MURWILLUMBAH COUNSELLING AND
ONLINE COUNSELLING AUSTRALIA WIDE
WITH
Divine Empowerment
Journeying with you as you conquer your past
Welcome to your Divine appointment.
Welcome to Divine Empowerment. I have full confidence that you finding our website is a Divine appointment.
You’ve embarked on an empowering journey that has the potential to unlock a depth of self-awareness that can positively transform your entire world. I’ve experienced the refreshing atmosphere of a professional therapeutic relationship. Week after week, I knew exactly what to expect when I visited my Counsellor. It was a deep experience that could not be recreated with my closest friends, my family or my husband. Therapy facilitated a connection I longed for. But if I’m honest it wasn’t the therapist that made the connection refreshing- it was the intentionality of our relationship. She knew why I was there and I knew why I was there. My Counsellor had confidence in therapy and I had full confidence in my desire to seek healing, understanding and growth. Our cooperate confidence in each other’s roles cultivated an environment for safety, bravery, vulnerability and closure.
Knowing what counselling facilitated for me, will always be the strongest evidence I can present for the transformative power of counselling. I hope we can share that same confidence in each other to cultivate a relationship that is unlike any other relationship you have.
Journeying with You,
Catalina Arevalo
Catalina Arevalo
Principal Counsellor
With a Christian worldview, Catalina offers therapeutic sessions that place the Bible and faith at the centre of all her modalities.
Catalina’s research, credentials and experience provide you with a professional service, which facilitates a relationship that invites closure, healing and personal growth.
Member of Australian Counselling Association
Member of Australian Association of Social Workers
Member of Christian Counsellors Association Australia
Couples & Marriage Counselling Online
Why
Christian
Counselling?
When my daughter was deciding on what Christian school to enrol in for high school there was one thing that made her decision crystal-clear. She had sat an enrolment interview at one private Christian school near our hometown and had been accepted. However, a few weeks later we were told about another Christian school, with an exceptional reputation for nurturing spiritual growth. My husband and I wanted to let God guide our family in knowing which was the right school in His eyes- not ours. We decided that our daughter should also sit an enrolment interview at this second Christian school. The challenging part about the second school was that it was interstate. An interstate move for the next 6-7 years was unsettling and most definitely not convenient for our family. Our family had established deep roots in our local community and the first school was the most practical option. But we knew we wouldn’t have peace if God didn’t lead in which school to commit to. Both my husband and I began praying a private prayer, that we wouldn’t even tell each other about. God would answer this prayer months later.
Our daughter had been accepted to both schools, leaving us with two open doors to choose from. After months of push back from our daughter for even considering moving away from all her school friends, she came to us and shared that God had given her peace about what school to attend. She wanted to attend the interstate school. My husband, our youngest daughter and I were completely shocked at the change of disposition. When I asked our daughter what made her decide on the interstate Christian school and not the more convenient, comfortable school- our daughter whispered through her tears “The principal at the second school prayed with our family before we started our enrolment interview. The other principal didn’t”. One Christian principal prayed- the other one didn’t. This difference spoke loudly to our daughter’s heart.
A prayer shared by our family and the second school’s principal gave our 12-year-old daughter Divine clarity at a time where she needed to know God’s will for her life and the future of our family. The prayer my husband and I had secretly prayed for months was “Heavenly Father, we’ll know that the interstate school is where you want our daughters to attend, if you soften our eldest daughter’s heart and give her the desire to leave everything that she doesn’t want to leave, because she trusts that you know what’s best for her.” Praying and sincerely inviting God to guide us so that His will is clear to us at all stages of our life must be made our priority. It was for our 12-year-old daughter.
Christian counselling provides a level of support that can only be nurtured by a Counsellor who believes in an all-knowing, all-loving, Creator God. The surrender to God’s leading as the Counsellor is invited into the most private areas of people’s lives is essential. By understanding the sacrificial love and ministry of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, a Christian Counsellor can invite clients to seek His healing and to live a life that testifies of Him. Lastly, a Christian Counsellor can highlight the important work of the Holy Spirit to soften, transform and empower hearts.
