Meet Desiree, the human behind Vida Flow Mindfulness.
About Desiree: Empowering Others Through Experience and Expertise
Desiree is a deeply passionate Mental Health and Wellbeing Practitioner and Psychosocial Recovery Coach with lived experience of disability and mental health challenges, and postgraduate studies in Mental Health at Victoria University.
Desiree offers person-centred, mindfulness-based psychosocial recovery coaching and therapy focused on mental health and overall wellbeing. She also designs and delivers wellbeing promotion programs for various groups and organisations, with a particular interest in supporting people living with disabilities and mental illness. Her therapeutic approach integrates mindfulness tools, trauma-informed somatic practices, and positive psychology principles, drawing from her lived experience with an invisible disability, her mental health journey, and relevant learnings from her studies.
A passionate mental health and disability advocate, Desiree has worked both one-on-one and in group settings with a diverse range of individuals and communities, including people with disabilities, corporate employees, and female prisoners at the Adelaide Women's Prison, where she ran a successful ten-week trauma-informed mindfulness program in 2023.
Originally from Venezuela and based in Adelaide since 2008, Desiree brings with her a wealth of skills from previous senior roles in strategic marketing and communications across various industries in both America and Australia.
Brain injury and mental health advocate, Desiree says Mindfulness meditation and Yoga have been positively life-changing after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a car accident in 2020.
Turning Pain into Purpose: Desiree’s Journey of Healing and Empowerment
These days, Desiree’s lived experience of physical, mental, and emotional struggles fuels her compassion and unwavering commitment to supporting individuals facing similar challenges.
Her transition from a successful 15-year marketing career to the mental health and wellbeing field was deeply personal, driven by her own recovery journey following a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in 2020. The challenges she faced during her recovery ignited a passion to help others through their most difficult times. As an avid meditator, Desiree pursued extensive training to deepen her understanding and practice. She became a Trauma-Informed Yoga and Meditation Practitioner, earning a 200-hour certification in Trauma-Informed Yoga & Meditation from the International School Yoga Institute in Mexico, and an advanced 500-hour certification from the Rishikesh Yogkulam School in India.
Additionally, Desiree completed a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course, accumulating over 1,000 hours of study and personal practice. She also finalised postgraduate studies in Mental Health at Victoria University, achieving a High Distinction (HD) average.
Using her Lived Experience and Recovery Journey to Support Others
In 2020, Desiree’s life was turned upside down when she sustained a TBI in a car accident where she was rear-ended at full speed while stationary. The resulting debilitating migraines, sensory overload, emotional dysregulation, neuro fatigue and other post-concussion symptoms left her struggling with even the most basic tasks. Despite the support of her employer, her symptoms worsened with work. The weight of single parenting, isolation, and daily physical and emotional pain eventually led to a mental health breakdown, and Desiree was admitted to a mental health unit. It was during this dark period that she immersed herself in mindfulness, which became her lifeline, helping her find a path out of the pain and into healing.
Though Desiree has made significant progress with her TBI recovery, she continues to face challenges. Desiree’s ongoing journey of challenges has shaped her understanding that recovery is not a final destination but an ongoing process of personal growth and self-acceptance. Most importantly, it has also fueled her passion for helping others realise that they are not defined by their life situations, diagnoses, or previous experiences, but by who they truly are at their core. Today, Desiree is dedicated to supporting others in navigating their struggles, embracing their personal growth, and discovering the light within themselves, even in the most difficult of times.