"Are you still breathing?
If yes, you are already doing a great job."
Thu Andersen
About Us
Finding Inspiration and Joy in Every Moment
Love and Light Healing Sunshine Coast offers a unique approach to mental health therapy and healing, combining evidence-based practices with holistic healing techniques to create a uniquely therapeutic and restorative experience.
Our Vision
We strongly believe everyone deserves better mental well-being and a happy, fulfilling life. Our vision is to help each of our clients achieve this goal.
Our Team
Love and Light Healing Sunshine Coast has a team of experienced, soulful and knowledgeable therapists who are here to provide you with the support and guidance that you need to transform your life.
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Founder and CEO
Thu Andersen
Thu is an Accredited Social Worker supporting individuals on their mental health and healing journeys. Currently pursuing her PhD in meditation and neuroscience, Thu brings a strong integration of clinical practice, research, and mindfulness into her work. She is deeply passionate about helping clients unleash their potential and improve their quality of life, guided by a strong belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to live a happy, fulfilling life.
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Please note: Thu is not accepting new clients at the moment.
Chief Technology Officer and VR Specialist
Chris Andersen
Chris is a Virtual Reality specialist and 3D Art Director with over 10 years of experience designing immersive digital environments that sit at the intersection of technology, creativity, and wellbeing. He specialises in developing therapeutic VR experiences that support emotional regulation, engagement, and healing, using virtual environments to enhance therapeutic outcomes. Chris’s approach blends artistry, innovation, and therapeutic intent, creating VR experiences that support connection, transformation, and wellbeing.
Pyschotherapist
Dr Larisa McLoughlin
Dr Larisa McLoughlin is a youth mental health specialist with nationally recognised expertise in bullying and cyberbullying. She holds a PhD with postgraduate research focused on the mental health impacts of cyberbullying in adolescents, including coping and help-seeking behaviours. Passionate about counselling and mental health support, Larisa is committed to supporting young people and families affected by bullying, cyberbullying, and mental health challenges.
Accredited Mental Health Social Worker
Natasha McGrath
Natasha McGrath is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker, oncology social worker, psychotherapist, and trauma therapist with over 30 years’ experience supporting women with cancer, chronic illness, and trauma. She uses trauma-informed, integrative approaches grounded in Polyvagal Theory to address the root causes of illness and support mind–body healing. Natasha works collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams and also facilitates in-person and online groups and workshops, creating safe, nurturing spaces for women’s healing and transformation.
Child and Family Therapist
Tara Bruin
Tara is a registered Social Worker with extensive experience across mental health, education, NDIS, and DVA veteran support. She has worked with children, teens, and families in diverse settings, including remote Indigenous communities and socio-disadvantaged contexts. Tara’s practice is deeply informed by her lived experience. She offers trauma-aware, strengths-based, and recovery-oriented support to individuals navigating grief and loss, trauma, chronic illness, disability, palliative care, domestic and family violence, and complex mental health challenges.
Registered Social Worker and Educator
Tess Parker
Tess Parker is an experienced practitioner and counsellor with over 40 years of professional experience supporting individuals, families, and communities. She has specialised counselling experience in alcohol and drug dependency, PTSD, vicarious trauma, and psychosocial hazards, bringing compassion and evidence based insight to her work. A proud local woman, Tess is deeply committed to family, community wellbeing, and empowerment, supporting clients with warmth, calm presence, and a focus on inner resilience and emotional strength.
Holistic mental health practitioner
Bahar Aarabi
Bahar is a holistic mental health practitioner with a Bachelor of Psychology. She offers integrative, evidence based support for individuals and couples seeking to heal trauma, navigate relationship challenges, change unhelpful patterns, and reconnect with themselves. Bahar works in a compassionate, client centred way, drawing on Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy, Somatic Therapy, Hypnotherapy, Sex Therapy, and ACT. She is deeply passionate about helping clients find their way back “home” to themselves, gently supporting them through difficult experiences and transforming past pain into resilience, self awareness, and self love.
Trauma-informed Massage Therapist
Mathew Addison
Mathew Addison is an experienced massage therapist with over 15 years’ expertise in deep tissue and remedial therapies. He specialises in treatments that support physical performance while releasing the tension and stress held in the body. Mathew creates a safe, nurturing space where clients can relax, restore, and let go of the physical and emotional demands of everyday life, work, or injury. Having navigated his own injuries, he brings both technical skill and genuine empathy to his work. Mathew’s focus is on long term wellbeing, supporting clients to move through life with greater ease, strength, and resilience.
Reiki Master and Zentai Shiatsu practitioner
Julia Kashio
Julia is a certified Reiki Master and Zentai Shiatsu practitioner, devoted to supporting clients on their healing and self-discovery journeys. Currently completing a Bachelor in Psychology, she combines academic knowledge with hands-on experience to offer a truly integrative approach to wellbeing. Julia draws on mind–body wisdom to create a space where clients feel seen, safe, and deeply nurtured. Her sessions are guided by compassion, intuition, and a deep belief in every person’s innate capacity to heal and thrive, helping clients reconnect with their inner balance, resilience, and wellbeing.
Accredited Mental Health Social Worker
Denise Gray
Denise has extensive experience supporting children, young people, and families across a range of settings. Including supporting defence families, neurodivergent children, early intervention, parenting support, and perinatal and infant mental health.
She is passionate about helping children and families build stronger connections, navigate challenges, and develop practical strategies that support emotional wellbeing and everyday functioning.
Believes in empowering children, parents, and families to lead meaningful, values-based lives through compassionate, systemic, and practical support.
Counselling and Reiki
Jeanie Carruthers
Jeanie is an accredited social worker and Reiki healer with extensive experience working with people experiencing trauma-related mental health challenges in areas including DFV, sexual assault, family law and family breakdown and working with the community. She has been practising Reiki for over 20 years and draws on a range of somatic and pranayama practices to support transformative healing.
Jeanie is a heart-centred counselling and healing practitioner dedicated to supporting people who have experienced distress and trauma in their wellbeing and in following their soul's calling.
Frequently asked questions
A: At Love & Light Healing, holistic healing and traditional therapy are both valuable approaches to mental health, but they differ in focus and methodology. Traditional therapy primarily concentrates on addressing psychological symptoms and mental health disorders through evidence-based techniques such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, talk therapy, and diagnostic assessments. In contrast, holistic healing takes a more integrative approach, considering the whole person—mind, body, and spirit. This may include mindfulness practices, energy work, meditation, and lifestyle adjustments to promote overall well-being alongside mental health treatment. Our mental health counselors blend these approaches to create personalized care plans that support emotional balance, spiritual growth, and lasting mental wellness.
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