"You're not lost exactly. But clarity feels a long way off. And you're ready to find it."

Hi, I'm Joanna Wood. I'm a counsellor working with women in their 50s and 60s who are ready to stop drifting and start figuring out what the next chapter actually looks like.

Not because anything is terribly wrong. More because something has shifted. The life you built, the role you've been playing, the way you've been managing everything, it all still works. But it doesn't quite fit anymore. And you're starting to notice.

The women I work with are capable, thoughtful, and used to getting things done. They're not in crisis. They're just tired of running on autopilot and ready to think more carefully about how they actually want to live now.

Many are navigating retirement, not the financial side but the identity side. They have the means to stop. They're just not sure who they are when they do. These are Gen X women, often the first in their families to have built real careers, financial independence, and hard-won expertise. They don't want to default to roles that don't reflect who they actually are. They want this chapter to mean something.

That might also look like a more obvious transition. Separation. Dating again after years away from it. An empty nest. A body that's changing. Or it might just be a quieter sense that the old way of doing things isn't working anymore and you'd like some help figuring out what comes next.

I didn't come to this work from the outside. I spent over 20 years in senior government roles, including 15 years as a Director and diplomatic postings to India, Vietnam and Thailand. I know what it is to be highly competent, to carry a lot, and to keep moving forward even when something underneath is asking for attention. Midlife found me too. Separation. Single parenting. Repartnering. My own health and weight changes. My own process of working out who I wanted to be in this next chapter.

Along the way I trained as a yoga teacher and breathwork practitioner, completed a Diploma of Counselling, and spent a lot of time learning to slow down enough to actually listen to myself. That combination of professional rigour and lived experience is what I bring to this work.

My approach draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, person centred counselling, and solution focused thinking. In practice that means we work with what matters to you, notice what's keeping you stuck, and find small, realistic ways to move toward a life that feels more deliberate and more like yours.

Sessions are calm and collaborative. There's no pressure to have it figured out before you arrive. You bring what's real and we work from there.

I offer three programs. Living with Intention for women who want to live more deliberately. Dating with Intention for women navigating dating later in life with clarity and self trust. And GLP-1 Support for women managing identity and wellbeing changes alongside weight loss medication.

I work online across Australia. In person sessions are coming soon to Bittern on the Mornington Peninsula.

If any of this sounds familiar, a free 20 minute discovery call is a good place to start. It's a relaxed conversation, no commitment, just a chance to talk about what's going on and whether working together feels like the right fit.

You can book through my website or send me a message. I'd love to hear from you.

Qualifications

Professional Membership

ACA Registration number: R80387