About
Hi, I'm Rina.
And if alcohol has become something you think about far more than you'd like, I want you to know — I understand.
I've been there. And I know that things can change.
My relationship with alcohol started pretty young.
I was a binge drinker. Drinking was part of socialising, having fun, celebrating, relaxing — and for a long time, I didn't really question it.
Then I had kids.
And somewhere along the way, things changed.
I struggled with post-partum depression, and drinking gradually became something I relied on more and more.
What had once been something I did socially became something I was doing daily.
A glass of wine at the end of the day became my way of switching off. Of taking the edge off. Of dealing with the exhaustion, the overwhelm, the emotions.
I looked forward to that glass.
It felt like it was the only thing holding it all together.
From the outside, everything looked fine.
I had a good career. A wonderful husband. Beautiful children. A home. A life that, on paper, I had every reason to be grateful for.
But inside, I was struggling.
I was increasingly preoccupied with alcohol. I'd think about when I could have my next drink. I'd make rules for myself and then break them.
I'd promise myself I wouldn't drink that night, only to find myself pouring a glass anyway.
And then came the guilt. The shame. The feeling that I should be able to control this.
I was a Christian, and some of my lowest moments were sitting in church on Sunday mornings feeling hungover, ashamed and disconnected.
I loved God. I knew He loved me. And yet I felt like I was hiding this part of my life.
I remember that quiet little voice inside me that kept nudging me: There has to be more than this.
Not a voice of condemnation. A voice of love.
Looking back, I can see God's grace at work in those moments.
Not condemning me or demanding that I try harder, but gently showing me that there was more peace, more joy and more freedom available.
And I began to realise that perhaps alcohol wasn't the answer to what I was looking for.
Perhaps alcohol was actually getting in the way.
I was scared though...
Scared I couldn't do it. Scared life on the other side would be boring... that I would be boring.
Scared I'd spend the rest of my life missing alcohol, feeling joyless instead of joyful.
Or that I'd just keep drinking until I hit a rock bottom big enough to force the change.
But God had other plans.
God led me to a secular, science-based methodology called This Naked Mind, developed by Annie Grace.
And for the first time, I began to understand alcohol differently.
I learned about the science of alcohol and how it affects the brain. I began to understand the beliefs I'd developed around drinking, the habits I'd formed, and why alcohol had become so compelling to me.
And instead of approaching myself with shame and trying to force myself to stop, I began approaching the whole thing with curiosity and compassion.
Something started to shift.
I realised that I didn't need to spend the rest of my life fighting alcohol. I could actually change the way I thought about it.
And as I learned more, my desire for alcohol began to change.
I found freedom.
The science changed how I understood alcohol. Grace changed how I approached myself.
One of the most important things I learned was that changing my relationship with alcohol wasn't simply about trying harder.
I needed to understand what was happening in my brain and body. I needed to question the beliefs I'd developed about drinking, recognise the patterns keeping me stuck, and learn healthier ways to navigate life without reaching for a glass of wine.
And I needed compassion. Not more shame.
For me personally, my faith was an incredible source of strength throughout that process.
But what I discovered was that the practical tools I was learning could help women from all walks of life, whatever their beliefs.
And that discovery eventually led me to become an alcohol coach.
Today, I bring that same combination of understanding, practical tools and compassion into the work I do with other women.
From finding my own freedom to helping other women find theirs.
- Senior This Naked Mind Coach
- Gray Area Drinking Coach
- Founding Member, Alcohol Coaches Australia
After experiencing such a profound change in my own relationship with alcohol, I knew I wanted to help other women discover that same possibility.
I went on to train as a This Naked Mind coach and a Gray Area Drinking coach, and since then I've had the privilege of walking alongside hundreds of women as they begin changing their own relationship with alcohol.
I'm also a founding member of Alcohol Coaches Australia, a collective working to support and strengthen alcohol coaching in Australia.
My coaching is informed by neuroscience, psychology and practical behaviour-change principles, but it's never just about giving you more information.
It's about helping you understand your own patterns, work through the challenges that come up, and begin applying what you're learning to your everyday life.
Because knowing what to do and actually doing it are two very different things.
And that's where coaching can make such a difference.
My faith is part of my story. Your journey is your own.
My Christian faith is the most important part of my life, and I'm deeply grateful for the way God has worked in my own journey to freedom.
I love walking alongside women who want to bring their faith into this process, exploring Scripture, prayer and God's grace as we work through the practical challenges of changing their relationship with alcohol.
But I also work with women who don't share my faith, or who simply prefer to approach their drinking from a secular perspective.
And that's absolutely welcome here.
The foundation of my coaching remains the same: understanding alcohol, changing unhelpful beliefs and habits, developing healthier coping strategies, and learning to live differently.
How we explore those things is personalised to you.
You don't need to share my faith to feel understood, supported and encouraged here.
I don't want to simply help you stop drinking.
I want to help you rediscover what life can feel like when alcohol is no longer taking up so much space.
More peace.
More presence.
More joy.
More connection.
More freedom.
More room for the life you want to live.
You don't have to do this alone.
One of the things I've learned along the way is that freedom isn't just about what happens inside our own heads.
We need people.
We need friendship. Community. Encouragement. People who understand. People who can walk alongside us when things feel hard and celebrate with us when things begin to change.
That's why connection is such an important part of Alcohol Freedom.
I want this to be a place where women feel welcomed, understood and encouraged as they explore a different relationship with alcohol.
A place to learn. A place to grow. A place to ask questions. A place to be honest.
And a place to discover that change is possible, one step at a time.
If any part of my story sounds familiar, you are not alone.
That little voice telling you there has to be more?
Listen to it.
There is more. And I would love to walk alongside you as you discover it.