Maree Harris, Ph.D.
Background in Counselling and Psychotherapy
Counselling and Psychotherapy
Maree had a background in social action and social justice prior to commencing her social work degree.
She had, however, to do a counselling placement, Practice with Individuals, as part of her course.
To her surprise she had skills in that area that she never knew she had and was named top
student in her final year of social work in the Practice with Individuals component of the
course. This inspired her to establish her own counselling and psychotherapy practice
which she conducted for more than 18 years.
She had specialist training in marriage and relationship counselling, mediation and critical
incident stress debriefing and trauma response. She also helped people manage stress,
anxiety, depression and eating disorders. She provided an Employee Assistance program (EAP)
to a number of organisations. She also provided professional consultative supervision,
for which she had specialist training, to professionals in the human service sector.
All of this work gave Maree an extensive understanding of the personal and interpersonal
challenges people face when dealing with change in their personal lives and how that
impacts their professional work and career. This understanding has been invaluable
in her mentoring.
What Maree's Clients have said about her
With respect to confidentiality and the privacy afforded her counselling clients, Maree would never ask or expect them to publicly acknowledge her work with them.
The professionals to whom she provided consultative supervision have often provided comments
on her work with them. Jenny Ryan is one of those.
Jenny Ryan, Centcare Ballarat on Consultative Supervision with Maree
After working for some years as a Family and Relationship Educator at Centacare Ballarat I shifted my role and moved into the realm of Relationship Counselling. This was both exciting and daunting at that time in my career and I really wanted to find a Clinical Supervisor who would work with me to set down some sound clinical practices. During part of the time I spent in this role, Maree Harris was my Clinical Supervisor.
As a relatively new counsellor at the time, Maree offered me a great deal of professional support and validation as my skills and confidence as a counsellor developed. During our regular sessions, Maree skillfully guided me in a process of deep reflection about the cases I was working with in order to identify the key issues emerging, how I was personally responding to them, as well as exploring various ways of working most effectively with my clients in order for them to achieve their goals. In this process I was sometimes challenged in my attitudes and approaches to clients. This was also paired with space for reflection and problem solving, giving me greater understanding of my clients and their situations.
I found Maree to be generous in the way she shared her knowledge and experience in a way that was relevant, respectful and provided the opportunity for me to expand my own knowledge. Maree's expertise as a supervisor meant that she was able to target challenges, explorations and sharing that enabled me to always go back to my clients with a fresh perspective.
what maree's professional colleagues have said about her
Paul Fogarty, CEO, Centacare Bendigo 1999 - 2013
In 2003, Centacare Bendigo provided an Employee Assistance Program called ACCESS, to the Catholic Education Office of Ballarat. The Ballarat Office was responsible for Catholic Schools throughout Western Victora, a vast area from the Murray to the coast. Maree Harris was contracted to provide counselling and coaching support to employees of those schools. She provided a most reliable and professional service for nine years, until leaving Ballarat in 2013. We regretted losing her skills and competence.
Maree was highly regarded in Ballarat for her experience and expertise as a counsellor, clinical supervisor, professional development coach and management consultant. Maree provided valued support to the employees of the Ballarat Catholic Education Organisation. She worked with personnel in leadership positions, with those in teaching positions and with those in administration and reception.
Maree has a calm and strength-based approach in her work. This brings reassurance to people, which supports them to confidently manage personal issues affecting their professional lives.
Maree made a huge contribution to our ACCESS Program. Many school staff members benefitted from her expertise.
I highly recommend her work to others.
Lynne McLennan. CEO UFS Dispensaries, Ballarat.
Maree worked with Lynne's staff until she moved to Geelong in 2013. Lynne retired from UFS in August 2022.
In my last three positions, spanning more than twenty years, I have found Maree to be an invaluable source of support and advice. She has long been exceptionally adept at sorting out knotty personal and interpersonal issues for staff on an individual basis. The accumulation of her knowledge and experience in this field is just one of the reasons for her capability as an expert adviser at an organisational level.