The difference between a Christian Counsellor and a mainstream Counsellor is of sacred importance. At Divine Empowerment, Biblical counselling is more than a mere profession or title, it shapes every therapeutic modality and strategy that is used and promoted during our time together. Biblical language is gently, professionally, and appropriately interwoven into our counselling sessions. This creates a therapeutic environment where a Christian worldview is accepted, valued, and uplifted. Modern, mainstream Counselling, like many areas of health and wellness can be tainted with non-Biblical practices that can lean towards humanist philosophies that can cause conflict and even discomfort for some Christians. Because of this, Catalina has established her counselling practice on scientific research and therapeutic modalities that completely align with Biblical principles.
At Divine Empowerment, your counselling session is opened and closed with prayer because God’s presence is of highest importance during our time together. Just like that faith-filled Principal. All your therapeutic homework and worksheets are centred around Biblical principles and highlight the power of Bible passages. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is invited to journey with us, as we journey with you. Most importantly, Catalina prays for you by name and daily seeks God’s guidance on your counselling journey.
Why Christian counselling? Because inviting the God of the Universe into your healing and transformative journey is a crystal-clear decision to make.
Our Online Services
Couples Counselling
Research shows that Couples Therapy positively impacts 70% of those receiving treatment. And for many couples, seeking professional help can be the difference between making the long haul or becoming a divorce statistic. Within the modern context, couples therapy is initiated to create and maintain a healthy marriage rather than simply being a “last resort”. Couples therapy can improve communication within your marriage, allow for ongoing mediation and helps to guide your relationship to cultivate genuine Christ-centred love.
Family Counselling
Family counselling is a therapeutic method to develop and maintain healthy and functional family relationships. Family counselling can help define roles, improve communication, and assist in developing healthy boundaries within family members. Often, a primary goal for engaging in family counselling is to address problems within the family and identify each members contribution to the family dynamics. Understanding the emotional, psychological, or behavioural patterns in your family will help to give direction as to what areas can be explored and improved to create healthy, loving family interactions.
Christian Counselling
For a variety of reasons we don’t always have a safe person in our life who we can turn to when we need it most.
Unlike mainstream counselling, Christian counselling integrates faith into therapeutic practices. With Christian counselling, the Bible, faith and prayer are used to compliment therapeutic modalities and facilitate deep spiritual closure.
Counselling provides you with a non-judgmental, safe and confidential space to talk through issues and concerns that can be affecting your quality of life, relationships and well-being. Counselling can provide professional assistance with specific areas of concern in your life, in a way that no other relationship can facilitate.
Trauma Counselling
Trauma Counselling provides people with an opportunity to discuss their experiences within an empathetic supportive setting.
At Divine Empowerment we do not promote “re-living” the traumatic experience or discussing the event in detail if our clients do not feel comfortable doing so.
We are a trauma-informed practice and are committed to making sure that your preferences and comfort are of primary importance. Trauma Counselling can help guide you through lingering and intrusive thoughts, negative thought loops, triggers, and anxiety.
Marriage Counselling
Marriage counselling isn’t meant to be a quick fix and won’t be beneficial if both parties aren’t committed to doing the work. Marriage counselling helps to create openness in dialogue between spouses and allow for a deeper level of connection through the guidance of the Counsellor. During our time together we will collaboratively plan strategies that will introduce active and compassionate listening into your relationship and assist in cultivating deep understanding.
It is also important to understand that the focus of marriage counselling is not to address or work through you or your partner’s childhood trauma and impactful life events. For such support individual counselling is recommended.
Greif & Loss Counselling
Grief is a natural response to loss. Though it’s often thought of in relation to death, it can occur no matter what type of loss you experience. It might well be the loss of a loved one. But it could also be the loss of a relationship, job or something else entirely.
