About Our Practice Therapist 

My name is Crystal Halloran, Founder and Director of Nurture & Grow Counselling Service. I am an ACA-registered, Bachelor-qualified counselling practitioner with over 5 years’ post-qualification counselling experience, almost 6 years operating my private practice, and almost 18 years’ experience across the social, community and welfare sectors.

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My practice supports children from 4 years of age, adolescents and adults across private counselling, Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and disability/NDIS settings. I work with a broad range of mental health, emotional, relational, behavioural and complex psychosocial presentations, including stress, adjustment, grief and loss, trauma-related responses, emotional dysregulation, relationship and interpersonal difficulties, parenting stress, workplace concerns, life transitions and neurodivergence.

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I have a particular area of practice in Disability Counselling, including NDIS-specific Capacity Building Counselling and Early Intervention supports. My work also includes neurodiversity-affirming counselling, Positive Behaviour Support-informed consultation and therapeutic practice, and parent/carer consultation and psychoeducation. I support clients and those around them to better understand emotional, behavioural and nervous-system responses, identify contributing factors and develop practical strategies that build regulation, communication, capacity and independence.

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My therapeutic counselling approaches are integrative, drawing on Person-Centred Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, ACT-informed strategies, DBT-informed skills and somatic-informed approaches. My practice is strengths-based, trauma-informed and neurodiversity-affirming, with neuroscience-informed psychoeducation, nervous-system regulation strategies and body-based regulation techniques incorporated according to individual client needs.

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I value a counselling relationship that is respectful, collaborative and non-judgemental. My role is not to tell clients what they should do, but to provide a therapeutic space where they can better understand themselves, strengthen existing capacities, develop practical skills and make informed changes that are meaningful to them.

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My broader professional background includes leadership in disability services, NDIS Local Area Coordination, vocational and employment support, crisis and homelessness services, child and youth work, case management, training and assessment, and support for children, young people and families experiencing complex circumstances. This breadth of experience continues to inform the way I understand the interaction between mental health, disability, relationships, environment, life experiences and day-to-day functioning.

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I hold a Bachelor of Counselling, Diploma of Management, Certificate IV in Youth Work, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment (TAE40116), and Certificate III in Children’s Services. I maintain current Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance, Working With Children Check, NDIS Worker Screening Check, National Police Check, First Aid and CPR, and participate in ongoing professional development and professional supervision.