Supporting your health and wellbeing.
Counselling
At Wagga Women's Health Centre, we understand the importance of providing trauma-informed care to our clients. Our approach is rooted in feminist values and a commitment to creating a safe and supportive environment for all women. We recognise the prevalence of trauma and its impact on mental health, behaviour, and overall wellbeing. That's why we take an approach that accounts for our clients' trauma history and its effects on their lives. We know past experiences can have a lasting impact, and we work to avoid triggering or re-traumatising our clients in treatment. With our trauma-informed care, we aim to help our clients heal and thrive in all aspects of their lives.
For more information or to book an appointment with one of our counsellors, please get in touch with the Centre.
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Counselling can address various challenges, including stress, anxiety, depression, and relationship issues. It can help you to gain clarity and direction, reassess your goals, and develop new coping strategies.
We understand that some issues may feel very private, and talking to your friends or family about them may be difficult. That's why we offer a safe and private space for you to explore your thoughts and feelings. Our counsellors will provide you with a genuine, caring, and empathic response to your problems and work with you to find solutions that work for you.
Our professional counsellors are highly trained and registered. They are committed to providing evidence-based tools and techniques to help you move through difficult feelings, thoughts, behaviours, or situations.
Counselling allows women to:
Feel listened to and validated
Be empowered to identify their own priorities
Identify strengths and inner resources
Develop and move towards achieving personal goals
Heal emotionally
Gain information about other resources that may be available
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At Wagga Women's Health Centre, we understand that going through a traumatic experience can feel overwhelming and isolating. That's why we offer crisis counselling, a short-term therapy that aims to provide emotional support and guidance during the immediate aftermath of a crisis. Our goal is to help individuals decrease emotional pain, ensure their safety, and develop a plan for coping with the situation.
It's important to note that while crisis counselling can be incredibly helpful, it's not a substitute for individuals who need more intensive or long-term psychiatric care. We believe in providing comprehensive care that meets the unique needs of every individual, and we're here to support you on your journey towards healing and wellbeing.
Some examples of when crisis counselling may be required include:
Domestic and Family Violence
Sexual Assault
Traumatic experience
Grief and Loss
Family and Relationship Issues
The juggle is real, and so is the struggle some days. As women, we know that life requires resilience, but it shouldn’t always be hard. Yet sometimes, it gets a little overwhelming, and our well-being starts to suffer. You find you have a little less pep in your step. You are more tired at the end of the day. Your fuse seems a little bit shorter. We understand because we are women and are here to help.
The Wagga Women's Health Centre provides free counselling to all women over the age of 16, with no referral required. Taking care of your mental wellbeing isn’t just for moments of crisis – it’s for every day.
Wagga Women’s Health Centre provides both In-Business-Hours and After-Hours Counselling sessions both in person and via Telehealth, meaning you can chat with a counsellor over a cup of tea in your kitchen, lounge room, bedroom or out on a walk!
Helping you receive the help you need.
Intake & Service Navigation
Sometimes trying to figure out what services or programs you need to assist you in your unique situation can be a challenge. The Wagga Women's Health Centre is here to help you navigate all of the options and to access the help and support that you need.
At the Wagga Women's Health Centre, we act as the front door for women’s services across the Riverina, if we don’t provide the service or program you need in-house, we often have referral pathways to the services and professionals who do. Our intake team can sit with you understand your needs and work with you and our partner organisations to help identify the services and programs that are going to assist you. This includes issues related to housing, reproductive choice, mental health, women's health, legal concerns, financial concerns, family relationships, gender identity and more.
There are many services and programs that we do not offer directly through the Wagga Women's Health Centre, but we can help you access through our Intake and Referral process.
Some of the issues that we can help you access assistance with include:
Housing and homelessness
Reproductive choice
Mental Health
Women's Health
Legal Concerns
Financial Concerns
Family Relationship Issues
Gender Identity, and
So much more.
For more information or to book an appointment with one of our Intake and Referral Managers, please get in touch.
Prioritising self care.
Relaxation Massage
Relaxation massage involves hands-on techniques to increase circulation, relieve tension, reduce stress, relieve anxiety, improve sleep, and promote relaxation throughout the entire body. The Wagga Women's Health Centre offers subsidised Relaxation Massage appointments to all women over 16 years of age.
No referral is required to access this subsidised service. We have 30-minute appointments available for $20 and 1-hour appointments available for $40. The Wagga Women's Health Centre Inc. will pick up the rest of the cost because that is how we empower you to get through the rest of your week.
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One of the immediate benefits of massage is a feeling of deep relaxation and calm. This occurs because massage prompts the release of endorphins – the brain chemicals (neurotransmitters) that produce feelings of well-being. Levels of stress hormones, such as adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine, are also reduced.
Our professional practitioner can tailor your massage session according to your needs. Please let Reception know if you want to discuss special requirements with the Massage Therapist. A massage chair is available for those with mobility issues. All services within the Centre are wheelchair accessible.
Some of the physical benefits of massage include:
reduced muscle tension
improved circulation
stimulation of the lymphatic system
reduction of stress hormones
increased joint mobility and flexibility
improved skin tone
improved recovery of soft tissue injuries
heightened mental alertness
reduced anxiety and depression.
