About Me
I am a fully qualified and accredited holistic psychotherapist and counsellor working in private practice in the Bega Valley. I completed my postgraduate studies in holistic psychotherapy and counselling in 2018, through the Metavision Institute in Bowral, NSW, gaining distinctions and high distinctions for all of my course and research work.
Prior to moving into the field of psychotherapy and counselling I worked and studied in various different fields. I completed undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney and received a Bachelor of Arts with first class honours in Social Anthropology. In 2002 I was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy in Social Anthropology at the University of Sydney. My doctoral thesis was based on the impact of reason and institutional order on the lives of people with an intellectual disability. Over a period of ten years, I worked as an academic at a number of different universities; as a conference organiser, tutor, researcher, writer and lecturer. I later worked as a consultant anthropologist on Native Title claims.
Throughout my life, I have had a keen interest in the workings of the heart and mind. I have always had a passion for listening to people’s life stories, and helping them to heal and find meaning through their life circumstances and experiences.
More recently, I returned to one of my first interests, psychology. However, the biomedical and cognitive behavioural approach that influences much of mainstream psychology did not inspire me. I was drawn instead to a more holistic approach that focussed on the whole person, as someone seeking meaning and healing rather than being diagnosed with an illness or psychological problem.
I believe that we need to embrace the fullness of who we are as persons—in mind, body, heart and spirit—and that in doing so we also need to acknowledge our embeddedness as individuals in the social and physical world that surrounds and supports us. The postgraduate course that I recently completed fully embraced this person-centred, holistic approach, and I aim to bring this to my practice with the people I work with.
Dr Jani Klotz
PhD, BA (Hons.)
Holistic Psychotherapist & Counsellor
You are not the “voice in your head”
Who am I then? The one who sees that.
– Eckhart Tolle
Professional Development
As part of the professional requirements of the Psychotherapy And Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA), I have regular supervision with a fully qualified and experienced psychotherapist.
During these sessions I am supported in my role as a psychotherapist, and while I may raise some issues that come up in my sessions with clients, this information is completely anonymous and confidential.
I also maintain my own inner therapeutic work through regular sessions with a personal psychotherapist.
My learning and professional development are ongoing. I work regularly with two of my fellow professional psychotherapists, as well as attending courses and participating in seminars that support my professional knowledge and practice.
Qualifications, Education & Training
- Postgraduate Diploma in Holistic Psychotherapy & Counselling (PACFA Accredited), Metavision: 2017—2018
- Holistic Counselling Skills Certificate, Metavision: 2016
- PhD, Anthropology, University of Sydney: 1994—2001
- BA Honours, Anthropology (First Class), University of Sydney: 1985—1991
- Diploma of Classical Yoga, Australian College of Classical Yoga: 2006—2008
- Suicide Prevention Training, Wesley LifeForce, 2018
- Mental Health First Aid for Gambling Problems Course, MHFA, 2019
- Online Therapies Course, PACFA, 2020
- Non-Violent Communication Training (Introduction): 2010
- First Aid Training: 2008—present
- Introduction to Process Oriented Psychology, Melbourne Process Centre 2020
- How to Work with Anxiety in the Therapeutic Space, PACFA 2020
- The Gut-Brain Connection, PACFA, 2020
- Covid-19 Webinar: Responses & Responsibilities, PACFA, 2020
- Working with Anxiety, PACFA, 2020
- Heterosexual Domestic Violence Training, PACFA, 2020
- Creative Art Interventions with Families and Couples, PACFA, 2021
- EMDR Level 1 Training, EMDRAA, 2022
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) for Individual Client Work. PESI, 2022
- Couple Therapy Essentials, PACFA, 2022
- Keeping the Body in Psychotherapy, PACFA, 2022
Relevant Work Experience
- Holistic Psychotherapist & Counsellor, Private Practice: July 2017—present
- Disability Support Worker: 2019—2020
- Yoga Teacher: August 1998—March 2020
- Native Title Anthropology Consultant: 2002—2004
- Lecturer, Anthropology, Macquarie University: 2001
- Tutor & Researcher, Anthropology, Sydney University: 1994—1997
- Researcher, Sociology, Wollongong University: 1994
- Researcher, History & Philosophy of Science, UNSW: 1993—1995
- Researcher & Conference Organiser, Department of Religious Studies, University of Sydney: 1990 —1991
- Aboriginal Spirituality Conference Organiser, Department of Religious Studies, University of Sydney 1990
Artwork by Ameeta Francesca Piazzi
Truth is a need of the soul
– Simone Weil
Publications & Presentations
Trauma Informed Self-Care Workshops, Bega Valley Shire Council, 2020.
Guest Speaker at Greenpeace AGL Seminar: The impact of bushfire on humans and the environment, June 16, 2021.
Klotz, Jani “Being Me: Navigating the world of ‘normality’ and therapy as a person with disability.” Guest presentation at Disability Research Network, University of Wollongong, December 2019.
Klotz, Jani (2006) Review Essay of Matthew Kohrman, Bodies of Difference: Experiences of Disability and Institutional Advocacy in the Making of Modern China. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2005. Anthropological Quarterly.
Klotz, Jani “Jigsaws, and Other Bits & Pieces: Searching for intimacy across the difference of intellectual disability”. Keynote address presented at the “Supporting Diversity” Queensland ASSID Annual Conference Griffith University, June 27-29, 2005.
Klotz, Jani (2004) Sociocultural Study of Intellectual Disability: Moving beyond labeling and social constructionist perspectives. British Journal of Learning Disabilities 32: 93-104
Guest Interviewee, All in the Mind, ABC Radio National, 2003.
Klotz, Jani “The Culture Concept: Anthropology, disability studies and intellectual disability”. Paper Presented to Disability Studies and Research Institute (DSaRI) Symposium “Disability at the Cutting Edge: A colloquium to examine the impact on theory, research and professional practice” University of Technology, Sydney, September 12 2003.
Klotz, Jani “Denying Intimacy: An anthropological analysis of intellectual disability”. Seminar Paper Presented to the Social Relations of Disability Research Network, UNSW April 11 2003.
Klotz, Jani (2001) Denying Intimacy: The role of reason and institutional order in the lives of people with an intellectual disability. PhD Thesis, Department of Anthropology, The University of Sydney.
Klotz, Jani “Pathological Embodiment and the Voice of Reason: Reflections on cultural and historical perceptions of intellectual disability.” Social Relations of Disability Research Network UNSW Paper, September 4, 1998.
Klotz, Jani (1991) Ecofeminism: A natural utopia? Honours Thesis, Department of Anthropology, The University of Sydney.
Member of PACFA
