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. As I grew older and focused more deeply on my creative practice, friends began asking for informal art lessons. Sitting around the table creating together naturally fostered an environment of connection and meaningful conversation. This early experience highlighted for me how powerful creative expression can be as a tool for grounding and personal reflection.

A Diverse Corporate & Change Management Background

My professional journey has been wonderfully colourful and diverse. After completing my BCom Honours in Financial Management, I 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

Becoming a mother profoundly shifted my perspective, inspiring me to dedicate my time away from my children exclusively to the field I am most passionate about. I wanted to formally combine my lifelong experience in human connection and my passion for creative expression with evidence-based counselling modalities that support health and well-being. This led me to complete a three-year foundational course at an art counselling academy, alongside a short course in Art Therapy principles at the University of Johannesburg. To ground my practice in formal psychological training, I completed my Bachelor of Psychology (BPsych) degree at The South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP). Today, I am proud to run my independent practice as an HPCSA Registered Counsellor (PRC 0040452), providing dedicated individual counselling 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 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-grounded model designed to help re-route automatic emotional triggers before they fully reach conscious awareness. This allows you to address stuck patterns and distress without the need to relive or deeply unpack painful memories. I am certified to utilise BWRT® principles within a structured, supportive counselling process to help you reclaim your emotional well-being and personal resilience.