Colleen - Trauma & Narcissistic Abuse Therapy

18/10/2026

Hello from beautiful Bali 🌸

It’s been so lovely to slow down, relax and soak up some much-needed sunshine after the long Adelaide winter!

It’s also been lovely seeing so many of you online for our sessions while I’ve been away, and I’m looking forward to seeing you in person again from the 24th October.

Feeling very grateful for this time away and all the beautiful moments Bali has to offer 🙏🩷

01/10/2026

I don’t do this work for the feedback, but when someone takes the time to leave a review like this, it truly means so much to me.

There is an enormous amount of trust involved in therapy, particularly when someone has experienced narcissistic abuse, relational trauma, or has spent a long time feeling unheard or questioning their own experience.

To know that someone has felt understood, supported and safe enough in our work together to share these words is something I never take for granted.

I feel incredibly grateful to do the work that I do, and even more grateful to the people who trust me with some of the most vulnerable parts of their lives.

Thank you, for your kind words 🤍🙏

24/09/2026

Every day, I sit with people navigating some truly difficult times in their lives. And one of the things I notice is how easy it is to measure ourselves against where we thought we’d be by now.

We notice what hasn’t happened yet. What still hurts. What we’re still trying to heal, change or understand.

And sometimes we forget to look back.

At what we’ve survived. What we’ve walked away from. What we finally understood. What we learned to stop accepting. The boundaries we found the courage to create. The parts of ourselves we slowly reclaimed.

Maybe you’re not where you hoped you’d be yet.

But don’t let that make you forget how much it took to get here.

There was once a version of you who couldn’t imagine making it this far

and I think they’d be so proud of you ❤️🙏

21/09/2026

I‘ve recently finished a book that really impacted me, and I wanted to share it with you.

Many of you may recognise the name Dr Ingrid Clayton, as I’ve recommended her second book, Fawning, to a number of you.

Her first book, Believing Me, is an incredibly powerful piece of work about narcissistic abuse, complex trauma and the impact of not being believed.

It left me thinking about the enormous difference between experiencing something painful and being believed and supported through it, versus having your experience questioned, minimised or dismissed.

I’ve written a little more about what Believing Me brought up for me personally, and about the power of being believed.

If you would like to read the full blog, you can find it through the link in my bio 🤍

Dr. Ingrid Clayton



https://colleenbrown.com.au/believing-me-the-power-of-being-believed/

10/08/2026

So often, clients tell me how they’ve been shut down time and time again. Their concerns have been minimised, their hopes and dreams laughed at, their feelings dismissed, and their boundaries ignored or violated.

And after experiencing this for long enough, they can’t help but wonder, “Am I too much?”

If this resonates with you, I want you to know: you weren’t too much.

You were paying attention to things that genuinely hurt you, and you found ways to cope with people who should have made that easier, not harder

Genuine healing can begin when we stop questioning whether what we experienced was “bad enough” and start understanding the impact it had on us.

If this is where you are right now and you would like some support making sense of it, I offer a complimentary 15-minute clarity call where we can talk about what’s happening for you and see if we may be a good fit to work together. You can book via the link in my bio ~ no pressure at all.

🩵

09/07/2026

Dr. Ramani has just annoucned her speaking dates in Australia next year and she will be coming to Adelaide! if you have ever wanted to see her live this is your chance and I would highly recommend going to this event.. I will be there

The world's leading voice on narcissism comes to the stage. Dr Ramani, licensed clinical psychologist and New York Times bestselling author of It's Not You, brings her sharp, compassionate insight to

08/07/2026

This has been bothering me for the past few weeks...

As many of you likely know, I offer a complimentary 15min clarity call so people can ask questions and see whether I'm the right therapist for them.

Recently, someone booked a call and very quickly let me know they couldn't afford therapy. I completely understood and recommended some free support services instead.

The conversation then became very personal and detailed. I gently explained that, ethically, I couldn't provide counselling to someone who wasn't my client.

This person then hung up on me and, within minutes, a one star Google review appeared.

I've reported the review to Google because I don't believe it reflects what actually happened, but I'm still waiting for their decision.

Because therapy is so personal and confidential, people rarely leave reviews. I completely understand why, and I don't often ask for them, but I am genuinely touched whenever a client takes the time to leave one.

If we've worked together and you feel comfortable sharing your experience, I would be so grateful if you would consider leaving a Google review.

Every kind word helps another person feel a little safer reaching out for support, and right now it would also really help restore my 5 star business rating.

Thank you to everyone who has trusted me with their story. I never take that privilege for granted.

For transparency, I've included the review and my response below.

If you'd like to leave a review, you can do so here - https://g.page/r/Ccp-mbwvQrKwEBM/review 🙏⭐️

With love,

Colleen

15/06/2026

On Friday, I had the privilege of discussing one of my cases with Dr Ramani through a consultation channel she offers for therapists.

Before we began, she remembered meeting me in San Diego and even the small gifts I’d brought from South Australia. It was such a lovely and unexpected moment, and one I’ll genuinely treasure. 🤍

If you’d like to read more about my experience training with Dr Ramani in San Diego, you can do so by following the link in my story or bio 🙏

08/06/2026

One of the things I find most interesting about working with clients in therapy is how much people can carry without anybody knowing.

Sometimes not even the people closest to them.

When I volunteered at Lifeline, I would often ask callers whether they had told anyone how they were feeling.

More often than not, the answer was no.

Not because they didn't have people in their lives or because they didn't want support.

But because they didn't want to be a burden.

or because they were worried about being misunderstood.

And over time, it simply became easier to say, "I'm fine."

05/06/2026

Facebook reminded me yesterday of a status I posted sixteen years ago.

"I should just become a yoga teacher 🧘‍♀️”

I was a dedicated Bikram yogi at the time, but I knew that wasn't the style I wanted to teach. So I did some research and discovered a word I had never even seen before.

V I N Y A S A.

I lived in Mermaid Beach, so off I popped to the closest studio near my unit.
Wow. It was so beautiful. Warm and earthy and otherworldly. I was immediately captivated.

I started going regularly. And even though I'd been a dedicated Bikram yogi for a few years, I found the classes incredibly hard. But I kept going and told myself "it must just be me. I should be better. That's why it's called a practice, right?"

Every time I walked in, there was a strange feeling in my stomach.
Not nerves or excitement.
Something strange, but familiar.
I ignored it.

Not long after, I enrolled in my first Vinyasa yoga teacher training. I was so excited to immerse myself in the movement and the philosophy. The possibility that there might be another way of living - another level of understanding myself.
For the first time in a long time, I felt like I had found something that genuinely lit me up.

But now when I reflect back, there was something else happening beneath the surface. At that point of my life I wasn't just looking for a yoga class or teacher training.
I was looking for belonging.
and longing for approval.
I was looking for someone to finally tell me I was enough.
I became the good student.
I worked hard. Never missed a day of training (even with a tooth infection)
secretly waiting to be called 'an angel' (IYKYK)
Because underneath it all was a belief I had carried for much of my life -
If someone outside of myself chooses me, maybe I'll finally feel worthy.

We don't ignore our gut because we're foolish.

We ignore it because we want something so badly that we're not ready to hear what it's trying to tell us.

That feeling in my stomach was there from the very beginning.
I just wasn't ready to listen.

Have you ever overridden your intuition because you wanted something - or someone - to be the answer?