Meet Nisha
Trauma-Informed Counsellor & Somatic Practitioner
I know what it is like to keep moving forward while carrying experiences that few people can see. My work is grounded in the belief that people deserve spaces where those experiences can be met with compassion, curiosity, and respect.
I Came to This Work Through Lived Experiences
I’m Nisha Trivedi (she/her), an Australian PACFA Registered Clinical Counsellor, Somatic Practitioner, and certified Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga Facilitator (TCTSY-F).
Based in Brisbane, I offer online trauma informed counselling and somatic therapy to adults across Australia in English, Hindi, and Gujarati.
I recognise your courage in reaching out for support.
My own experiences have taught me that life does not always unfold the way we expect. Sometimes we find ourselves carrying responsibilities, grief, uncertainty, or challenges that quietly shape how we relate to ourselves and others. Those experiences continue to inform the therapist I am today and strengthen my commitment to offering care that honours the complexity of being human.
These experiences continue to inform my work today and reinforce my commitment to offering care that honours the complexity of being human.
Hi, I’m Nisha
What Continues to Shape My Work
• Grief taught me that some losses are visible and others are carried quietly.
• Migration taught me what it means to live between cultures, expectations, and different ways of belonging.
• Fertility challenges taught me about hope, uncertainty, and invisible grief.
• Counselling and somatic work taught me that insight alone is not always enough.
• Professional experience taught me how often people carry more than others realise.
• Personal healing taught me that growth rarely comes from trying harder. It often begins with understanding ourselves differently.
My Journey
After nearly two decades in corporate and government roles, I was a woman who appeared capable and composed on the outside while carrying experiences that few people could see.
Like many first generation women, I knew how to keep going. What I did not yet know was how to feel safe within myself.
A significant health scare in 2017 became a turning point.
It invited me to pause and pay attention to aspects of my experience that had long been pushed aside in the service of responsibility, achievement, and meeting expectations.
I began to recognise that some experiences I believed I had moved past were continuing to influence how I related to myself and the world around me.
I came to appreciate that meaningful change involves more than insight alone.
For me, it involved learning to listen more closely to myself, recognise what I needed, and develop a different relationship with the parts of life I had spent years carrying.
“Trauma creates change you don't choose. Healing is about creating change you do choose.”- Michelle Rosenthal
These experiences continue to shape the therapist I am today. They strengthened my belief that people deserve spaces where their stories can be met without judgement, where their strengths can be recognised, and where growth does not require criticism, perfection, or pressure.
Today, I sit beside my clients with deep respect for what they carry and a grounded belief in each person's capacity for connection, growth, and meaningful change.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me. I look forward to walking alongside you at New Leaf with Nisha.
Warmly,
Nisha
The Space Between
Much of my work as a Clinical Counsellor and Somatic Practitioner involves supporting people through periods of transition.
Sometimes life asks us to let go of what has been familiar before we can fully see what comes next.
Whether the transition involves relationships, fertility experiences, migration, career change, health, identity, or family roles, these periods can feel uncertain, challenging, and deeply revealing. They can also create opportunities for greater awareness, self trust, and meaningful change.
Research shows that transitions in relationships, fertility, career, migration, or identity can activate the nervous system in ways that echo earlier experiences.
“Life transitions often reveal parts of ourselves that have been waiting to be noticed. This is where I love to meet people, in the space between what has been and what is still unfolding.”
My Embodied Values
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CONNECTION
Prioritising authentic relationships with self and others, creating a sense of belonging and being seen.
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WELL-BEING
Encouraging emotional, mental, and physical wellness through holistic approaches.
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GROWTH
Supporting personal and relational evolution with humility, self-awareness, and empowerment.
How I Work
No two people arrive in therapy with the same story, which is why I do not follow a fixed formula or rely on a single therapeutic approach.
My work integrates trauma informed counselling, somatic therapy, attachment based understanding, and Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) principles. Rather than applying the same process to everyone, I pay attention to what is happening for you in the moment and respond accordingly.
At times this may involve conversation, reflection, or exploring patterns and relationships. At other times, it may involve slowing down, noticing physical responses, engaging in a somatic practice, working with a yoga form, or creating opportunities for new experiences of choice, awareness, and connection.
The direction of each session is informed not only by what you are hoping to work on, but also by what your nervous system, emotions, relationships, values, culture, spirituality, and lived experiences may be communicating in that moment. This whole person perspective recognises that our experiences can influence how we relate to ourselves, others, and the world around us.
Rather than asking, "What's wrong with you?" I am often interested in understanding how your experiences have shaped the ways you have learned to protect, adapt, relate, and survive. Many of these responses developed for important reasons, even when they no longer feel helpful or sustainable.
Professional Experience
Nisha Trivedi brings more than 23 years of experience across counselling, workplace wellbeing, psychological safety, leadership, case management, and government settings.
Prior to establishing New Leaf with Nisha, she worked across Comcare, the Department of Home Affairs, TEQSA, and fertility support settings. Today, she works as a PACFA Registered Clinical Counsellor and Somatic Practitioner, providing online trauma informed counselling and somatic therapy across Australia.
Credentials & Trainings
I am committed to lifelong learning, regular supervision, and reflective practice. My qualifications reflect a blend of clinical, relational, somatic, trauma informed, and mindfulness based training, shaped by both evidence informed practice and lived experience.
I have had the privilege of training with respected leaders and institutions in the fields of counselling and body-based healing. My qualifications include:
Master of Counselling | Monash University, Australia
Trauma Centre Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) | Center for Trauma and Embodiment at the Justice Resource Institute (JRI), Massachusetts, USA
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) | Externship and Core Skills with EFTTA, Australia
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) | Training with Dr Russ Harris| Dr. Russ Harris (author of The Happiness Trap)
Introduction to Relational Gestalt Therapy | Gestalt Therapy Brisbane, Australia
Motivational Interactions (MI) | Australian Psychological Society (APS), Australia
iRest Yoga Nidra Meditation Teacher Training Level 1 | iRest Institute, California, USA
Bachelor of Science | Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India
I engage in regular supervision and reflective practice to ensure my work remains ethical, attuned, and responsive.
Therapeutic Approaches That Inform My Work
Rather than working from a single model, I draw from a range of evidence-informed approaches to support each person's unique experiences, goals, strengths, and needs.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
Supporting emotional awareness, attachment security, and deeper connection within relationships.Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Developing psychological flexibility and responding to life's challenges in ways that align with personal values.Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Exploring different parts of self with curiosity, compassion, and greater understanding.Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Recognising patterns of thinking and behaviour and how they may be influencing emotional wellbeing.Interpersonal Neurobiology
Understanding how relationships, attachment, and lived experiences shape the brain, body, and nervous system.Trauma Center Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY)
An evidence based somatic approach that supports choice, agency, embodiment, and a deeper connection with the body.iRest Yoga Nidra
A mindfulness based practice that supports rest, reflection, and nervous system restoration.
These approaches are integrated thoughtfully within trauma informed counselling and somatic therapy, rather than applied as a fixed formula.
“What is most supportive, relevant, and meaningful for you remains at the centre of my work.” - Nisha Trivedi
Finding the right therapist matters.
A Discovery Call offers an opportunity to ask questions, learn more about how I work, and explore whether this feels like the right fit for you.