Who are the Supervisors?
All of our supervisors are registered members with Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), Australian Counselling Association (ACA) and Australian Psychological Society (APS).
Charlene Pereira
Honours degree of Bachelor of Arts (Psychology & Criminology); Masters in Counselling; PhD candidature Social Work; Certificate in Clinical Supervision.
Member of the Professional Supervision College and Clinical Counselling College, ACA
Member Crisis Intervention & Management Australasia (CIMA). Registered critical incident debriefer.
Member Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Association
Charlene has 30 years experience working in the human services, criminal justice and community health sector. Her experience spans case management, counselling, senior policy and project development, practice management leadership roles, clinical supervision, research and education.In 1999 she was awarded by the Department of Justice Community Corrections for achieving a consistently high standard of work performance in a difficult and challenging environment. In 2005 she was awarded in recognition of contribution to programs within the School of International and Community Studies for her work as an educator within the Criminal Justice Administration degree at RMIT. Within the same year she was awarded with high achievement by Professor Sue Willis, Dean and Faculty of Education, Masters of Counselling at Monash University.
Charlene over the past 20 years has been active in the development and delivery of professional development programs and clinical supervision services for practitioners in the allied health field, post graduate Social Work and Counselling students, and employees within Court Services Victoria Family Violence and Specialist Courts and Programs, CISP, ARC List and Drug Court.
To extend her knowledge and application of professional supervisory practices, Charlene’s PhD with the Monash Criminal Justice Research Consortium explored the relationship between the style of professional supervision and practitioner skill development. To date she has three publications from her research informing best practice in professional supervision.
Specialisations: Family violence; mental illness, psycho-social disability, substance use; aggressive and violent offender programs; female offenders’, trauma, gender and culturally responsive case management; restorative justice group conferencing, critical incident stress debriefing and defusing, clinical supervision, reflective practice, leadership coaching.
Verity Best
Bachelor of Applied Social Science (Counselling); Graduate Diploma Family Law – Family Dispute Resolution; ASIST Trainer (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training); Certificate of Attainment in Professional Supervision
Member Australian Counselling Association (ACA) Clinical Supervisor and Counsellor
Member Victorian Association for Dispute Resolution (VADR) Accredited Mediator
Verity is an experienced clinical supervisor, counsellor and Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner (FDRP). She is accredited by the Attorney-General’s Department to provide mediation services to separated parents in relation to children’s matters. As a mediator, Verity provides a safe platform for separated parents to discuss their children’s needs and develop a mutually agreeable parenting plan prioritising the safety and wellbeing of children.
Verity’s therapeutic work spans the fields of Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) counselling and case management, mental health psychosocial assessment and treatment, elder abuse and family violence counselling with women and children.
As a supervisor, Verity works from a person-centred, strengths-based framework and encourages professional growth and development of the supervisee within the parameters of organisational and program specific requirements and standards.
Verity has extensive experience in the delivery of individual and group supervision for practitioners working within the family violence sector, residential aged care facilities and financial counsellors working on the National Debt helpline.
Specialisations: Alcohol and other drug therapeutic treatments, family violence, elder abuse, working with involuntary clients, mediation, Family Law - family dispute resolution, clinical supervision, reflective practice.
Charity Crandall
Graduate Diploma of Counselling; Masters in Applied Social Science; Graduate Certificate in Career Development; Certificate Couples Therapist – The Gottman Institute; Mental Health First Aid; Certificate of Attainment in Professional Supervision
Member Australian Counselling Association, Counsellor Level 4 and Clinical Supervisor
Member Crisis Intervention & Management Australasia (CIMA). Registered critical incident debriefer.
Charity has 17 years’ experience working with individuals, couples, and families. She operates from a client centred and solutions focused approach. Charity has a deep understanding of trauma and family violence and applies a trauma informed lens to all her work and social advocacy.
In her role as clinical supervisor, Charity focuses on ethical and evidence-based approaches to client work, reflective practice, self-care, and practitioner wellbeing. She has been providing individual and group supervision for CSV Family Violence and Specialist Courts and Programs for nine years.
Charity is a tertiary educator and trainer. She has developed and facilitated several workshops for practitioners and managers within the community health and justice sector.
Specialisations: Therapeutic case management for clients experiencing mental health and substance use, family violence, vicarious trauma, group work, family and couples therapy, clinical supervision, reflective practice, critical incident debriefing, career coaching and the development and delivery of training for organisations.
Maurice Grant-Drew
Bachelor of Applied Social Science (Counselling); Masters in Social Work; Graduate Certificate Client Assessment and Case Management (Men’s Behaviour Change Program); Certificate in Clinical Supervision; Psychological First Aid
Member Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
Member Australian Counselling Association (ACA), Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor
Member Crisis Intervention & Management Australasia (CIMA)
Maurice has extensive experience working in family violence, predominantly in the delivery of case management and counselling services, with specialised training and knowledge in therapeutic programs for adult and adolescent Aboriginal clients in the south-eastern metropolitan region of Victoria. As one of the first perpetrator intervention case manager programs proposed by Family Safety Victoria (FSV) sitting within an Aboriginal organisation, Maurice was instrumental in achieving case management and intervention targets as agreed by Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS now DFFH). Within existing cultural frameworks Maurice was able to build an individual and cultural group work program that addressed anger management and behaviour change within cultural frameworks.
