Dana Kabaila
Under Oak Training
Dana (she/her) is a lived-experience neurodivergent counselor and narrative therapist based in Naarm/Melbourne. Dana is endlessly fascinated by the diversity of brains, bodies and beings in the world, and committed to supporting neurodivergent folk to live meaningfully and sustainably. Many people who consult with Dana do not have a formal diagnosis and may present as high masking and experience barriers to self-identifying. The combination of steretyped ideas of neurodivergence and internalised ableism can make self-identifying a complex and confusing journey. With curiosity and interest, Dana walks alongside clients to dignify suffering, celebrate survival and resistance, identify and meet needs, and strengthen community and sense of belonging.
Narrative Therapy training grounds Dana's work in a First Nation's social justice framework. This allows the critique of oppressive societal structures and makes room to question claims about "success" and "normality". As someone with her own "spiky profile", Dana is quick with word meanings and associations, but is likely to bump into the doorframe as she greets you. This helps ground her work in humility and humour.
Jungian Coaching training supports symbolic work (e.g. dreamwork, art making, nature connections, mythology explorations) which Dana has found particularly helpful during times of major transition (e.g. parenthood, career change or break, grief and loss) and times where clients feel "stuck". She is the current host of The Jungian Coaching Room and previously hosted season 4 of the C.G. Jung Society of Melbourne podcast.
Dana's background in speech pathology helps her connect with people through varied communication methods. She has specialised training in Persistant Drive for Autonomy (previously Pathological Demand Avoidance), Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, Situational Non-speaking (clinically labelled Selective Mutism), resistricted diet and mealtime differences, and trans and gender expansive voice identity. Dana's experience working with children contributes to a nurturing approach to the "young parts" held in the stories of the adults she works with.
Experience
Gender expansiveness and neuro-queer identity
Childhood, familial and transgenerational trauma
Chronic illness, fatigue and/or pain
Meltdowns, shut downs, burn out and recovery
Substance use and suicidal thoughts (sometimes described as "singing your death song")
Contact
Phone: 0431 829 498
Email: dana@undertheoaktraining.com
Website: www.undertheoaktraining.com
Rate: $130 for 55 minutes (concession rate $100 per session, by request)
Availability: Mon-Fri standard business hours, in person and via telehealth