About Mark Lockyer

First of all, a brief bit about this web site

gr8relationships.com is aimed at making it easy for you with an internet connection to be very close to support and help. If there is anything this site can do to improve the quality of that support and help please let us know by sending an email to support @ gr8relationships.com

What qualifications do I have?

I have a 4 year degree in Social Work and completed an extra year doing Honours, which was devoted to exploring socially constructed gender differences between males and females. I wanted to look at the 'pressures' we put on girls and boys to be a certain way. Social Work helps us to look broader than just the individual - to look at the pressures of family, society, culture and the person in time, and how all of this influences who we are.

I have also studied 'cognitive behavioural therapy', 'narrative therapy', 'role theory', 'psychodrama', 'metaphysics', plus courses in 'critical incidence', 'employee assistance programs', 'drug and alcohol counselling', 'systemic theory and abuse', 'mediation', 'teaching' and others. By having different approaches to counselling aids the support process I offer clients.

What counselling is not...

Counselling is not about someone telling you what you should be doing. It is not about the counsellor judging you. It is not about the counsellor being right and having all the answers and you being wrong or less than capable.

What counselling is....

Counselling is a process that allows you to explore what is happening for you in a professionally supported environment. Counselling can do a lot of damage if the client is not professionally guided. This guidance includes an understanding of human behaviour and thought. It is not knowing exactly what will happen but it is having enough knowledge to keep the client safe and supported while he or she explores what is happening for him or her. As mentioned, you, the client, needs to feel safe, supported and not judged in the process. Empowerment comes from feeling all these things and knowing you are not strange, odd or weird, but actually a person who is taking a massive step in improving the quality of your life.

A bit more about me....

At a personal level, I have experienced many events in life, some of them quite traumatic. Without going into detail, I believe my life experiences have helped me have a deeper understanding of how events that happen in our lives shape who we are, sometimes not very positively. This allows me 'empathy' to better understand what may be happening for you. Simply put, I'm a bit more than just a text book!

Margaret River is magical place. We both like to contribute positively to the community we live in.

If I can help you in any way it would be a privilege.

Where is the counselling, mediation and training centre?

Gr8relationships.com is conveniently located in the heart of Margaret River at the Reef Centre, one street back from Busselton Highway.

Here is the reception area:

The Counseling area:

There is also a group/peer support area to facilitate discussions with groups.

Map of where we are:

Confidentiality

In this context, confidentiality means that any information shared between you and I will not be shared or discussed with any other party (professional and personal). This is an honourable commitment between us that is also recognised, in this case, by the Australian Association of Social Workers and their code of conduct and ethics to which I subscribe to. If you have agreed to a Mental Health Care Plan with your GP, a generalised, summary report will be forwarded onto your GP detailing the progress of counselling.

Home