Hi, I’m Carissa Rodgers. I understand you.

In my early adult years, I was thrown into a dark and difficult pit of despair that could have consumed me. However, my cries for help were heard by strong women, therapists and mentors, who gave me hope, determination, and the skills to rebuild my life. 

But…I do remember how vulnerable and uncomfortable I felt when I finally reached out for the support I so desperately needed. It took all the courage I had just to show up.

I didn’t know if I had the strength to share the truths I had buried deep within me – but I went anyway.

What I found was that there was a profound feeling of safety in the warm embrace of the therapy space that allowed me to go deep within myself and work through the layers of wounds and shame I was carrying.

I’m incredibly grateful for my own experience of being supported by strong women in individual therapy, group therapy and sacred women’s circles.  I felt truly seen and heard in a way that my soul was aching for.

Through these experiences I not only worked through problems and issues, but I grew personally. I discovered that the places within me that held the most fear were eventually where I found the most gems and the most significant growth.

Working through the layers of wounds and defences I came to know my authentic self. My therapeutic journey turned into a deeply sacred journey of knowing myself.

As my inner life alchemised, my outer life transformed. My relationships became healthier, I felt more connected to those I loved, I developed close and deep friendships, I began to have healthy boundaries, I felt freer in my body and more grounded in who I am. 

I knew I wanted to be a strong woman for other women going through difficult times.

My purpose is to help women like you heal their wounds and find inner peace and freedom.

• I believe…that we can change our destiny and that we don’t have to settle for a life of pain.
• I believe… that it is your right to know what it feels like to experience a profound and deep connection to yourself and others and to reclaim what is sacred to you.
• I believe…that I can help you heal your wounds by gently peeling back the layers that are stopping you from living your authentic and purposeful life.

Carissa Rodgers, MA is a heart-centred Somatic Psychotherapist, Counsellor, Stress & Trauma Therapist, and Self-Compassion Coach. She is also the Co-Founder & Director of Wide Bay Counselling & Psychotherapy.

Carissa holds qualifications in community services, and completed her Masters degree in Gestalt Psychotherapy. She is also a Somatic Experiencing and Somatic Practice (touch for trauma) practitioner. All these methods are based deeply in neuroscience and the science of the nervous system to heal and move toward wellbeing.

Before entering private practice, Carissa spent over 12 years as a Counsellor and Community Educator serving a diverse range of people in community services. Of particular note, she played an instrumental role in helping her community recover from the trauma of successive floods through the development of workshops and the creation of a workbook for women to support their recovery process.

Through Wide Bay Counselling & Psychotherapy Carissa supports workplaces and organisations with Employee Assistance Programs, critical incident response and supervision for counsellors and helping professionals. Her specialised contracts include providing counselling, supervising and training for the Queensland Ambulance and Queensland Fire services.

Wide Bay Counselling & Psychotherapy also offers services for individual patients to work through PTSD, depression, anxiety, abuse, grief, and relationship issues.

In addition to this practice, Carissa has become well-known under her own name for working with women who seek a deeper connection with themselves by helping them connect more deeply with their wisdom through her signature method the Somatic Awakening Method™. This is body-centred, relational psychotherapy, based on ancient wisdom, nervous system healing, family constellations, mindfulness, sacred practices and embodiment arts.

When working with women, Carissa guides them get out of their heads and into their bodies, which helps them release their past and awaken their heart. Carissa believes everyone has innate potential inside of them to feel empowered and free. As a result of working with Carissa, clients locally and from around the world are supported to reclaim their inherent resilience and go on a transformative and alchemical awakening journey.

Carissa also helps women who have experienced early childhood stress and trauma guiding them to view trauma as a sacred gateway that they can enter and evolve through, safely rather than seeing trauma as a problem that needs eradicating. Carissa facilitates women’s workshops, and she does this by creating safe group Healing Spaces for women to come together in a sacred circle. She utilises somatic therapies, ritual, ceremony, movement, dance, and touch practices to support women to become devoted to their soul work and embody their life.

All women’s workshops are facilitated through the sacred circle, where the circle itself becomes the guide. Carissa believes there’s a rich, collective generational wisdom we can tap into when we come together in sacred circle. Therefore, the circle itself becomes our greatest teacher and healer. Carissa has witnessed the power of ritual and ceremony and knows how to cultivate deep heart connections of those who come together.

Carissa firmly believes in the healing power of warmth, deep connection, care and tender-hearted presence, which she freely offers to those who come into contact with her.

Carissa lives by the ocean and can often be found sitting in one of her local coffee shops enjoying the simplicity of a small seaside life. She is a busy mum of three gorgeous girls, practices yoga and meditation and loves to dance to shake things up.

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