’ll be in touch.