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Student Success Team
Our Student Success team bring their knowledge and expertise together to support our students on their unique learning journeys.
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Deanne Reyes
Adv. Dipl. Holistic Counselling and Psychotherapy
Student Liaison Officer
After graduating from the Metavision course in 2011, Deanne continued on as a teaching assistant, growing into the role of Student Liaison for all Metavision courses.
Deanne Reyes is a vibrant presence within the educational realm, dedicating herself wholeheartedly to the Metavision Institute since 2013. As a student liaison, she adeptly bridges the gap between learners and the institute, cultivating an environment of support and growth. Since 2016, Deanne has taken on the role of facilitator, guiding students through the Bridging Foundational Counselling Skills Course and the Holistic Counselling Skills Certificate Program with both expertise and empathy. Her background in management within the biomedical engineering field equips her with invaluable leadership and organizational skills. However, it is Deanne's profound passion for understanding the human condition, coupled with her exceptional communication abilities, that distinguishes her. Driven by a fervent desire to empower individuals on their journey of self-discovery, she embodies empathy, understanding, and a steadfast commitment to making a difference.
Kate Ibrahim
Administration Manager
From first enquiry to graduation, Kate looks after all aspects of our students' enrolments.
Faculty of Counselling and Psychotherapy Academic Staff
Meet the academics who will guide you on your learning journey
Professor Pol Dominic Miles-McCann
BA (Hons,1); Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy; PhD (Gender and Sexuality)
Dean of Education, Professor of Counselling and Psychotherapy
I am a psychotherapist and sociologist who came to academia later than most. As I struggled at the end of high school I really appreciate the power of tertiary education as a transformative experience for adults. After several years of entry level jobs (plus running a small manufacturing business) in my 20s, the world really opened up when I enrolled at Sydney University. I started this new career as a volunteer, then working in adolescent homelessness and addictions. During my post-graduate studies I was employed as a researcher in sexual behaviour, drug use, vaccines and blood-borne viruses. My own research focusses on gender, sexuality and bulllying, and these were areas of practice as a clinician. I was director of an undergraduate program at The Jansen Newman Institute before becoming Head of Academic Studies, and later I managed the clinical supervision team at The Australian College of Applied Professionals. I really love working in the teaching of therapists - as therapy was life changing for me, as was creating a career in research and mental health. The integration of the the large world view from sociology and the personal from psychology has been a key part of my academic career - and it is the deep integration of the inner world of the psychotherapist as offered by Metavision which excites me most about joining this inspirational team.
Associate Professor Cathy Bettmann
TBC
Course Coordinator, Associate Professor of Counselling and Psychotherapy, Deputy Dean
TBC
Alexandre Jodun
B.Bus
Course Coordinator, Associate Lecturer in Holistic Counselling
As a holistic psychotherapist, transpersonal guide, and ritualist, Alexandre is soulfully in service to loving-awareness and the evolution of consciousness. With an eclectic therapeutic, ancestral, and musically-creative background, he meaningfully weaves together his roots serving as a multidisciplinary and integrative practitioner.
Originally born in Mauritius to a multi-racial creole lineage and raised as a first-generation immigrant in Australia, Alexandre's calling to explore the wild terrains of psycho-spiritual processes was seeded early on in his life. After experiencing the 'soul-quake' of a spontaneous spiritual emergence in his mid-20s, an embodied realization emerged through the cracks: that there exist profound ways of knowing and transformative dimensions to life (both inner and outer) that conventional models of emotional and psychospiritual health are significantly disconnected from.
Through A Healing Bridge, Alexandre currently supports individuals and couples from around the world in his private practice, co-creates transformative spaces for small groups to explore deep psychospiritual processes alongside his beloved wife Alyona (such as through grief-work, depth breathwork, and holistic medicine retreats), and facilitates the integration of plant-medicine experiences.
Christina Nielsen
BSW, BAC, M App Sci, Cert of Advanced Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine in Hangzhou (China), Diplomate in Process Oriented Psychology. Member AACMA, MH AASW, AAMA.
Distinguished Fellow
Christina is a qualified and passionate holistic therapist who uses a mix of Counselling, Psychotherapy, Anthroposophic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Her lifelong interest in the human condition and belief that the traditional Western methods of viewing patients provides an incomplete picture, fuels her ongoing study in universities and colleges from Australia, to the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and China.
Postgraduate research for a Masters degree led to incorporating adult learning styles into process orientated supervision and teaching methods. Christina’s wide-ranging skills and experience have been drawn upon to develop the new model for professional and personal development. She has published papers on the use of these methods and is an experienced teacher of counselling, psychotherapy and Chinese medicine. This now finds expression in the development of the curriculum with a focus on holistic Counselling and Psychotherapy at Metavision.
Dr Bronwen Haralambous
BA, HE Dip, Adv Dip Holistic Counselling & Psychotherapy, MEdL, PhD, HEA Fellow
Senior Lecturer Holistic Counselling and Psychotherapy
Bronwen Haralambous is a creative teacher and researcher whose scholarly work and research is guided by contemplative practices and an exploration of alternative, imaginative, and transdisciplinary approaches to Teaching, Education and Educational Leadership, and Holistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. She has experience as a mainstream and Steiner High School Teacher and Librarian, and currently also teaches in the Graduate Certificate in Steiner Education at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
In her work as an educational research consultant for Steiner Education Australia Bronwen has been involved in many research projects over the past ten years, including writing the two Academic Foundation Papers which underpin the Australian Steiner Curriculum Framework (ASCF) and the High School English Curriculum for the ASCF. In 2021 Bronwen co-wrote, with Dr Michael Carey from UniSC, the Research Report on Australian Steiner Graduate Outcomes.
