About

Dip. Lang, Hons. BSc., MSW

Tristan Avella-O’Brien

I became passionate about practicing as a therapist when my own healing journey began in 2018. I was fortunate to receive warm, authentic care from my therapist, which showed me how vital safety and presence are in allowing unhealed wounds to surface and transform. My experiences of working through enmeshment and attachment wounds, alongside professional training, have given me both the passion and the skills to hold a space of compassion, curiosity, and non-judgement for others.

My background is diverse: psychotherapy, social work, trauma education, outdoor education, management, and ecology. I also hold a Day Walk Leader qualification, and years of leading groups in natural settings have shaped my belief in the healing power of nature. This informs my eco-therapy approach, which supports clients to reconnect with themselves and the natural world.

In my personal life, I find restoration in time outdoors, meditation, reading, playing guitar, and being with loved ones.

I look forward to meeting you.

Our Therapeutic Approach

As a graduate of Hakomi Somatic Mindfulness Psychotherapy, I work with individuals and couples to support growth, healing, and transformation. Much of our work involves gently uncovering unconscious beliefs formed in childhood that continue to shape how we experience life and relationships. This exploration can be done with or without discussing specific memories, depending on what feels right for you.

Safety, compassion, and practicality guide my approach. My aim is not to keep you dependent on therapy but to support you in building the inner and outer resources you need to thrive long-term. Ideally, you will leave our work not only with new skills, but also with the sense that you are one meaningful connection richer.

Connection is at the heart of my practice – connection with self, with others, and with the natural world. I also bring an awareness of eco-grief and the challenges of living in uncertain times, integrating nature-based wisdom with evidence-based somatic psychotherapy.

What is somatic psychotherapy?

Qualifications & Training

  • Masters of Social Work, Flinders University - 2022

  • Hakomi Somatic Mindfulness Psychotherapy Professional Training (330 hours) - 2022

  • Hakomi Embodied and Aware Relationships Training [H.E.A.R.T.] (113 hours) - 2024

  • Day Walk Leader Certificate, Bushwalking Leadership SA - 2024

  • Advanced Master Program on the Treatment of Trauma, NICABM - 2023

  • In and Out of Character, A Hakomi Workshop - 2020

  • Bachelor of Science (Honours), The University of Adelaide - 2013

  • Diploma of Languages (Spanish), The University of Adelaide - 2012

Influences

  • Hakomi Somatic Psychotherapy (Ron Kurtz)

  • Internal Family Systems (Richard Schwartz)

  • Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (Pat Ogden)

  • Polyvagal Theory (Stephen Porges)

  • Somatic Experiencing (Peter Levine)

    Other authors and researchers who inspire my work include: Pema Chödrön, Daniel Goleman, Thich Nhat Hanh, Gabor Maté, Bill Plotkin and Daniel J. Siegel.

Hakomi Somatic Mindfulness Psychotherapy

Adverse experiences during childhood mean many of us carry incorrect negative beliefs about ourselves in our unconscious. These are the cause of the limiting themes that continue to occur in our lives.

As a gentle, yet powerful process in mindfulness, Hakomi allows a participant to curiously study how they experience these themes in the present-moment by observing the mind and body. This process allows us to gain awareness, insight, and understanding into how these themes operate, which awakens compassion and with it, facilitates transcendence from these long-held negative self-beliefs.

Hakomi is a Hopi Native American word meaning “How do you stand in relation to these many realms?” The question asks us about what ‘self’ we present to the world when we are faced with situations and experiences that we find difficult. So really, it asks “Who are you?” with curiosity and compassion.

Let’s Begin