Healing from trauma is about more than managing symptoms.
It is about reclaiming your sense of self.
Welcome to The Dawn Therapeutic Services.
Located on Dharawal Country and providing support both in-person and online across Australia, The Dawn is a boutique trauma-specialist practice for adolescents, adults, helping professionals, and organisations seeking a deeper understanding of trauma, healing, and the human experience.
Founded by Nicole Staats, Accredited Mental Health Social Worker, Clinical Supervisor and Trainer, The Dawn specialises in working with the enduring impacts of childhood trauma, developmental trauma, domestic and family violence, sexual assault, dissociation, and Complex PTSD.
At The Dawn, we understand that many of the difficulties people experience are not signs that something is wrong with them. Rather, they are often adaptive responses to overwhelming experiences, unmet attachment needs, relational wounds, and environments that required survival rather than connection.
—Trauma & Mental Health Specialist Service—
Areas of Special Interest
The Dawn has extensive experience supporting individuals impacted by:
Childhood sexual abuse
Emotional abuse and neglect
Attachment and developmental trauma
Domestic and family violence
Coercive control
Sexual assault
Religious trauma
Ritual Abuse and Cult Experiences
Human trafficking and exploitation
Complex PTSD
Dissociative experiences and disorders
Chronic shame and low self-worth
Boundary difficulties and fawning responses
Neurodivergence and trauma
We proudly provide an affirming and inclusive service for First Nations peoples, LGBTQIA+ communities, neurodivergent individuals, sex workers, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Integrating Science, Relationship and Human Wisdom
The Dawn draws from contemporary trauma research while recognising that healing is also a deeply human process.
Our approach integrates:
EMDR and Relational Integrative EMDR (RI-EMDR)
A parts work framework to understanding the complex inner landscape of every human
Attachment and developmental trauma frameworks
Neuroscience and nervous system regulation
Interpersonal and relational therapies
Mindfulness and somatic approaches
Meaning-making, spirituality, and existential exploration of the soul
For those who wish to explore these areas, therapy can also provide space for conversations around intuition, spirituality, identity, purpose, consciousness, grief, and the search for meaning after trauma.
It’s always darkest before the dawn…
The Dawn practices therapy that acknowledges and validates the impact of societal and systemic structures of power and control that exist beyond the individual.
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EMDR
EMDR is a trauma therapy which focuses directly on the memory, and is intended to change the way that the memory is stored in the brain, thus reducing and eliminating the problematic symptoms and increasing more helpful behaviour.
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Parts Work
Within each of us are parts - wounded parts and parts working to protect us. The goal of parts work is to develop an embodied sense of self that can compassionately hold your emotions, vulnerable sensations, and resolve inner conflicts.
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Relational Integrative - EMDR
RI-EMDR is an advanced, holistic form of EMDR thrapy. It has been designed specifically to treat complex trauma, developmental, and relational wounds. It integrates standard EMDR with attachment theory, parts work, somatic/polyvagal techniques and imagery rescripting to create a safe, transpersonal and relational approach to deep trauma healing.
Dharawal Country
The Dawn is grateful to provide services on Dharawal Land.
We acknowledge the traditional owners and pay respect to Elders past and present.
We mourn the lives, traditions and ongoing culture that was lost in the Appin Massacre of 17 April 1816 on Dharawal Land.
Picture: Minerva Pools, Dharawal National Park. A sacred women’s place.
