Makaela Nolan
Art Therapist
Makaela Nolan is an Arts Psychotherapist and Counsellor who works integratively across both creative and talk-based therapy. While creative and expressive modalities are central to her practice, sessions are always guided by the individual needs, preferences, and readiness of each client. Makaela carefully titrates between verbal and non-verbal approaches, meeting clients where they are and adjusting the pace and depth of work to support safety and regulation.
She works with a broad range of expressive therapy modalities, including visual and multimedia arts, sensory and tactile processes, movement and dance, drama, and embodied approaches. These are offered as options rather than requirements, particularly supporting clients who may struggle to articulate their inner experiences through words alone.
Makaela holds a Bachelor of Arts Therapy and a Bachelor of Nursing, and is PACFA registered as a Certified Practising Counsellor and Certified Practising Registrant. She is also a registered member of PACFA’s College of Creative and Experiential Therapies (CCET) as an Art Therapist, and is currently expanding her professional development in Internal Family Systems (IFS).
Her therapeutic approach is person-centred, trauma-informed, and integrative, drawing on psychodynamic and psychoanalytic perspectives, humanistic and developmental frameworks, CBT-informed strategies, and creative exploration. Clients often describe her style as gently inquisitive, playful yet grounded, empathetic and non-judgemental, with an ability to hold both lightness and complex or traumatic material. She creates sessions that are client-led, present-moment focused, and responsive to what feels most supportive in the room.
Makaela primarily works with children and young people aged 8 through their 20s, supporting those navigating emotional regulation difficulties, self-harm, significant life transitions, and childhood trauma. She is particularly well-suited to young people who have struggled with traditional talk therapy, while also supporting those who prefer a more conversational therapeutic style.
Her background as a Registered Nurse, including experience in primarily intensive care, but also rural and Aboriginal health, palliative care, and complex disability support, informs her holistic, ethically grounded, and collaborative way of working. Makaela values authenticity, safety, creativity, trauma-informed, neurodiversity-affirming practice, and supporting clients to feel seen, supported, and understood.