The more significant the loss, the more intense your grief is likely to be. It can affect every part of your life and have a big impact on your mental health.
Grief and loss counselling helps you to work through the primary and secondary losses and also identify if you’re experiencing cumulative grief.
Pre Marriage Counselling
Marriage is a union that God desired to be “till death do us part”. However, the research data shows that divorce rates among Christians are as high as divorce rates among those with no faith. Why? Because marriage is challenging – even when God is at the centre of the relationship. Catalina has been with her husband for 25 years and married for 20 of those years. With her personal and professional relationship experience, Catalina has developed a pre marriage counselling program that brings clarity around some of the topics that cause the most conflict within marriages. The program touches on relationship and role expectations, effective communication, parenting, relationship goal-setting, and family. Pre-marriage counselling helps bring to light areas that may be potential challenges once couples are married. In pre marriage counselling, you and your fiancé will also be given strategies that will help you with any pre-existing relationship concerns. Statistically, establishing therapy as a foundational part of your marriage will set you up for marital success.
God created the union of marriage to be a blessing, not a curse. Marriage is too sacred to not invest in it so that you both have the greatest opportunity to succeed. Call Divine Empowerment to begin preparing for success.
Individual Counselling
For a variety of reasons we don’t always have a safe person in our life who we can turn to when we need it most.
Counselling provides you with a non-judgmental, safe and confidential space to talk through issues and concerns that can be affecting your quality of life, relationships and well-being. Counselling can provide professional assistance with specific areas of concern in your life, in a way that no other relationship can facilitate.
Adolescent Counselling
Adolescence can be one of the most challenging stages of personal development and identity formation. The adolescent brain is experiencing so much change that it’s often hard to understand and empathise with children during their teenage years. Counselling during this stage of development can become a safety net for some young people while also bringing peace to parents and caregiver.
At Divine Empowerment we provided psychological support as well as helping adolescents with identity formation, social skills, communication skills and emotional awareness and regulation.
Client Testimonies
I have avoided therapy because I didn’t feel comfortable dragging other people into the mess of my life. I was so used being the one encouraging and helping other people that I refused to ask help for my self.
Talking with Catalina has made me feel more encouraged and comforted. I’ve realised that I didn’t have to face it all alone. I can trust Catalina as she listens to me patiently and as she practical gives counsel that is so applicable in my situation.
I would highly recommend Catalina as a counselor. She’ll make you feel welcomed, heard and loved. She also has lots of first hand experiences that helps her to deeply relate with the people that she counsels
I’ve done a bit of counselling before, but it’s been hard to find a counsellor that I could “connect” with. With Catalina, that was different. She has such a gentle and caring way of helping you understand yourself, and at times it seems like she understands you more than you do!
Things that I usually avoided talking about suddenly felt easy to talk about, and I found our conversations to be uplifting and genuinely healing. I highly recommend having a chat with Catalina if you can!
I wasn’t sure if [therapy and professional support was] the right place for me to get help. I found [counselling] helpful and I can understand my circumstances better when I speak with someone who understands my situation.
I really appreciated Catalina asking me some questions I wouldn’t feel comfortable opening up to and sharing with anyone else.
After sharing with Catalina, I was amazed on how she could help me understand and manage my thoughts better and how I can find myself in a positive place and move forward with my journey.
I highly recommend her to people who have been through infidelity, suicidal ideations, separation, divorce and similar complicated life situations.
I will forever be grateful for the conversations I’ve had with Catalina . It’s literally been life changing.
She’s helped me work through and get to the bottom of things I’ve struggled with for years, and offered support in the most genuine caring way.
I previously felt that therapy was very time consuming and too confronting. I also felt daunted because I was worried I may not have any connection with the therapist which would make it feel really awkward.
Catalina was excellent at getting to the point without coming across as intrusive or prying. It was amazing how I could have such deep conversation in such a short period of time.
