Meet The Team
Michelle Jennings
Michelle is the director of The Hills Holistic Wellness and founded the practice in 2009. She has a diverse range of experience and skills in providing therapeutic support, teaching, leadership and team building. Over the past 30 years she has worked with children, adolescents, families and people with disabilities in Australia, America and England. Initially teacher trained, Michelle qualified as a Psychologist 21 years ago after completing her Master of Psychology in 2000. She has worked in a range of settings including; early intervention providing support for children with disabilities and their families, aged care and forensic psychology. Michelle now provides counselling and therapeutic services for children, families, individuals and couples.
Michelle has developed particular expertise in supporting couples experiencing relationship difficulties, and people who suffer with depression, anxiety, grief and loss and trauma. She also has worked extensively with families from complex backgrounds throughout her professional life. Michelle has extensive experience in bush fire recovery; supporting traumatised families and individuals who were impacted by the Black Saturday bush fires. She is a mother of two children which assists her in developing a deeper understanding of the rewards and challenges of parenting. Michelle particularly enjoys helping others to develop more effective coping strategies and healthier ways of thinking and engaging with others. I believe that everybody with the right support possesses the capabilities to improve their functioning and happiness.
Meghan Tozer
Meghan is a qualified counsellor, helping people express themselves through connection with animals.
Meghan has three children; one traveling the world, one at University and one in high school, and brings considerable lived experience to her counselling approach.
Meghan has significant experience helping others with self-care, mental health, and wellbeing. Meghan uses animal-assisted therapy to help adolescents and adults with anxiety, self-esteem, and confidence, life transitioning, parenting stresses and grief and loss.
Meghan is excited to be bringing Equine Assisted Counselling to Monbulk and Panton Hill for both Private and NDIS clients.
Chloe Nicholas
Chloe Nicholas is a Provisional Psychologist with a passion for working with people and horses.
Chloe graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Psychology (Honors) and is completing her Masters in Psychology, specializing in Educational Development.
Chloe has also completed courses in Animal Assisted Therapy.
John Van Graas
John is a qualified Somatic Psychotherapist and specialises in helping people deal with trauma. John believes personal growth and mastery come from a journey that looks within ourselves, a journey best travelled with assistance and support. Working with individuals that suffer from anxiety, he helps sufferers make new meanings to what is happening to them and to help them reconnect to themselves and others in their world.
John’s approach is:
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To build and maintain a safe and trusting relationship with you.
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To provide psychological assistance for you to reach your goals.
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To help you integrate your experiences of life which compromise your relationships with other people.
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To support you through the use of empathy, attunement and understanding.
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To assist you in achieving your potential as a fully functioning human being.
Debbie Edge
Debbie practices relaxation massage and as its name suggests it’s a form of massage that focuses on relaxation, relieving muscle tension and improving blood circulation.
Relaxation massage has been known to have benefits lasting several days, clearly not an absolute cure for any health problems but when combined with holistic practices it can offer the following benefits:
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Relieves back and neck pain
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Lowers blood pressure – at least for a while
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Improves peripheral circulation
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Improves skin tone and appearance
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Improves gastrointestinal motility, hence improving bowel movement and overall digestion
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Reduces muscle tension such as the relief of muscle tension headaches
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Relieves some stress-related symptoms; this can include providing a boost to the immune system after undergoing regular treatments
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Improves sleep
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Supports healing of minor skin abrasions
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Speeds up recovery of soft tissue injuries
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Improves range of motion
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Promotes relaxation
Kathryn James
Kathryn is passionate about helping children and adults manage stress and big emotions such as anxiety and anger. Whilst she has a nursing background, the past 12 years she has specialised in more Holistic Complementary Therapies that include:
Reiki – Energy Healing ( Practitioner & Teacher)May help to clear and balance chakras helping the client to feel more relaxed and centred.
Emotional Freedom Technique (Tapping) - a great tool that can help to reduce the intensity of big emotions such as Anxiety, which may help the client to have more clarity rather than feeling overwhelmed by emotions.
Parenting Workshops – Tuning in to Kids & Teens. Learn the importance of allowing emotions to navigate life, self- care and emotion coaching.
And now adds EFL - (Equine Facilitated Learning) to her list of modalities to help people heal. grow and evolve.
Kathryn helps to provide a sacred space for the client to quiet the mind and be more mindful of the moment, as well as providing strategies and tools to help regulate and understand emotions and find peace in just “Being”.
She is married with 4 adult children and a gorgeous grandbaby and loves spending time with the family camping in nature.
Marcelle Duhamel
Marcelle is a highly skilled and compassionate counsellor with a wealth of knowledge and extensive
experience gained through numerous roles in the field. She is registered with the Australian
Counselling Association and specializes in providing support to a diverse range of clients, including
both adults and adolescents, who are navigating various concerns such as anxiety, depression,
stress, grief and loss, anger management, low self-esteem, life transitions, relationship issues, and
trauma-related challenges.
With a calm and confident demeanour, Marcelle creates a safe space for her clients to openly
discuss any issue they may be facing. Her collaborative, understanding, and empathetic approach
empowers clients to gain insight, explore unhelpful patterns, and build autonomy as they reconnect
with their core strengths. Marcelle's mission is to foster a sense of understanding while
acknowledging her clients' pain and joy, inspiring them to embark on positive changes in their lives.
Central to Marcelle's philosophy is the belief that individuals know themselves better than anyone
else. While she believes that suffering at times is an inevitable part of life, it is her belief that we as
individuals have the choice to choose our response. Therefore, she aims to highlight and harness her
clients right to choose their path to implement positive change in their lives. Importantly, with the
right support, she believes they can develop new understandings and coping strategies, ultimately
enhancing their overall well-being and happiness.
Marcelle employs a diverse range of therapeutic modalities tailored to each client's unique needs.
Her person-centred style is complemented by an eclectic & intuitive, strength-based approach that
draws from Positive Psychology, Solution Focused Therapy, Narrative Therapy, , Attachment Theory,
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness-
based therapies.
Stefanie Hagger
Stefanie is a registered counsellor at The Hills Counselling and Psychology.
She completed a Bachelor of Psychological Science and a Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Stefanie works with adolescents and families who have experienced significant and repeated trauma under the Teaching Family Model of care through Berry Street. Her role as a Family Support volunteer with the Royal Children’s Hospital further expanded her ability to provide provision of care and support to young people and their families with complex needs. Prior to her studies, Stefanie had an extensive career in operations and business management and enjoys sharing her knowledge, skills, and experience, to help support others to achieve their goals.
Stefanie is dedicated to better understanding the complexities of human behaviour and holds the belief that people have the capacity for self-awareness, choice, and the potential for meaningful change. Her aim is to provide clients a safe space to explore and discover their individuality through a greater internal and external awareness.
Students & Graduate Counsellors
At The Hills Counselling and Psychology we also have recent counselling graduates and students working with us on placement while in the final stages of qualifying as counsellors. Our students work under the supervision of Michelle and clinical supervision through their university. Please note: our students are limited to see clients aged 13+.
You can see one of our students for a significantly reduced rate which is ideal for those who have no further sessions available on their mental health plan or for people who are facing financial challenges.