Dr Martin Hemsley
PhD
Lecturer in Process Work
I have a passion for working holistically and shamanically, to journey together to not only relieve pain and trauma, but to go further and discover what is meaningful and even magical within the distressing, depressing and disturbing. Following and working with the signals of the body helps us uncover the path to healing and awareness. I work with individuals, couples and groups.
Dr Claire Jankelson
PhD
Lecturer in Research Methodologies
With a background in psychology and philosophy, I have maintained an interest in the contemplative, in the felt sense, in the stories that unfold. I love writing, reading and walking in wilder places. My previous teaching was at Macquarie Graduate School of Management - teaching research skills and supervising PhD's. This period led to the book I co-edited: Face to Face with Practice. Teaching at Metavision is a great experience and by bringing a phenomenological approach the course offers a rich engagement in research as a deep, real and practice oriented inquiry. The research journeys leave lasting impressions on all of our practices.
Anne Miller
TBC
Placement Officer
Dr Merilyn Childs
B.Arts,GradDip(Education), PhD, CertIV(TA), GradCert(MentalHealth)
Director of Teaching and Learning, Professor of Higher Education
Dr Merilyn Childs is an award winning leader in higher education including in academic development & digital transformation. She has been twice recognised for her research and advocacy for women and firefighting in Australasia. She was fortunate to spend a year as the first Visiting Senior Research Advisor at the Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council in NSW, and she designed and introduced the Higher Degree Research Supervision Fellowship Scheme to Australia via Macquarie University NSW.
During the past 5 years Merilyn has focussed on fostering good governance and innovative academic quality in the private higher education sector. As an author she writes think pieces on a range of topics, including Alzheimer's, mental health, the history of women & firefighting, higher degree research, & various aspects of teaching & learning in higher education, including the recognition of prior learning.
Rose Harvey
BA, GDip (Psych)
Course Coordinator, Associate Lecturer in Holistic Counselling
A graduate of Metavision and PACFA registered psychotherapist, Rose brings passion and an eye for detail to ensure the smooth running of Metavision courses.
Casual Academics
Our sessional lecturers bring a wealth of practical experience, clinical knowledge and the latest academic perspectives.
Dr David Russell
BSc(Hons); PhD; Australian Psychological Society
Lecturer
David’s initial studies were at the Pontifical University in Rome, Italy. His main area of study were the works of two Spanish mystics, John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila.
Back in Sydney he studied psychology completing his BSc (Hons) and the PhD. After a couple of years in private practice he joined the fledgling Western Sydney University and taught first in the Department of Social Ecology and then in the School of Psychology. The high point of his academic career was initiating, along with Dr Brendon Stewart, the Master of Analytical Psychology degree based on the works of Carl Jung and post Jungian writers.
On leaving the university he moved back into private practice where he is still engaged on a part-time basis.
During this latter period he was Present of the Sydney Jung Society for a number of years.
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Francine Bartlett
BSW (Hons); MSc(Hons) Cert IV Training and Assessment; Accredited Mental Health Social Worker; Etheric Massage; Professional Training in Buddhism and Psychotherapy
Lecturer
Francine currently works in private practice, contracts to Department of Juvenile Justice as a Youth Justice Conference convener, is employed by KU as Family Counsellor for a supported playgroup, teaches for the Australian College of Contemporary Somatic Psychotherapy and Metavision Institute and supervises a variety of professionals. She has integrated a wide range of approaches with a view to facilitating the journey for individuals, couples, families, groups, organizations and communities. She has a strong commitment to early intervention and respect for people’s inner wisdom and healing potential and the power of the context to support or inhibit wellbeing. Buddhism, Process Oriented Psychology, Meditation, Developmental and Attachment Theory, Systems and Social theory, Anthroposophy, Massage, art, play and sand tray therapy, are important influences.
Francine currently works in private practice, contracts to Department of Juvenile Justice as a Youth Justice Conference convener, teaches for the Australian College of Contemporary Somatic Psychotherapy.
Elsa Henderson
MA and Diplomate in Process-Oriented Psychology; BA in Anthropology
Course Coordinator, Associate Lecturer in Holistic Counselling
I'm a facilitator, coach, and consultant with a focus on helping individuals and groups navigate complex situations and uncertainty, particularly when traditional strategies are inadequate. In each role I see myself as a guide. I have a BA in Anthropology, an MA in Process-Oriented Psychology and am currently pursuing a PhD in Leadership and Change Studies.
As a postgraduate researcher at University Of The West of England (UWE), my interests lie in understanding how people move through situations that extend beyond their current understanding and the capacities they draw upon to do so.
Currently my work is centered around partnering with impact networks and organizations, and facilitating their transition to a relational approach to collaboration. Since 2017 I have employed my background in process-oriented psychology to teach postgraduate students at the Metavision Institute, training to become the next generation of psychotherapists and facilitators.
Indigo Jade Melrose
BHSC Psychology, BA Hons (Psych), PACFA REG. CLINICAL PSYCHOTHERAPIST, HeartMath Trauma-Sensitive Certified Practitioner, MIECAT Profesional Doctorate Candidate.
Clinical Psychotherapist
In her private practice, I.M.Wellness, Indigo works as a psychotherapist with individuals who are curious and eager to embrace life according to what truly matters to them. She specializes in helping adults navigate the complex emotions associated with grief and loss, the profound experiences of birth and death, and the journey toward developing self-love and self-compassion.
As a mother and part of her doctoral work, Indigo co-hosts a therapy-based podcast called "Mothers at Midnight." This podcast emerged from a desire to have open conversations about the confronting, challenging, and rewarding aspects of motherhood.
In her role as an educator, Indigo runs online programs focused on wellbeing. Additionally, she teaches and marks academic papers at the Metavision Institute, sharing her expertise and knowledge with the students.