Maurice is a qualified family violence Men's Behaviour Change Program Facilitator and supervisor.
Maurice’s work within the dual diagnosis (mental health and substance use) sector led to building and implementing a program to educate clinicians of the intersectionality that exists within their clients lives and build the capacity of clinicians in understanding and recognising clients at risk, and how they can identify and refer clients to the various existing programs.
As a clinical supervisor, Maurice works from a strengths-based, collaborative framework encouraging reflective practice as means to assist practitioners identify their strengths and limitations to help facilitate greater self-awareness and increase knowledge and skills to better understand, engage, and motivate clients for change.
Specialisations: Family violence, family safety contact, mental health, alcohol and other drugs, Men's Behaviour Change Programs, indigenous counselling, grief and loss, supporting parents with neurodivergent children, clinical supervision, group reflective practice, and facilitation of resilience and self-care in challenging work environments.
Josette Gardiner
Bachelor of Applied Social Science (Counselling); Certificate of Attainment in Professional Supervision RISE UP model
Member Australian Counselling Association, Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor
Josette is an experienced counsellor. Her counselling work has primarily encompassed working with individuals experiencing separation, family violence, navigating transgender and identity, mental health and substance use issues.
As a clinical supervisor Josette draws on a exploratory, person-centred and systems-based approach in supporting practitioners working with family violence victim survivors and persons using violence, at-risk young adults experiencing suicide ideation and/or self-harming behaviours, alcohol and other drugs, and mental health.
Josette currently facilitates group supervision for family violence practitioners and practitioners supporting children affected by parental separation. Josette encourages practitioners to consider trauma and its effects on the brain and behaviour of their clients, and to use a range of tools and activities to help children and young people untangle their inner world in a way that helps them make sense of it.
Specialisations: Trauma-informed practice, family violence within the LGBTIQ+ community, supporting children and families through separation, self-harm and suicide ideation, mental health, dual diagnosis, reflective practice, clinical supervision.
Kelly Murphy
Bachelor of Behavioural Studies (Psychology); Masters in Counselling; Equine Assisted Psychotherapy; Certificate in Clinical Supervision
Member Australian Counselling Association, Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor
Member Equine Psychotherapy Institute (EPI)
Kelly has over 15 years’ experience working in family violence, predominantly in the delivery of counselling services. Kelly has supported victims of family violence through partner contact programs that work alongside Men's Behaviour Change Programs. Kelly has historically worked in case management and developed a care team model (Murphy's Care Team Model) that supports working holistically with families and clients who experience family violence.
Kelly was part of a dual diagnosis (mental health and substance use) pilot program (SHARC) which supports ongoing dual diagnosis treatment and multi-organisational collaboration. The program led to educating clinicians of the intersectionality that exists within their clients lives and providing clients with holistic care. The program led to more awareness of dual diagnosis and the complexities of managing risk. Evidence from this program has supported an increase in clients’ access to support when dual diagnosis is present.
Kelly currently oversees a team of trauma specialists providing counselling and rehabilitative programs at The Australian Centre of Trauma and Wellness. Kelly has specialised her training to be trauma focused using experiential modalities such as somatic experiencing, nature based and equine assisted psychotherapy to support nervous system repair and regulation.
As a clinical supervisor, Kelly works from a strengths-based, collaborative framework encouraging reflective practice to help facilitate greater self-awareness and increase knowledge and skills to enhance client outcomes.
Specialisations: Family violence, family safety contact, mental health, alcohol and other drugs, trauma, clinical supervision, group reflective practice, and facilitation of resilience and self-care in challenging work environments.
Rubini Olifent
Bachelor of Social Work; Masters of Social Work; Diploma Legal Studies; Fundamentals of Clinical Supervision.
Member Australian Association of Social Work (AASW)
Member AASW Statewide Practice Group
Member Mental Health Professionals Network
Ruvini has 15 years’ experience as a social worker. During this period, she has provided case management and therapeutic supports to Asylum seekers, refugees, international students, adult offenders within the criminal justice system, and family violence respondents within the civil jurisdiction of the courts.
Ruvini’s work in leadership has included practice lead positions contributing to best practice principles and guidelines for offender programs.
As a supervisor Ruvini facilitates sessions informed by the developmental, educative and reflective practice models of supervision in order to develop a sound understanding of the practitioner’s skill set, blind spots or unconscious bias impacting on practice and the areas for professional growth.
Specialisations: Family violence, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, offender case management, Victorian court-based programs and systems, alcohol and other drugs, trauma, grief and loss, mental health, clinical supervision, and reflective practice.