Meet Chanelle den Ouden

Chanelle den Ouden is completing a Master of Counselling at Monash University. She is doing her placement at Carringbush Community Counselling Clinic. Chanelle is a Registered Nurse, working as a Sexual Health Nurse and Educator in the community.

Chanelle uses a person-centred, narrative therapy approach. Along with emotion-focused therapy (EFT) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques in her counselling. This combined approach enables her to tailor sessions to individual clients and their diverse needs. Chanelle supports people working through stress, anxiety, depression, and grief.

Her work as a sexual health nurse and educator provides specialised knowledge and support for clients. Chanelle is able to support clients with sexually transmitted infections. This can include supporting individuals through the experience of a recent diagnosis or learning to adjust to living with long-term infections such as herpes or HIV. Through this work, Chanelle has come to understand the difficulties people face when living with chronic illnesses or through their journeys with cancer. She can also offer support for those adjusting to a loved one’s diagnosis.

Chanelle developed a passion for hearing her patient’s stories while working as a nurse in the public health care system. She observed that the medical model often did not appreciate the need for psychosocial support. Something that left people feeling dismissed, unheard and dissatisfied. She decided to pursue a career change to counselling for this reason. Chanelle den Ouden has diverse experience as a nurse and has worked in emergency departments, oncology units, and adolescent mental health units. She is passionate about providing a space that feels safe and free of judgement for her clients to explore what is most important to them.

Meet Scott Cowcher

Qualifications: B.A., B.Ed., GrdDip Psychology, MPH, MHA

Scott Cowcher is counsellor-on-placement with Carringbush Community Counselling Clinic.  He is completing a Master of Counselling at Monash University. Scott has over 30 years’ experience working in the helping professions.  He has worked in mental health, in Australia and internationally as a psychiatric nurse. Scott has also worked in community development, education and literacy. 

Scott supports people in maintaining their psychological wellbeing and address issues related to anxiety, depression, grief, trauma and life transitions.  Scott is a queer-friendly practitioner with extensive experience working with the queer / LGBTIQA+ community in Australia and overseas.

Scott is a specialist in expatriate transitions for people relocating from, or to Australia and adapting to new cultures.  Scott works to support trailing spouses with regards to the challenges of accompanying a partner overseas. This includes changes to, or loss of career which can be confronting. He also works with third culture kids who, face unique challenges involved with relocation and integrating into a diverse or different culture and require support.

Scott’s experience working internationally (Cambodia, USA and Thailand), supporting a partner and their children,  has provided him with first-hand and lived experience of the challenges faced with expatriation or returning to Australia.  His most recent role as a Consultant with the WorldBank’s Family Network to establish the Peer Support Network – Southeast Asia. This role focused on developing strategies to support families, individuals, and couples, as they navigated relocations across countries.

Scott has an interest in ageing and its impact on the individual as they confront professional, physical, and emotional changes in their lives. This challenging transition can be confronting and rewarding. Therefore Scott’s wide range of lived experience provides him with alternative views of oneself, in order to adapt with and find new life meanings.

Scott uses a person-centered approach, along with cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) approaches to his counselling. Scott believes in creating a safe, non-judgmental supportive space for clients to explore new ways of living their life more authentically.