Avá Joy Sloan, MA, BSc, ATR
Psychedelic Integration Therapist & Creative Arts-based Therapist
Melbourne VIC
I take a therapeutic arts-based companioning approach, held by the values of curiosity, trust, and emergence (grace). As a companion, I walk alongside the inquirer, supporting the development of the inquirer’s own inner knower/ healer through an attuned curious attentiveness into lived and living experience.
With loving respect for you and your path, I hold faith in its ultimate direction being one inseparable from healing and wholeness.
You can read more about my approach and my offerings here: https://www.laprana.com.au/offerings
It was the desire to share healing with others that initially led me to complete an honors degree in psychology at Queensland University of Technology. Irritated at the dualism of the biomedical model and sensing there was more to healing than psychology could offer, I moved to an ashram in the foothills of the Northern Indian Himalayas to study yogic philosophy and the wisdom of the Vedas. Eventually, I began teaching yoga and meditation in India. From India I moved to Sri Lanka to support in the establishment of a community mental health program in Colombo.
In 2016 I relocated to Melbourne, and began to slowly weave the wisdom gained from eastern philosophy together with what I had learned within my studies of western neuropsychology. In doing so, I founded Laprana, a holistic integrative health practice that is now based in the inner north east of Melbourne.
Feeling called to deepen my knowledge about health, healing and whole-ing, particularly from the world’s indigenous cultures, I have spent much of the last 15 years travelling around the world on a journey of teaching, learning, healing and inspiration. Time spent in various indigenous communities has given me the opportunity to witness the peace and well-being that naturally arises when living in harmony and sacred reciprocity with evolution and nature. These communities have also illuminated the power of the creative and sacred to heal and transcend. Upon returning to Australia, I completed a Master’s degree in Therapeutic Arts Practice at The Melbourne Institute of Experiential & Creative Arts Therapies (MIECAT) and later completed a Certificate of Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy.
Through deepening my practice of Vedic meditation and my connection to the earth-based wisdom of my own Celtic ancestral roots, I have developed richer tools to support others along their journey. I am passionate about the much needed integration of expanded states of consciousness and ultimately support people to make contact with and develop, their unique and innate gifts so they can be of greater service to the collective.
🌿 Déviná Seasonal Creative & Nature-Based Retreats —
Déviná Seasonal Creative & Nature-Based Retreats, offered by Laprana, are deeply transformative experiences designed to help you reconnect with the evolutionary wisdom of nature and awaken your unique gifts. These retreats are far more than just a getaway—they are an opportunity to immerse yourself in the rhythms of the seasons, whether it's the fresh renewal of spring, the vibrant abundance of summer, or the quiet introspection of winter. Through sound, movement, yoga, and sacred rituals, each retreat invites you to slow down, listen deeply, and rediscover your inner truth. These retreats offer more than relaxation; they are a chance to pause, reflect, and realign, helping you uncover your gifts, nurture your purpose, and step forward into your next phase of growth and transformation.
🌀 Déviná Creative Expression & Embodiment Weekend Workshops – Déviná workshops, a Laprana offering, hosts immersive weekend workshops that evolve with the seasons, weaving together a variety of creative and embodiment practices. Each workshop is unique, blending elements such as sound journeys, intuitive movement, music, yoga, and experiential arts, in alignment with the energies of the time—whether it’s the expansive awakening of the Equinox or the introspective depth of the Solstice. These workshops provide a dynamic space for personal transformation, self-inquiry, and authentic expression, all grounded in nature’s wisdom. Through direct experience, participants are invited to reconnect with themselves, explore their creative potential, and foster deep, embodied connection to the natural world.
🌸 Companioning Consciousness — Vedic Counselling & Mentoring
A guided self-inquiry rooted in Vedic wisdom, these sessions offer a sacred space to attune to the deeper currents of your being and align with nature’s intent. Through refined perception, somatic awareness, and emergent creative expression, we dissolve conditioned patterns and synchronize with the evolutionary flow of life. Rather than seeking solutions, we cultivate direct knowing—where clarity, resilience, and transformation arise effortlessly in harmony with the intelligence of nature itself.