Melissa Middleton
Masters in Counselling
(Monash University)
Rising Strong’s origins lie in my own deeply personal experiences of grief. Intimately familiar with the complex emotions that come with grief and loss, I struggled to find support services that aligned with my age or my values. I became increasingly frustrated which reinforced my suffering. These pains fuelled a desire within me to help others with similar experiences.
“I learned that the relief comes in finding ways to adjust and attend to the emotional pain. Those experiences taught me what a powerful and privileged space the therapeutic environment is to work within.”
Melissa Middleton
I established Rising Strong in 2012, after being inspired by how I saw therapists work overseas. I wanted to be able to work fluently, combining all of the skills I had acquired.
This is an ongoing theme, evident in the Workshop Series being held in 2022, which will encapsulate all aspects of my training and bring a concise set of ideas, therapy and experience to those in my reach.
I spent 10 years in the field of corporate training and Adventure Therapy. Many organisations recognise the importance of developing their people by strengthening their emotional intelligence and capacity to be vulnerable yet resilient. Providing services to the corporate sector for this purpose was a very rewarding part of my career, with many lessons learned about people’s motivations and life choices.
“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.”
E. E. Cummings