Viviane Oliveira

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Viviane is the owner and director of Viva Equine, a qualified counsellor and equine-assisted therapist with over 20 years of experience supporting children, young people, adults and families. She brings warmth, compassion and curiosity to her work, creating a welcoming, non-judgemental space where people can feel heard, explore their challenges and reconnect with their strengths.

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As a mother of neurodivergent children, Viviane brings personal understanding alongside her professional experience. Her practice is neurodiversity-affirming, trauma-informed, client-centred and strengths-based. She values each person’s unique way of thinking, communicating and experiencing the world, adapting her approach to their needs, interests and pace.

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Viviane’s career has taken her across Australia and overseas. During her first five years of practice, she worked as a clinical psychologist in Brazil in private practice, government agencies, and drug and alcohol services. In 2010, she travelled internationally, providing voluntary therapeutic support to communities in Brazil, Argentina, the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador, Mexico, Spain and Uganda. In Australia, she has worked in sexual assuslt services, child protection, mental health, and drug and alcohol services, including extensive work supporting Aboriginal communities in New South Wales.

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Viviane supports people experiencing complex and intergenerational trauma, childhood abuse and neglect, sexual violence, domestic and family violence, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. She also works with people navigating parenting and relationship challenges, grief and loss, bullying, cultural transitions, disability, and questions around sexuality, gender and belonging. She welcomes autistic people and people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other neurodivergent experiences, supporting their wellbeing in ways that honour who they are.

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Her work is deeply informed by Narrative Therapy, which recognises people as the experts in their own lives. Viviane helps clients explore the stories that shape their experiences, notice their abilities and values, and discover possibilities for a more fulfilling and meaningful life. She draws on strengths-based approaches, positive psychology, and art- and play-based interventions, alongside counselling with equine-assisted psychotherapy and equine-assisted learning. All interactions with horses are ground-based, with no riding.

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Viviane holds a Bachelor of Psychology from Brazil, recognised as a four-year degree in Australia, a Graduate Diploma in Narrative Therapy, and an Equine-Assisted Learning and Equine assisted Experience Certification. She is a Level 4 member of the Australian Counselling Association.