27/08/2026
INTRODUCING JULIE SANTALL — PSYCHOTHERAPY, TRAUMA & MEDICATION WITHDRAWAL SUPPORT
Sometimes “just reduce the dose” isn’t that simple.
For people who have taken psychiatric medication long-term, reducing or stopping can sometimes be an incredibly difficult experience.
Changes in sleep. Anxiety. Physical sensations. Emotional overwhelm. Difficulty concentrating. Feeling constantly on edge.
And when trauma is also part of the picture, the nervous system can become even more overwhelmed.
That’s why we’re delighted to welcome Julie Santall to Elixir Wellness.
Julie brings more than 35 years of frontline clinical experience across emergency nursing, major trauma, mental health, alcohol and other drug services, crisis counselling, medication support and recovery.
Her particular area of interest is the intersection of:
Psychotherapy • Trauma • The nervous system • Medication withdrawal • Hyperbolic tapering
WHAT IS HYPERBOLIC TAPERING?
One of the biggest misconceptions about medication reduction is that every reduction in milligrams produces an equivalent change in the body.
It may not.
The relationship between dose and biological effect can be non-linear, meaning that as doses become lower, apparently small reductions may represent proportionally greater changes in effect.
Hyperbolic tapering recognises this.
Instead of automatically reducing medication by the same amount at every step, reductions may become progressively smaller as the dose decreases, with the approach individualised according to the person and their response.
For some people, that distinction can be extremely important.
MORE THAN A MEDICATION DOSE
Julie understands that withdrawal doesn’t occur in isolation.
It can affect sleep, mood, anxiety, concentration, relationships, work, confidence and day-to-day life.
For someone with a history of trauma, unfamiliar physical or emotional sensations can also activate an already sensitised stress response:
Symptoms → fear → nervous-system activation → increased symptoms → greater fear.
Breaking that cycle begins with understanding what is happening.
Julie provides a confidential, trauma-informed therapeutic space where clients can explore their experiences, recognise patterns and triggers, develop emotional regulation and coping strategies, and feel supported through periods of significant change.
Her career has taken her from Emergency Nursing and Advanced Trauma Life Support in the UK, including teaching nurses and doctors at Brighton University, to Melbourne’s Alfred Trauma Centre, emergency departments, overdose prevention, homelessness services, drug and alcohol counselling, crisis intervention and medication support and recovery.
She also teaches Crisis Counselling, helping other counsellors develop the skills required to support people experiencing crisis.
Julie works with people experiencing:
• Trauma and complex trauma
• Anxiety and emotional overwhelm
• Stress and burnout
• Grief and difficult life transitions
• Addiction and substance-use concerns
• Medication withdrawal
• Hyperbolic tapering support
• Emotional regulation difficulties
• Crisis and significant periods of change
Her philosophy is refreshingly simple:
People experiencing trauma, withdrawal or crisis deserve to be heard, understood and supported as individuals — not rushed through a one-size-fits-all process.
Medication prescribing and dose changes remain under the direction of the client’s prescribing medical practitioner. Julie’s role is to provide psychotherapy, education and emotional support and, where appropriate and with consent, work collaboratively with the client’s healthcare team.
Julie Santall is now consulting at Elixir Wellness.
If you’ve been looking for someone who understands that trauma, the nervous system, emotional wellbeing and medication withdrawal can be deeply interconnected, Julie brings an extraordinary depth of experience to that conversation.
📞 Contact Elixir Wellness to learn more or make an appointment.
