Nodoka Consulting offers recovery assistance for people with a history of trauma in a non-clinical setting.

Every Friday at 10:30am, Ms Pilbeam offers walk and talk sessions at Wodonga's Sumsion Gardens, using nature to help people take their first steps to healing.

"Being outside and having that casual conversation, people tend to open up quite well in that circumstance," she said.

"That can lead into an opportunity for counseling."

Ms Pilbeam's approach to life coaching and building resilience is to try to support clients in a positive, safe environment.

"Sometimes people just need someone to talk to," she said.

Ms Pilbeam says although her honesty can be confronting at times, she works with clients to help them feel more empowered.

She said the key was working with what is already in people's lives and what they are, rather than focusing on telling them what they should do and what's wrong with them.

"I want them to be the agents of change in their lives," she said.

"At the end of the day, you don't have to live their lives."

Nearly half of Ms Pilbeam's 25-year career as a nurse was spent at Albury hospital's acute mental health unit, Nolan House.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she was the only counsellor at the Women's Centre for Health and Wellbeing, an experience she said taught her a lot about helping people manage trauma.

"That was very hectic; a lot of trauma around domestic violence and sexual assault," she said.

After her daughter had a car accident in April last year, Ms Pilbeam decided to take her career in a different direction - away from dealing with heavy trauma.

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Nodoka Consulting offers one-on-one counseling, group therapy, and counselling for people with special needs, or have a disability under the NDIS.

At the end of the year, there are plans to expand the practice with a new office in Wodonga.

Ms Pilbeam is also passing her experience to the next generation, by mentoring Shantelle Neyra, a mental health student studying counselling.

Eventually, they hope to practise alongside each other as business partners.

"I really want to help people towards recovery, rather than sitting in the trauma and dealing with that over and over again," she said.

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