Meet the Happy team

 Elsie is the owner, founder, and creative force behind A Happy Place Counselling Services.

Elsie is an autistic counsellor and mother who focuses on assisting young adults, teenagers, and kids in overcoming obstacles in life. Her sessions are practical and tailored to your interests and strengths, ensuring that you feel supported, learn practical and useful skills, and learn more to understand yourself better in a judgment-free setting.

Elsie has completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the University of Pretoria and a Bachelor of Social Science Honours Degree in Psychology. She has also received extensive training to support individuals with a Pervasive Drive for Autonomy (PDA) profile, facilitate socio-emotional screenings, DASEL screenings, support authentic AAC, understand Gestalt Language and Cognitive Processing, and facilitate trauma incident reduction (TIR) sessions. She is currently developing her skills as a registered social worker student with a major in psychology.

Her special interests include:

• Working with autistic tweens and teenagers
• Supporting high-masking and late-diagnosed neurodivergent individuals
• PDA (Pervasive Drive for Autonomy or Pathological Demand Avoidance) support
• Anxiety management
• Burnout support

Specialist Wellness Counsellor, ASCHP: SWC21/878

Student Social Worker (No for Practicum Use Only), SACSSP: 4062975

 Petru Malan is a counsellor specialising in play-based intervention. As a mother herself, she understands the joys and challenges of raising children and is passionate about walking alongside families as they navigate life's unique journeys. She believes every child and teen deserves to be seen, understood, and supported in a way that honours their individual strengths and needs.

Petru provides play-based and creative interventions and counselling for children, teenagers, and their families in a warm, nurturing, and trauma-informed environment. Through the power of play, connection, and relationship, she helps children express themselves, build emotional resilience, strengthen social skills, and develop confidence. Her sessions are practical, engaging, and client specific.  She creates an environment where children feel genuinely seen, accepted, and valued, allowing healing, confidence, and growth to unfold naturally.

She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and Linguistics, a Certificate in Higher Education, and has completed Level One and Level Two training in Gestalt Play-Based Intervention. She is a lifelong learner and is currently expanding her expertise through training in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP).

Her special interests include: 

• Trauma-informed counselling and debriefing
• Supporting children with special needs and developmental differences
• Working with nonspeaker children and teens
• Social integration and skills development
• Emotional regulation and resilience
• Parental guidance and family support
• Strengthening the parent-child relationship through play and connection

Wellness Counsellor, ASCHP: WC25/17069

 Hayley is an experienced, neurodiversity-affirming counsellor who is due to qualify as an educational psychologist in mid-2026. She holds both a master’s degree in educational psychology and a teaching degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. Through this training, she offers a deep understanding of the emotional and developmental support children and adolescents need to feel safe enough to grow, learn and develop confidence in themselves. Her experience spans remedial and special needs education, alongside trauma-informed therapeutic work in community NGO spaces with children, adolescents and adults. This has shaped her into a grounded and empathetic counsellor who consistently recognises the nuance and individuality of each client.

Her counselling approach is nurturing and affirming, with collaboration at its heart. She works together with clients to understand their unique way of experiencing the world and supports them in recognising their own internal resources, capacity and voice. She values co-creating deeply human spaces where vulnerability, laughter, tears, curiosity and honesty make connection and growth feel safe and real. When helpful, she extends this collaboration to families and support systems where she nurtures shared understanding and openness while also providing systemic interventions that support change that feels meaningful, practical and sustainable.

While Hayley loves working with children, she also works with adults in both individual and couples counselling. She welcomes and celebrates diversity in all its forms. Some of her special interest areas include:

• Counselling neurodiverse children, teenagers, adults, and couples
• Working with high-masking and late-diagnosed neurodivergent individuals
• LGBTQIA+ affirming counselling, including support around gender, sexuality and diverse relationship orientations
• Supporting individuals in holding and processing grief, trauma and significant life changes
• Helping clients navigate anxiety and low mood

 Our office manager has over 30 years of experience as an educator, with a deep commitment to remedial education.  Aletta ensures that you receive compassionate care throughout your experience with us. 

Aletta is available virtually on our WhatsApp line to ask questions, communicate feedback from the counsellors, and manage your payments, booking of sessions, and contracting. She takes pride in ensuring the practice is orderly and that you feel comfortable.

Her expertise in managing both people and our processes is vital to the supportive atmosphere of our practice.

"Kindness is doing what you can, where you are, with what you have. Kindness is a silent smile, a friendly word, a nod of encouragement. Kindness is the most powerful thing we can teach children." - Raktivist

Nadia is a highly experienced mental health counsellor with over 20 years of expertise spanning the corporate, NGO, and community sectors across Africa. Her extensive background includes couples counselling, change management implementation, and training programme facilitation. Nadia offers a personalised and solution-focused approach tailored to each individual's unique preferences and needs.

Nadia’s trauma-informed expertise encompasses:

- Navigating change

- Trauma debriefing

- Abuse recovery

- Infidelity and betrayal trauma

- Couples counselling

- Narcissistic abuse recovery

Nadia is based in Rosebank, Johannesburg. You can learn more about her services at https://themindspace.co.za/home and book a session with her via WhatsApp on +27 69 889 9518