About Sharon
Meet Sharon
Sharon is a social worker, counsellor and psychosexual therapist who has spent around fifteen years supporting people through some of the more difficult chapters of life. She works with individuals, couples and families from a private practice in Parap, Darwin.
Her work is grounded in respect for how different people approach change. Sessions are conversational, thoughtful and free of assumptions about what your life should look like.
A practice built on experience
Sharon's professional life began in social work, where the focus is on people within their circumstances — families, workplaces, communities, systems. That foundation shapes how she practises today: counselling that pays attention not only to what is happening inside a person, but also to the pressures and relationships around them.
Over roughly fifteen years in social work, and more than ten years of focused counselling, she has worked with adults, couples and families across a wide range of experiences, including grief, trauma, relationship breakdown, family conflict and significant life change.
Alongside general counselling, Sharon completed postgraduate training in psychosexual therapy through the University of Sydney, and holds membership with the Society of Australian Sexologists. Sexual therapy is a specialist area that many practitioners do not offer, and it remains a central part of her practice.
She is not a psychologist, psychiatrist or medical doctor, and does not present herself as one. If a situation would be better supported by another professional — a GP, psychiatrist or crisis service — she will say so.
Qualifications & training
Professional credentials
Sharon's qualifications, professional accreditation and therapeutic training are set out below, separately, so it is clear what each one represents.
Qualifications
- Master of Social Work — James Cook University
- Postgraduate Diploma in Psychosexual Therapy (Science in Medicine) — University of Sydney
Accreditation & membership
- Accredited practitioner with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
- Member of the Society of Australian Sexologists
- Approximately 15 years of social work experience
Experience
- More than 10 years of focused counselling experience
- Work with individuals, couples and families
- Private practice in Parap, Darwin NT, with online appointments available
Therapeutic approaches and training
Sharon draws on training across several therapeutic models, choosing what fits your situation rather than applying a single approach to everyone.
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Narrative Therapy
- Trauma-based therapeutic approaches
- Gottman interventions
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Family therapy
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing)
These are areas of training and experience rather than certifications granted by Willow Connection, and not every approach is used with every client.
Tailored to you
Therapy shaped around your circumstances
There is no standard plan handed to every person who walks through the door. What you work on, how deep you go and how quickly you move are decided together, based on what you bring and what you want to be different.
Some people come with a specific problem and a clear goal. Others arrive with a general sense that something is not right. Both are valid starting points. Where a goal is unclear, part of the early work is simply getting a clearer picture.
If at any point a different kind of support would serve you better — medical, psychiatric, or a specialised service — Sharon will discuss that openly with you.
What that looks like in practice
- Your pace. You decide what to discuss and when, including topics you may not have spoken about before.
- Your context. Work, culture, family, health, identity and relationships all matter and are treated as part of the picture.
- Practical aims. Where it helps, sessions include concrete strategies you can try between appointments.
- Honest review. Every so often you will look at progress together and decide whether to continue, adjust or pause.
Good therapy is not about being fixed. It is about having somewhere to think, to be heard, and to work out what comes next.
Sharon · Willow Connection
Free introductory consultation
A short conversation is a good place to start
New clients can arrange a complimentary 10-minute consultation, by telephone or email, to ask questions and decide whether Willow Connection feels like the right fit. There is no obligation to book a session afterwards.