About Us
About Qualia Life
There is space for you here.
Qualia Life is a counselling and coaching practice devoted to supporting mothers.
Many mothers come to counselling not because something is “wrong,” but because they are navigating layered transitions — matrescence, identity shifts, career changes, relationship dynamics, burnout, late diagnoses, grief, or the quiet question of “Who am I becoming now?”
Motherhood often asks women to hold many roles at once — caring for others while managing the invisible load of expectations, responsibility, and change. Much of this goes unseen.
We have a particular focus on perinatal mental health, supporting mothers experiencing anxiety, low mood, and intrusive thoughts during pregnancy and early motherhood. Our work is grounded in an understanding of the context of motherhood — recognising the emotional, physical, relational, and societal factors that shape a mother’s experience.
Each mother’s experience is unique, and our work is shaped around what feels most supportive for you. Guided by trauma-informed principles, we prioritise safety and nervous system regulation, while also building awareness of your internal experience. Cognitive and practical strategies are woven in thoughtfully, so change feels realistic and sustainable.
Our approach integrates:
Person-centred conversation
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
Solution-Focused Therapy
Somatic and awareness-based practices
Coaching
This allows space for both depth and forward movement — honouring emotion while building clarity and direction.
At its core, Qualia Life is a space where mothers can speak honestly about what’s really going on — without being pathologised, rushed, or asked to “push through.” Sometimes, you may simply need a place to be heard.
You are welcome here.
Hi, I’m Gemma. I’m a mother, wife, daughter, friend and PACFA-registered counsellor and coach. I support women navigating the layered transitions of motherhood — identity shifts, post-natal mental health, matrescence, burnout, anxiety, and the quiet questions about who you are becoming.
In mid-2022, during a dark Melbourne winter, I took a week off work completely depleted. Burnout had caught up with me. I realised that the next 20 years of my life could not look like the previous 20. Working toward someone else’s definition of success had taken its toll. It was time to listen to what I had ignored for years — my intuition and my own needs.
Over the past few years, I’ve completed my Masters in Counselling and started my Motherhood Practitioner Certification, while navigating my own experiences of motherhood, identity change and growth. That lived experience, alongside clinical training, shapes the way I work.
My approach is warm, steady and person-centred. I offer a space where women can speak honestly, reconnect with themselves and make thoughtful, sustainable change.
My work draws on evidence-based approaches including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Solution-Focused Therapy, somatic practices and coaching — always grounded in genuine, person-centred conversation and held within the broader context of women’s and mothers’ lives.