EXTREMELY KNOWLEDGEABLE IN ADDICTION RECOVERY, GRIEF AND TRAUMA

“I made an instant connection with Margie. She is warm, empathetic, open minded and completely non judgmental (no matter how scared I was to share my deepest, darkest secrets with her). Most importantly, she is extremely knowledgeable in her chosen fields of addiction recovery and grief and trauma.

I saw her for help primarily in addiction recovery however she also gave me some amazing advice on relationships and working through grief. She helped me to understand the disease of addiction, its links to depression and anxiety, how it works in my head which helped me to understand why I act the way I do which I think is critical to overriding my past behaviour.

She armed me with a range of techniques and tools that were easy to understand, completely relevant to my values and beliefs and easily implemented into my daily life.

One of the best things about Margie is that she doesn’t force anything onto you and if something is not working, or doesn’t sit right with you, she’s got plenty more options to try out. She is respectful, incredibly patient and understanding and her obvious and earnest desire to help others is truly admirable.”

— Ellen W.

 MARGIE SAVED MY LIFE 

"My name is Andrew and I would like to share my gratitude with you about my experience when I met Margie.

When I met Margie I was destitute with drug addiction and helplessness. I could not see that things could ever get better. I had lost myself completely - with death only a matter of time. 

I knew I needed some guidance and a little bit of hope, and that's exactly what I got when I was introduced to Margie. Her ability to calm my mind with words that were loving and compassionate somehow gave me the strength to start to believe I could turn things around. 

I believe Margie saved my life and can never thank her enough for her guidance, understanding and the push I needed to get where I am today.”

— Andrew L.

 COMPASSIONATE AND INSIGHTFUL 

"Margie is the most wonderfully compassionate and insightful counsellor I have worked with. Over a number of years Margie supported me, as the mother of a young much-loved adult son, in dealing with his acute substance addictions - the ramifications of which were deep and wide and came close to dissembling me.

Margie did so with tremendous kindness and empathy. And importantly, Margie drew on her extensive clinical knowledge in shifting my awareness of the physiological and neurological impacts of addictions, on my son’s behaviours. This helped me modify my expectations and interactions and led to less stressful interactions.

Like others in this situation, I knew that looking after myself was critical, but struggled to put it into practice. Margie’s ‘Mindful Self-Compassion’ workshop really helped - and offered perspectives of others in my situation. 

Margie brings a diverse and interconnected strengths to the table. If you have the opportunity to work with her, grasp it with both hands!”

— Matilda Emberson

HELPED ME TO A PLACE OF EMOTIONAL HEALING AND WELLBEING

“Margie Bauer became my counsellor in January 2018. Due to the drug addiction of a family member, I had reached a point of desperation in my life that had begun to impact on my behaviour and may have resulted in deep depression.

Our journey began…

Margie has a very calming and gentle approach and I felt an instant connection with her. I felt safe with her. She has the lived experience and expertise in dealing with major trauma. She quickly realised that I wanted to find peace and was prepared to deal with the issues affecting my life.

Margie systematically used her deep theoretical knowledge to work through a series of exercises that were confronting and hard but helped me to a place of positive emotional healing and wellbeing. At all times Margie listened without judgement and I felt a collaborative approach with Margie showing respect and appreciation for my knowledge and determination.

I was fortunate to complete a Mindfulness Self Compassion course with Margie, as well as many individual counselling sessions. I credit her for transforming my thinking and saving my life. Under her guidance, I have learnt to accept, let go and to live a life filled with compassion and gratitude.

I would highly recommend Margie Bauer’s services. Margie has the compassion and caring, academic knowledge and practical experience to guide her clients towards healing.

It has been my honour and privilege to be associated with her.”

Fiona C.

GREAT HELP WITH GRIEF

“I have been working with Margie for over two years and she has been a great help to me, through my grief of my late husband, family members and friends.

Margie is so easy to talk to and she really listens to her clients.”

Daphne Sims

I’M NOW 9 MONTHS SOBER

“I have just reached 9 month’s sobriety and Margie has played an important role in me being able to achieve this landmark. Margie carefully explained the addiction cycle when I first met her and over the past nine months we have been working together to overcome my alcoholism.

Margie has extensive knowledge of the AA program as well as many other complementary therapies to assist with overcoming addiction and then growing your life back to becoming a functioning adult.

Her calm, measured counselling has had such a positive impact on my recovery.

Reviewing the notes I have taken during our sessions, Margie has shared a wealth of information for dealing with addiction, personal relationships, health and has equipped me with the tools I need to grow both personally and holistically.

A big thank you for all of your wonderful encouragement and counselling this year. You have been so generous with all of your knowledge and patient with me while I had my ‘training wheels for sobriety’ on. In reality you have been a big part in me getting my life back – saving it! For that I will be forever grateful.

I just love Margie – she is always so encouraging, warm, enthusiastic and supportive.”

Dimity B.

