About Us
Hi, I'm William Burke, Counsellor in Penrith, Western Sydney
I’m a Registered Counsellor with the Australian Counselling Association. I provide counselling in Western Sydney for young men dealing with anxiety, depression, grief, or just intense frustration. My approach is person-centred, and I draw on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) where needed.
Therapy is a service just like any other, and should be held to a standard of value. It should produce tangible outcomes like greater productivity or progress towards your goals. At the same time, therapy can be an exciting experience because self discovery always throws up some surprises.
The key element that will make therapy productive and worthwhile is the compatibility between therapist and client. This factor is often overlooked because it can be difficult to acknowledge when a therapeutic relationship is just not working.
As a matter of ethics, I make it a point to refer on clients for which I am not well suited and to make sure they find a professional they can work with.
Why therapy helps
No man is an island. You know yourself better than anyone, but the best way to really hear yourself is by talking out loud to someone who can listen and support.
Therapy gives you a structure where you can talk things out without the pushback and complexity that comes with real-life social relationships. There is no judgment or censorship. In the therapeutic frame, your concerns are what matter and your thoughts drive the conversation.
Young men benefit from this proven process just like anyone else, and so the core mission of Deepwater Counselling is to bring this service to you.
Ready to talk?
I offer appointments in Penrith, or tele-health Australia-wide. After hour appointments available. No GP referral required.
The first step is to book a free 10 minute phone chat.
But I already have an AI therapist
Excellent! Mental Health is a big space and different things work for different people. It is still too early to tell what role AI will play in the future of therapy, but you seeking to articulate and talk through your problems with a sympathetic voice is a great starting point.
Pros and Cons
There is a misconception that talking about our problems with just anyone can make them go away. If it looks like therapy, and it sounds like therapy, then it must be therapy, right?
But studies on the effectiveness of therapy show that success depends on specific conditions that are very difficult to meet ‘in the wild’. Much like a human friend, a friendly AI can go some way to alleviating our sense of isolation, but it is much more difficult for them to guide you in understanding your experiences and your life story. That deeper understanding is where real, lasting improvements can be made.
Dante bravely voyaged into the Inferno, but he did so with Virgil as his guide.
The best of both worlds
I am not AI, so what I offer is in-person therapy based on empathy and personal experience. I prefer in-person therapy to online/phone therapy precisely because this element of human warmth can play a larger role when we are face to face. I can’t promise to be all-knowing but I am confident in the techniques I’ve learned and the outcomes we can achieve together.
Depending on the model you are using for therapy, your AI is likely to also recommend that you engage with human therapy in addition to its own services.
In short, you are not breaking any rules by having an AI therapist, but you may not be getting the full benefit of what therapy has to offer. In this case, adding in-person therapy (whether at Deepwater Counselling or elsewhere) could be the best of both worlds.