2024 Women to Watch
This year we showcase over 80 South Australian women to watch throughout the year. From business, to careers, arts to science. This year’s selected women highlight the depth and diversity of the women in our state and also the vast array of opportunities to develop a business or career in South Australia. Find our more about our inaugural Women to Watch initiative here.
Kirrilly believes we all possess the self-healing powers of acceptance, wisdom and love. As a counsellor and psychotherapist, she has provided counselling for a number of NFP organizations both in the UK and Australia and now runs her own private practice, focused on supporting women and teenage girls. As a specialist in interpersonal trauma, Kirrilly sees her role as a healing facilitator, helping clients recover from past traumas and grow into empowered, self-aware individuals who know their own worth, live to their values and speak their truth.
// Favourite inspirational quote
“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” Carl Rogers.
// Let’s get to know you
Becoming a counsellor has been a long and winding road. I first studied Psychology straight out of school but felt there was something missing, it felt too clinical to me. After moving to the UK and pursuing a career in Advertising, I met a friend who was studying counselling. Discovering the difference between counselling and psychology was a light bulb moment, I had finally found the approach that felt right for me. I completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Counselling, followed by a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy. During that time, I volunteered for ChildLine (a UK charity that provides support to children and young people) and completed my training at a women’s centre in Huddersfield, an area in the UK with high poverty and social challenges. The course took a person-centred approach to counselling which spoke to my empathic and caring nature. After moving back to Adelaide in 2019, I worked as a counsellor for a local mental health organisation, then started my own private practice in 2020, specialising in women’s empowerment therapy.
This year has seen me release My Healing Journey, a workbook and journal along with branching out into corporate training. I’m also hoping to offer courses for women who want to recover from people pleasing and reclaim their authenticity.
// What makes you a Woman to Watch for 2024?
During my training, I met a lot of other counselling students who had experienced devastating amounts of trauma and abuse. As someone who didn’t identify with those experiences, I often wondered if I had ‘suffered enough’ to be an effective counsellor. After I started my own counselling (a requirement of our training) I begun to realise I had been minimising my experiences. Although my childhood had been fairly ‘normal’, I had experienced a lot of emotional neglect, and had developed what I call a good girl persona, always trying to please others, putting other people’s needs before mine, feeling guilty for asking or even having needs. As I began to practice, I realised I wasn’t alone. So many other women and girls were experiencing the same thing and it was having a big impact on their lives in so many ways. I realised I could break down the journey I had been on (and am still on!) and create an approach to counselling that empowered women. And that’s where the term women’s empowerment therapy was born. I realised what I’d seen as a weakness; my people pleasing, could become my biggest strength. By been open and authentic, instead of projecting an ‘I’ve got this’ persona, I could create a safe space for other women to go on their own journey, supported by a woman who showed them compassion, empathy, humour and unerring support.
// What are you most looking forward to for 2024?
I’m looking forward to seeing where leading with authenticity will take me. It’s been (and still is) a long, painful, scary, and challenging journey to discover and share my authentic self with the world. I don’t want to hide behind a façade of perceived capability anymore. I have realised by sharing my true self with others, I now experience deeper, more authentic connections. 2024 is the year of challenging myself to go out there and believe I am enough.
// If you could share one takeaway from your business or career, what would it be?
Believing that I truly have something to offer. And it doesn’t matter how many times you are turned down or make mistakes, this does not diminish your capability or your worthiness.
// What would you like to see for the future of South Australian women and girls?
I would like to see more opportunities for women and girls from disadvantaged and immigrant backgrounds. There are so many women and girls who have incredible potential, but their circumstances mean they may not get the same opportunities as others. I would also like to see more awareness and support for domestic violence and abuse. It’s still such a hidden problem and extends further than physical violence. More education around spotting the signs of abuse such as coercive control and all forms of abuse need to be taught to girls in schools from primary school age.
Get in touch with Kirrilly:
LinkedIn: Kirrilly Falivene
Website: www.theinspiredmind.com.au
Check out all of the incredible Women to Watch for 2024 here as their profiles are uploaded throughout the year.
To become an SA Woman Member, check out our Membership Options here.