About

Esther Engelbrecht

My Creative Journey & Roots in Expressive Art

I have been an artist since my earliest memories. Whether I was painting, working with mixed media, or immersing myself in a creative project, keeping my hands busy always brought me a profound sense of peace and happiness. As I grew older and took my art practice more seriously, friends began asking for informal art lessons. We would sit around the table, creating art and talking about our weeks. Without realising it at the time, this naturally became a nurturing, safe, and restorative space for emotional expression.

A Diverse Corporate & Change Management Background

My professional journey has been wonderfully colourful and diverse. I actually began my career in corporate finance, working as a financial presenter and teaching entrepreneurship to diverse groups of children, adolescents, and adults. This early work exposed me to remarkably varied communities across South Africa and activated my lifelong love for facilitation and human connection. This passion naturally led me into corporate change management, where I worked closely with executive stakeholders and internal teams to help them navigate intense career transitions, manage daily stress, and discover their own internal resilience.

Facilitating Positive Change: Transitioning to Professional Practice

When I became a mother, my perspective shifted deeply. I realised that I wanted to dedicate my time away from my children exclusively to work that I found profoundly meaningful. I wanted to formally combine my lifelong experience in connecting with people and my passion for creative art with evidence-based modalities that facilitate rapid, sustainable health and well-being.

I began my training with a three-year foundational course at an art counselling academy, as well as completing a short course in Art Therapy principles at the University of Johannesburg, followed by formal psychological studies at The South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP) to obtain my professional Bachelor of Psychology (BPsych) degree. Today, I am proud to run my independent practice as an HPCSA Registered Counsellor (PRC 0040452), providing individual support from my rooms at the Linden Hub in Randburg.

Incorporating Creative Exploration into Traditional Counselling

Because everyone processes their inner world differently, I incorporate expressive art activities into our talk-based counselling sessions when it naturally fits the client's goals. This is a completely optional tool that adds a gentle, sensory dimension to our counselling work, acting as an alternative avenue to communicate, regulate, and explore complex emotions when words alone feel insufficient. Absolutely no artistic skill or prior experience is required; it is simply about finding a natural form of expression that helps you build practical life skills.

Traumatic Stress & Emotional Support: BrainWorking Recursive Therapy (BWRT®)

Since establishing my practice in Johannesburg, I have seen how deeply life challenges, overwhelming stress, and situational anxiety can impact an individual's daily life. My goal as a Registered Counsellor is to provide effective, evidence-based tools within my scope of practice to help you enhance your personal functioning and navigate these difficulties safely. To support this, I incorporate BrainWorking Recursive Therapy (BWRT®) into my practice. BWRT® is a modern, neuroscience-based model designed to help re-route habitual emotional triggers at the subconscious level, before they reach conscious awareness. This allows you to address stuck patterns and distress without the need to relive or rewrite painful memories extensively. I am fully certified to offer BWRT® sessions as part of a structured, supportive counselling process to help you reclaim your emotional well-being and personal resilience.