Empath + High Sensitivity

Trauma and Relationship Supports-catering specifically for the unique needs of those with heightened sensitivity, empathy, anxiety- who may also identify as 'neurodiverse'

Perhaps you’ve spent what feels like a lifetime feeling everything more deeply than those around you. Where you notice every shift in tone, the longer pauses in conversation, the micro expressions and changes in body language, and every unspoken tension in the room. You’re the one who holds it all together – at work, at home, in relationships often even when it feels like your world is quietly crumbling underneath.

If you feel like you don’t quite fit, like you’re always “too much” or “too sensitive,” you’re not alone. Many of the women I work with describe feeling misunderstood and exhausted by a world that seems too loud, too fast, and too demanding. You might dread small talk, feel drained in noisy spaces and shopping centres, and carry the weight of everyone else’s needs. Perhaps you’ve stayed in relationships that hurt, second‑guessed yourself after manipulation or gas-lighting, or turned to chemical substances or 'secret comforts', including food because it asks nothing of you. You may know you’re capable of more ,new risks, new work, a fuller life yet past hurts and anxious uncertainty keep pressing “pause.”

If you’re highly sensitive, deeply empathic or neurodivergent (ADHD, Level 2 autism), and you’re exhausted from masking, managing everyone else’s emotions, or using addictions and coping behaviours to get through the day "hello. I see you".

Welcome to a space where you don’t have to “tone it down”, "Hold it together" or be “easier” for anyone.

Does this feel familiar?

You might notice yourself in some of the following:

You feel overstimulated or “wired” much of the time – by noise, expectations, conflict, crowds, bright lights, or simply needing to be “game-on or charged” all day.
You’re the one people often lean on, but very few truly see how much you’re carrying – and how long you’ve been carrying the load for.
Growing up, you were called “too sensitive”, “dramatic” or “over-reactive”, so you learned to swallow your feelings and pretend things didn’t hurt as much as they perhaps did.
You’ve experienced emotional neglect, inconsistency, turbulent relationships, or had partners where you were left questioning your own reality and worth.
You’ve leaned on addictions or other coping behaviours – alcohol, food, over-working, people-pleasing, sex, screens, online shopping – anything to try to alleviate the discomfort in being in your own skin or numb over-stimulation.
You’ve maybe wondered whether you might have ADHD or ASD (Level 2) traits or behaviours, where masking has become so automatic you barely know who you are without it.
On the outside you look “fine”, competent, capable, organised – but inside you feel raw, tired, and constantly close to burnout and overwhelm.

If you recognize yourself in even a few of these, you are far from alone. Sessions with me can offer a grounded, non-judgmental space to finally 'put the mask down' and gently make sense of why life has felt the way it has and how to reduce some of the heaviness you are carrying.

About me

My name is Maree Eisma, I’m a Medicare‑accredited Mental Health Social Worker with qualifications in counselling and coaching. I've been practicing for 25 years across various sectors- alcohol and other drugs, schools, sexual assault, and mental health services and I'm the founder of Change of Course.

I’ve been walking alongside people as they navigate all kinds of challenges and adversity. I’m also a deeply feeling (and thinking), pattern recognizing person myself, which means I am intentionally gentle with nervous systems that are already carrying a lot. I’m based in The Patch in the Dandenong Ranges, Melbourne, and I also offer online sessions across Australia.

I largely work with women over 25 who are:-

highly empathetic or highly sensitive, and many who live with ADHD or are autistic (Level 2) or self‑identify with similar traits.
Living with the impact of trauma, past emotional neglect, chaotic or turbulent relationships
Dealing with the impact of grief and loss, which is often not well understood or appreciated by those around them. Especially the more 'less visible' grief that we can experience that can feel like it has no place to land or be 'seen'.
Struggling with addictions and other coping behaviours that usually cause additional anguish and frustration or despair.

What sessions feel like?: A different kind of therapy space

Many of my clients find large medical or multi-practitioner clinics overwhelming – the fluorescent lights, overlapping conversations, the waiting room energy, and the constant movement of people in pain or distress. My purpose‑built studio avoids busy waiting rooms; I don’t book clients back‑to‑back, so you’re unlikely to cross paths with others, because your privacy matters to me.

Sessions with me are intentionally centered around a sense of calm, unhurried, and tailored to your nervous system. You choose the music (or silence), the lighting, any gentle scents, and even the temperature, as you have the remote in front of you. We’ll move at a pace that makes sense for you. I use somatic approaches, EMDR (Eye movement desensitization and re-processing), EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and Sandplay, and symbol work/ Art Therapy interventions when words are hard to find or express. I pay close attention to how you naturally process information, adjusting how I explain techniques or share tools and resources, so that things land in a way that’s clear, usable and ultimately helpful for you.

A space intentionally created for sensitive, empathic and neurodivergent nervous systems where people can finally exhale

How I work

Clients often tell me they feel genuinely seen and remembered, like their story 'actually matters'. People notice that I can help untangle confusion and make sense of what feels chaotic inside. Together, we map the patterns without blame, recognising how past relationships, family dynamics (including narcissistic patterns), and systems have shaped coping. Many describe a growing permission to be as they are, and a softening toward parts of themselves that have worked so hard for so long. Grief, especially the quiet, disenfranchised grief that goes unnoticed, has a place here, and I sit with it alongside you.

Additionally, I often describe therapy as us sitting together in a quiet corridor, with doors to either side. Each door represents a different way into your healing. You always choose which doors we open, and when. Nothing is dragged into the room before you are ready because

different nervous systems and sensory systems need different doorways. Because of this, I use a mix of talk therapy and experiential, somatic and creative approaches.

Some things we might explore together at your pace- might include-

Mapping how over-stimulation, shutdown, freeze and hyper-vigilance show up in your body and your life and how it impacts you, and perhaps those who matter the most to you.
Make sense of the impact of emotional neglect, grief and relationship patterns that have emerged over time and how they impact you now.
Gently untangle addictions and coping strategies, without shaming the parts of you that needed them in order to survive.
Explore the cost of masking, over-giving and people-pleasing, and slowly build ways to exist and take up space in this world as you are.
Create ways of living that respect your sensitivity, neuro-divergence and limits, instead of constantly overriding them and ending up more depleted and distressed.

We move slowly and respectfully, listening to your body, not just your thoughts. Your sensitivity, is not a 'problem to be fixed'. You set the pace. Together we honour your nervous system rather than pushing through it. It deserves its own honouring and respect.

I slow things down and prioritise your comfort from the moment you arrive. Sessions with me are relational, warm and deeply respectful – I often sit barefoot or legs crossed up on the couch- inviting you to settle too, as if you were in the comfort of your own lounge room.

A place to arrive, not perform.

Above all, I want this to feel like arriving somewhere.

A place where you don’t have to explain or justify your sensitivity.
Where your story matters.
Where you are remembered between sessions.
Where the parts of you that have been holding everything together can finally rest and exhale – because all of you is totally welcome here.

To book a session- please click here

Change of Course

Trauma and relationship healing for those who experience the world deeply