I WAS A HIGH FUNCTIONING ADDICT

“I was a 22 year old real estate agent at the time that I started receiving drug and alcohol counselling from Margie Bauer. I initially started seeing Margie at a time where I did not believe myself to be an addict and I only sought drug and alcohol counselling initially for the purpose of paying off speeding fines through what's known as a Work or Development Program. This meant that I did not need to pay the fines with money, and instead the fines would be payed off through a certain number of hours of drug and alcohol counselling. (A Government scheme….)

To be honest, my initial intention was to just breeze through these counselling sessions and stop the counselling the moment my fines were paid. I was looking to get the most out of the system and not deal with any of my drug and alcohol problems as I didn’t believe I had any serious issues.

3 years later, I am now 25 years old and still receiving drug and alcohol counselling from Margie, as I have been doing on fortnightly basis since I started in 2015.

Over the last 3 years Margie has helped me see that I really do have a problem with addiction, that I actually am an addict, a high functioning addict to be specific. After being able to understand this, she helped and gently encouraged me to make the biggest and best decision I've made in my life which was to admit I am an addict and go to rehab to seek professional help. Margie helped me see what I couldn’t see about the cycle I was living in and that it would keep going until I made some changes.

Looking back, if I hadn’t made that decision, I would not be alive today. It was a decision I could not have made without Margie’s constant support and consultative approach.

One of the things that set Margie apart from any other numerous counsellors I have had, is that she was very patient with me and never gave up on me. She was always encouraging me to love myself. Margie was there for me in every stage of the journey, even when I was no longer under her care, she called the rehab to ask how I was going and to encourage me and this is just an example of how Margie was constantly going above and beyond my expectations and selfless with her support.

Margie was also very educated as a counsellor and I was always excited to see her as I found I always had plenty of take-away’s to apply to my life, her service was practical and successful in my life and recovery.

There aren’t many people I can say this about, but I can safely say that without Margie, my journey with identifying and treating my addiction, would have been an exhausting and drawn out process which would have meant I would have “gone around the mountain” so many more times than I did and lost a lot more in the process.

I would recommend Margie to anyone looking for counselling in drug and alcohol as well as any of the other services she provides within her tool belt of wisdom.

Margie as a person is kind, loving and supportive and will stop at no lengths to ensure the wellbeing of her clients. If you would like to contact me to ask any questions, please feel free to call me on my number bellow.”

— Ben O.

 WARM, KNOWLEDGEABLE AND COMPASSIONATE

"I have found Margie very helpful with my recovery from substance abuse, trauma and grief.

She is warm, knowledgeable and compassionate. Her own difficult experiences and transformative healing give her the ideal background from which to advise and counsel those going through their own trials and tribulations.

Thanks Margie.”

— Blaeghd B.

 A KIND AND PATIENT INTERVENTION COACH

"Margie went out of her way to help our family when we were so distressed about our daughter’s drinking. She patiently and kindly coached all the family and friends involved through a loving process where we gently confronted and ‘held a mirror of her behaviour’ up to our child.

Margie helped organise a rehab that was within our means and to our joy, our daughter returned clean and sober.

Because Margie taught us about the family illness, we are practising self-care and our communication skills with the entire family have improved.”

— Jane R.

COMPASSION, GUIDANCE, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

“I was exceptionally fortunate to have Margie come into a challenging time in my life as my counsellor.

Her compassion, guidance, knowledge, experience and unparalleled care for all things living has been a revelation for me.

Working as a health professional, I couldn’t recommend Margie highly enough to anyone considering some timely guidance and help in their journey.

Thank you Margie.”

Marty, Ambulance Paramedic

BREAKING THE CYCLE OF ADDICTION AND DEPRESSION

“Thank you Margie for teaching me about the cycles of addiction and depression. Thank you for skills training around breathing exercises and loving kindness meditation. I’ve learned to love myself and I feel much more confident when it comes to pulling up patterns of addiction, and how I carry myself in the world.

My self esteem has grown through taking better care of myself and rejecting the shame I carried.

Thank you for your encouragement and life lessons. Thank you for your care, humour and honesty. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me. I’m a better person for it.”

Claire C.

BEST COUNSELLOR I’VE EVER HAD

“Margie Bauer is the best counsellor I’ve ever had.

When I first started seeking help for my substance abuse, I really didn’t believe in one on one counselling to be helpful. But in 2016 I met Margie Bauer and we formed an understanding immediately.

From then on we maintained contact on a regular basis.

Whilst working with Margie I gained a lot of useful knowledge that has helped me find myself and also be the man I am today. Although I am still fighting my addiction, I know that Margie is one call away when times are hard.

In my eyes Margie Bauer is a saint because it surely was a blessing to meet her.

Thank you Margie for being a shoulder to lean on and listening to my problems and teaching me better ways to deal with them than resort to substances. Once again, thank you Margie.”

Nicholas Gooda