Pre-booking appointments are necessary for each of the services offered. If you are unable to attend, please contact the Centre as soon as possible so that your appointment may be offered to someone else.
If you are looking for a little "You" time in the noise of daily life or you would like more information, please contact the Wagga Women's Health Centre to book you appointment.
Taking care of our bodies.
Women's Health Nurse
Taking care of our bodies is such an important part of our health and wellbeing as women. Our bodies are complex and change so much over the course of our life as we navigate puberty, pregnancy, menopause, old age, and everything life throws at us in between.
The Murrumbidgee Local Health District Women’s Health Nurses provide assistance in navigating these changes and making sure our bodies are healthy. The MLHD Women's Health Nurse provides equal, culturally appropriate access to evidenced based women's health care services at the Wagga Women's Health Centre on the third Thursday of each month. The clinic focuses on reproductive health, health screening tests, education and advice.
The MLHD Women's Health Nurse are run by specially trained Women's Health Nurses who can assist all women over the age of 16 years.
Women from all backgrounds are encouraged to access this service, including Aboriginal women, culturally and linguistically diverse women, women with a disability and rural and isolated women.
Services provided by the Women's Health Nurse include:
Cervical Screening (Pap Smears)
STI Screening
Contraceptive Advice
Breast Health Awareness
Pregnancy Testing with Counselling and Referral
Education on Menopause
Pelvic Floor Issues
For more information or to book an appointment with the Women's Health Nurse, please get in touch with the Wagga Women's Health Centre.
Empowering women through nutrition.
Nutrition
Nutrition is a significant health factor in a woman’s overall wellbeing. The Wagga Women's Health Centre has teamed up with local Nutritionists from Ingrained Nutrition in Wagga to bring you free individual consultations with a private practice dietician in our Centre.
No referral is required to access this free service. In your initial Dietetics Consultation, you will discuss your medical, nutritional health and wellbeing needs with our trained dietician, Bethany. You will then receive the tools, knowledge and tailored advice to guide you towards an improved feeling of wellness.
For more information or to book an initial Dietetics Consultation with Bethany.
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Bethany joined the Ingrained Nutrition team in April 2024, after completing her dietetics degree with Class 1 Honours from Wollongong University. Passionate about empowering women to celebrate their health through every stage of life, Bethany specializes in health counseling, particularly for female health conditions such as PCOS and Endometriosis. She believes in the power of nutrition to provide support, guidance, and transformative health outcomes for women.
A proud local of Young, Bethany has lived across various regions in Australia, including three states such as the Northern Territory. Her love for rural health ultimately brought her back to the country, where she finds immense satisfaction in partnering with individuals to achieve their health goals, no matter their age or stage of life. Bethany's maturity, infectious energy, and enthusiasm for nutrition are qualities her clients deeply value.
As an avid endurance sports enthusiast and passionate rural health advocate, Bethany has a particular interest in optimizing nutrition for movement, fitness, and overall well-being. She emphasises the importance of modifying both internal and external environments to enhance health, focusing on the relationship between food, the gut, brain, and body.
Outside of work, Bethany embraces new challenges and outdoor adventures, cherishing moments like watching the sunrise or dancing to live music. Her joy for life is fuelled by staying active and spending time with people who inspire her.
Supporting your health and wellbeing.
Pelvic Health Physiotherapy
Our pelvis plays a pivotal role in the overall health and wellbeing of women. The Wagga Women's Health Centre has teamed up with Sydney based pelvic health physiotherapist Joelene Murdoch from The Physiotherapy Clinic to bring you free individual consultations with a private practice physiotherapist in our Centre.
No referral is required to access this free service. No matter what you come in for, Joelene will do a full body assessment to ensure she figures out everything contributing to your problem. You will then receive the tools, knowledge and tailored advice to guide you. Often, there is much more to it than just doing pelvic floor exercises.
For more information or to book an initial Pelvic Health Physiotherapy Consultation with Joelene contact the centre.
Book now
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Joelene Murdoch is a pelvic health physiotherapist who owns private pelvic health physiotherapy clinics in Sydney. She grew up in Leeton and has moved back to the Riverina in the last few years to allow her children to experience the “country life” and she and her family love being back in the country!
Having worked in the eastern suburbs and lower north shore of Sydney for 16 years, she has developed a passion for bridging the gap the exists between metropolitan and regional and rural health services and the gap between private and Public Health Services. So, by partnering with the Wagga Women's Health Centre, she is able to help those who otherwise would not have access to pelvic health physiotherapy.
Joelene can offer treatment to Women for:
Prolapse and Pessaries
Stress Urinary Incontinence
Bladder Dysfunction
Chronic Pelvic Pain
Pregnancy
Post Partum
Painful intercourse
Bowel Dysfunction
Mastitis and Blocked Ducts
Joelene has been a physiotherapist for 20 years! A pelvic health physiotherapist for 15 of those years. She has been a director of The Physiotherapy Clinic for 16 years.
She is currently studying medicine at Notre Dame University and hopes to finish in 2026.
Bachelor of Physiotherapy with Honours CSU
Post Graduate Certificate in Continence and Women’s health: University of Melbourne
Masters in Women's Health Medicine UNSW
PHD student at University of Canberra.
