Our team is committed to improving the lives of young people.

As Office Manager, Paul is the first point of contact with the jupiter team.

Paul has completed accredited counsellor training with the Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors (AIPC) and is currently a member of the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) and the Professional Counselling Association NSW (PCA).

His counselling skills and training assist youth that struggle with challenges of addictive behaviours (alcohol and other drugs, gaming etc) with his strengths being Motivational Interviewing Techniques and CBT.

Paul is also working with PSCDAT (Port Stephens, Community Drug Action Team), Community Transport Port Stephens as a volunteer driver, the PSSPN (Port Stephens, Suicide Prevention Network), DARA’s Food Van (St Vincent de Paul, Special works committee member) as well as other groups.

Avril Saunders is an ACA accredited Counsellor with a passion for working with young people experiencing the hardships and complexities of life at that age. With a background in graphic design, Avril likes to bring a little creativity to the counselling room, integrating counselling modalities with creative solutions and a bit of fun to build rapport.


Avril's favorite thing to do outside of work is dive through waves mindfully, and draw.

Nicole (Nic) is a Level 1 ACA accredited Counsellor who embraces the challenges of life by drawing on the wisdom of its experiences.

She uses an empathetic & supportive approach to help young people manage their problems more effectively & develop unused resources & missed opportunities more fully.
Nic is open-minded & understanding with a passion for communication. She encourages you to 'Talk it out' & learn to embrace your own inner strength, resources & potential.

Having personally experienced anxiety, depression & trauma in her own life, allows Nic to help others to become better at helping themselves in their everyday lives.

Warm, nurturing & compassionate, Nic will help you to feel fully supported, empowered & capable in your journey through the Counselling process.

Nic uses a person-centred, solution-focused & strengths-based approach when counselling. In one of her sessions, expect to breathe deeply with mindfulness & believe in yourself!!

Tracy has been in the Health/Fitness/Wellness Industry for more than 25 years. Initially it was because She just loved sport and wanted to be fit and healthy. She then decided to become a fitness instructor/Pt and have operated my own gym for 15 plus years. Recently, she has decided to change professional direction, still associated with Health and Fitness, but focussing more on Mental Health and Well-being.

Tracy's role at jupiter is as a Recreation and Well-Being Consultant. This involves promoting a healthy lifestyle and prevention of harm such as Alcohol and other Drug use through exercise and nutrition to help young people manage anxiety, stress, depression, and relationships. Recreation and exercise are significant elements of preventative health care. In my role, I help young people improve their physical well-being, reduce their stress, and gain confidence in their skills whilst having fun.

Lisa has been working in the field of aged care and chronic illness for the past 20 years, and is an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker for the Australian Association of Social Workers.

Jan Allen Has been a counsellor since 2017, she is a Level 1 Australian Counselling Association (ACA) member, looking forward to becoming level 2 by the end of the year. Jan is well travelled, and lived in Hawaii for 10yrs where she attended Hawaii Pacific University. Although she is very much a local as she grew up in Maitland and Seaham, this is why she is dedicated to supporting the young people of the area. As well as having lived experience facing the challenges of Mental Health herself. Jan's approach to counselling is predominantly person centred and solution focused counselling.