Welcome
I'M JESSICA COVE, FONDLY KNOWN AS JESS/JESSIE, AND I AM AN ACA-REGISTERED COUNSELLOR, MEDITATION TEACHER, AND HOLISTIC CONSULTANT.
I believe that reconnecting the mind, body, and soul makes health and healing possible. By integrating evidence-based counselling frameworks with neuroscience and embodied practices, I aim to create a space that allows your healing process to unfold naturally and at a pace that feels right for you. My hope is to encourage your sense of agency in guiding your own recovery, free from the need to perform or achieve.
Practice & Values
Core values of compassion, authenticity, equity, and curiosity guide my therapeutic work. With over 14 years supporting individuals and more than 25 years as an educator, I focus on creating a space where people feel heard, respected, and empowered to explore their experiences at their own pace.
My approach is holistic and trauma-aware, integrating evidence-based counselling frameworks, neuroscience, and embodied practices. I am particularly interested in the relationship between mind, body, and nervous system, and the ways these connections shape our wellbeing.
I believe healing is supported through genuine human connection, collaboration, and self-understanding. Rather than focusing solely on symptoms or labels, I encourage curiosity about the patterns, experiences, and strengths that have shaped each person's journey.
My practice is inclusive, neuroaffirming, and grounded in respect for people of all identities, experiences, and backgrounds.
Qualifications & Trainings
Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy (current)
Master of Biomedical Meditation Therapy & Allied Health
Graduate Diploma of Counselling (Holistic Practice)
Associate Degree, Fine Arts (Dance)
Diploma of Counselling
Internal Family Systems Immersion
Evidence-Based EFT Practitioner Training
Integrative Nutrition Certification
Diploma of Classical Ballet, Vienna Opera Ballet School
Advanced Royal Academy of Dance & Solo Seal
Why I Became a Counsellor
My path to the helping profession began when I faced a sudden health crisis in my 20s. After years of pushing through injury, illness, and burnout as a classical ballet dancer and teacher, I was stopped in my tracks by an autoimmune condition. In the months that followed, disappointing interactions with teams of specialists and practitioners left me feeling isolated, dismissed, and depressed. It was clear that there was a significant divide between the impersonal care I received and the healing outcomes I hoped for.
I knew there had to be another way.
Unwilling to accept the status quo, I spent the following years learning about holistic approaches to healing and their researched benefits for treating complex health conditions. My eyes were opened to an integrated approach to treatment, emphasising the connection between mind, body, soul and spirit. These experiences led me to academic study, exploring counselling, biomedical meditation therapy, integrative nutrition and ultimately, starting my private practice.
After years of living in a loop of unrelenting standards, anxiety, and illness, I thought I had ended the cycle.
Fast-forward to late 2019 and picking up COVID while supporting students at an international ballet competition in Barcelona. Although my health slowly improved, I was left with lingering symptoms, including debilitating fatigue. What followed was another difficult chapter of navigating uncertainty, searching for answers, and learning to live within the limitations of a body that no longer functioned in the ways I expected.
These experiences changed the way I understood healing.
Rather than viewing mental, physical, and emotional health as separate, I came to appreciate the profound connections between mind, body, nervous system, and environment. This understanding continues to shape a holistic approach that honours both lived experience and evidence-based care.
My experiences ultimately led me to leave a career shaped by performance and achievement and dedicate myself to supporting others through healing, growth, and self-discovery. They reinforced the importance of looking beyond symptoms, diagnoses, and labels to consider the whole person and the unique circumstances that shape their experience. These lessons continue to shape both my life and my practice, allowing me to weave together compassion, curiosity, neuroscience, and lived experience in the work I do today. I see health and healing as ongoing journeys rather than destinations, and I feel deeply grateful to be living my ikigai through this work.
Memberships & Accreditation
Peak professional bodies and associations ensure their members offer services that meet strict industry standards. By choosing an registered mental health professional you can be assured that clinical supervision, robust ongoing professional development and appropriate insurance are standard practice. I currently hold Level 2 Membership with the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), in addition to clinical memberships with the International Institute for Complimentary Therapies (IICT) and the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS).
Professional Dance Bio
Jessica began her classical ballet training at the age of 7 in Australia under Anne Fraser. After being awarded her RAD Solo Seal in 1998, Jessica secured places at the Royal Ballet School and the Australian Ballet School and was granted a full scholarship to the Vienna Opera Ballet School, where she trained under Nadja Tikhonova. Jessica represented the school in several European competitions during her time in Vienna. She received the gold medal at the Biarritz International Ballet Competition (France) and a silver medal at the Aktzent International Ballet Competition (Austria). Jessica also performed as a finalist at the Adeline Genée Awards (UK) and was offered a contract with Jeune Ballet de France in 1999.
Upon graduating from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) with an Associate Degree (Fine Arts, Dance), Jessica began guest teaching in the Vaganova method and presenting mental health workshops at a selection of Australian dance schools and institutions, including Sydney Dance Company, QUT, Queensland Ballet Academy, Prima Youth Classical Academy, Amanda Bollinger Dance Academy and Queensland College of Dance.
Over the past 20+ years, Jessica has trained, mentored and counselled hundreds of dancers with a specialised focus on mindfulness, mental health literacy and integrative nutrition. Jessica’s students have been recognised internationally as Prix de Lausanne and YAGP finalists and prize winners, and have secured placement and contracts with leading institutions and companies, including the Royal Ballet School, Paris Opera Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsballett and Dutch National Ballet.