I would highly recommend Catalina to help with problems that you feel preventing you from moving forward with your emotional health. Catalina is a therapist that is genuine and kind in her approach; gentle yet driven to help you reach the goals you set together. I appreciate her!
Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF COUNSELLING?
Counselling shouldn’t be only initiated when you’re about to have a mental breakdown or about to file for divorce. Engaging in counselling as a regular part of your self-care, demonstrates the prioritising of your wellbeing and your relationships. Regular counselling can help prevent many of the things that lead to breakdowns and divorce. Just like visiting the dentist for check-ups and deep cleans helps avoid root canals and infections, counselling can help protect you and your loved ones from painful and destructive experiences. Counselling can give you a greater understanding about what triggers you to have deep emotional reactions, give depth of clarity about your relationship dynamics, and cultivate an environment that allows for a greater level of self-awareness and personal growth. Like a personal trainer helps guide a person to obtain their optimum physical wellbeing, a counsellor is a personal trainer who can guide you to obtain optimum wellbeing for your heart and your mind. Additionally, counselling can enhance your relationship with others- and most importantly your relationship with yourself and with God.
what is christian counselling?
Christian counselling helps to facilitate healing, personal growth, and a deeper connection with those in your life and with our Heavenly Father. Unlike secular counselling, Christian counselling highlights the benefits and needs of spiritual connection with Yahweh. In Proverbs 11:14, God teaches us that “Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counsellors there is victory”. Counselling through a Christian worldview offers professional guidance in navigating the most challenging aspects of our life and can assist in strengthening your walk with Jesus. Counselling doesn’t take away from the Gospel or having faith in God. As you search deeply for God’s guidance withing the therapeutic space, genuine Christian counselling can positively impact your perception of others, yourself, and God. By facing your fears and challenges in the safety of a professional therapist, your walk with Jehovah can be brought into a more restorative experience as your eyes are opened to see beyond your pain and your loss. Feel free to contact us at Divine Empowerment for more clarity regarding Christian counselling.
WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT FROM COUPLES COUNSELLING?
Couples counselling is a sacred therapeutic space. Not just because marriage is a sacred union but because it is the most intimate and vulnerable relationship we will ever experience with another person. With couples therapy the direction of the sessions is often determined by the motivation for engaging in therapy. If your marriage is struggling, therapy is anchored on deep understanding and restoration. If your marriage is thriving, therapy is centred around sustainability. If you’re losing connection in your marriage, then therapy is introduced to identify blocks and barriers. Couples therapy can be used as crisis intervention-for an intense, short-term need or as a relationship self-care- with a less frequent, long-term commitment.
If you have any questions about couples therapy or would like more details on our counselling plans, please contact Divine Empowerment, we value your enquires.
What is Grief and Loss Counselling
Grief and loss is interwoven into every stage of life. From your childhood best friend moving away to your first serious break up…we’ve all lost something that was significant to us. Yet many of us have never processed or grieved the full impact of those loses. This failure to process our loses puts us in a place where we experience compounded grief. This cycle is psychologically destructive and emotionally harmful. With many loses in life we’re not able to fully comprehend what that loss represented unless we identify the secondary losses attached to the primary loss. Secondary losses are often directly connected with our identity, leaving us with a shift in our reality, our world and ourselves. Loss is one of the greatest causes for people to experience a paradigm shift in how they see the world around them and themselves. Unprocessed grief and loss have left many people emotionally disorientated and struggling to find their purpose and value.
If you think you are suffering from unprocessed grief and loss, contact Divine Empowerment and speak with Catalina. She can help you find clarity about losses that may be impacting your life.
CAN I BOOK AN IN PERSON COUNSELLING SESSION?
Yes, you can book an in-person counselling session with Catalina. She is currently based in Murwillumbah, North NSW, which is only 57 kms from the Gold Coast. Catalina does take booking for sessions in Brisbane, however her availability varies.
Don’t hesitate to call us if you’d like to arrange an in-person session.