Hi, I am Bec Combs

I’m a psychotherapist and counsellor with a Masters in Gestalt Therapy. I am a registered member of PACFA and GANZ, and I bring to my work a deep respect for the uniqueness of each individual’s journey.

My Work

My therapeutic work is grounded in the principles of Gestalt therapy, which emphasises present-moment awareness, authentic relationship, and the integration of mind and body. I place a strong value on creating a safe, compassionate therapeutic environment where clients can explore their experiences, develop deeper self-awareness, and restore meaningful contact with themselves and others.

​Alongside my private practice, I work within the mental health sector as a psychotherapist/counsellor supporting individuals, teens and children through crisis, emotional overwhelm, and recovery. My previous experience at a metal health retreat included facilitating mindfulness groups and supporting clients experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, and relational challenges. I bring a calm, grounded presence to my work and a strong capacity to support people through complex emotional processes.

​I am particulary interested in working with trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). From a Gestalt and relational perspective, I understand that trauma not only as a psychological experience but as something that is often held within the body and nervous system. My work supports clients to gently build awareness of how past experiences may continue to shape current patterns of emotion, behaviour, and relationship.

​Through careful pacing, relational safety, and embodied awareness practices, I support clients to reconnect with parts of themselves that may have been fragmented or disconnected through traumatic experiences. Gestalt therapy allows space for unfinished experiences to be explored and integrated, helping clients gradually develop greater self-support, emotional regulation, and resilience.

​Why I Chose the Name Selkie

The name Selkie comes from Celtic and Nordic folklore. Selkies are mythical seal beings who can move between the sea and the land, shedding their seal skin to take human form. In many stories, the selkie lives between two worlds, the wild ocean and the demands of life on land.

I was drawn to the symbolism of the selkie because, to me, it speaks deeply to the human experience.

Many of us move through life feeling disconnected from parts of ourselves. We learn to adapt, survive, perform, care for others, meet expectations, and carry responsibilities. Over time, we can lose touch with our instincts, emotions, creativity, needs, body, or sense of belonging. We may begin to feel far away from who we truly are.

The selkie story reflects this tension beautifully.

In folklore, the selkie often leaves the sea and lives on land for periods of time, sometimes feeling trapped between worlds, longing to return home to herself. I see this as symbolic of the ways people can become disconnected from their inner world while trying to navigate the pressures, roles and realities of everyday life.

Counselling and psychotherapy can become a space of remembering.

A space to gently return to yourself.

A space to reconnect with your body, emotions, needs, voice and inner knowing. A place where all parts of you are welcome the parts that feel tender, protective, overwhelmed, uncertain, longing, hidden or wild.

At Selkie Counselling & Psychotherapy, I hold therapy as a relational and compassionate process. Healing does not come from becoming someone else, but from growing awareness, self-acceptance and connection with who you already are beneath the layers of survival, expectation and disconnection.

The selkie also represents transformation, fluidity and authenticity. Just as the selkie moves between land and sea, many people move between different identities, roles and emotional worlds throughout their lives. Therapy can support you to navigate these transitions with greater awareness, grounding and compassion.

The ocean itself carries symbolism of depth, emotion, intuition and the unconscious. Like the sea, our inner worlds can hold complexity, mystery and wisdom. Sometimes therapy involves learning how to safely turn toward these deeper parts of ourselves rather than continually moving away from them.

For me, the name Selkie reflects a hope that therapy can offer a gentle return not to perfection, but to presence, connection and a more authentic relationship with yourself.

A remembering of your own skin.

A returning home.