Grief and Loss Counselling, Dementia and End of Life Services
Ground Zero Counselling provides down- to- earth psychosocial expertise for people navigating loss, grief, sudden life change, dementia, disability and end-of-life transitions.
Support may be emotional, psychological, practical, relational or spiritual, recognising both the person experiencing the loss and the people walking alongside them.
Ground Zero Counselling works with individuals, couples, families, including Support at Home and NDIS participants, medical teams and palliative care teams to provide psychosocial and practical support. My work provides a space for the emotional, relational, psychological and practical aspects of care that can sometimes be overlooked when the focus is more on medical treatment and physical needs.
Bringing together:
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More than 20 years' experience supporting individuals and families through change, distress, relationships and difficult life experiences.
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Clinical counselling and psychotherapy using evidence-informed therapeutic approaches including Gestalt Therapy, CBT and Interactive Drawing therapy
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Specialist grief and bereavement training and experience supporting children, teenagers and adults
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Dementia-informed practice
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End-of-life and Dementia Doula training
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Specialist training working with Couples and Families using an EFT approach
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Extensive experience supporting neurodivergent individuals - young people and adults
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Cognitive Stimulation Therapy facilitation
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Trauma-informed practice
Ground Zero Counselling provides a therapeutic space where these experiences can be explored with dignity, respect and without judgement
Ground Zero (noun) 1: the centre of rapid, intense or violent change 2: back to the very beginning
3: a chance to start again
About Kate Nankivell
Clinical Psychotherapist and Counsellor
Having been confronted with a few of her own ground zero events, Kate wanted the insights gained from her lived experience to not only enrich her practice as a therapist, but to be of value for others.
As a caregiver, Kate's lived experience may resonate with others who find themselves in the role of carer, having to make decisions and navigate the responsibilities brought on by significant change.
Kate's journey in this very specialised field began back in 2012 when she completed life changing training with Karuna Hospice, followed by Deathwalker training with Zenith Virago. This led to volunteering at Hummingbird House in 2017. Her personal experiences, combined with over two decades supporting people therapeutically with various presentations of grief, distress and loss, allows her to provide authentic and holistic support to those facing fear or uncertainty wrought by a life changing diagnosis such as dementia, disability or significant change.
At Ground Zero Counselling, Kate sees the person beyond the diagnosis. She works collaboratively with you to help improve wellbeing and confidence, improve your relationship with yourself and others. In short, supporting you to make what has been incredibly difficult and overwhelming, a little easier.
Kate provides a safe and supportive space for each person to identify their needs, express their concerns, optimise wellbeing and build more positive relationships through improved communication, increased awareness and greater choice.
Kate has a Masters of Gestalt psychotherapy, with additional specialist training in Grief, Trauma, Interactive Drawing Therapy and Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples and family. She is a registered provider for QPS first responders (Self Refer program) and WorkCover Queensland, provides clinical counselling services to NDIS clients with self managed or plan managed funding, provides counselling and dementia support to Support at Home participants and sees clients privately. Kate undertook additional training in 2025 with Preparing the Way and Dementia Doulas International to become a certified End of Life Doula and Dementia Doula respectively.
She supports people online (Australia-wide), and face to face - either in her rooms at Spring Hill, Brisbane, or visits clients in their homes if mobility is an issue. Kate facilitates both individual and group therapy, runs support groups with a dementia focus, facilitates CST groups for people living with mild to moderate dementia, and provides a range of dementia and end of life services. When counselling, she employs talk therapy or expressive art therapies depending on the clients’ needs, preferences and ability.
Kate’s warm and creative approach helps individuals build their personal capacity by developing their self- awareness, explore where they get ‘stuck’, and invites them to employ new strategies to respond in healthier ways to their challenges.
