I believe that it is within the context of our relationships where we experience some of our greatest learnings about life and ourselves, and therapy is one avenue in which we can do this. My approach as a therapist acknowledges the importance of the relationship between client and therapist as a vehicle toward change. The therapeutic relationship can provide a safe space in which to explore thoughts and feelings and make sense of past and current experiences, while generating strategies to manage those that are distressing. In many cases understanding what is going on can be just as helpful as working out what to do about it. Some people enter therapy because they want to learn more about themselves, others because they want support to implement change in order to achieve their goals.
I have been working in mental health for over 20 years, specifically as a Psychologist since 2010 across the public and private sectors, seeing adults for psychological assessment and therapy, individually, in couples, and in group settings. For the most part I have worked in New Zealand, and I also lived and worked in Melbourne, Australia during 2013 and 2014 pursuing training and experience in Emotion Focused Therapy. I see a diverse range of folks seeking help and support in a variety of areas: relationship problems, sexual difficulties and sexuality concerns, anxiety, depression, intrusive thoughts, life crisis, stress, substance use and addictions, grief, trauma, adjustment to change and transitions, pre and post natal concerns, emotions that feel out of control. Does doing the same thing over and over and getting the same result sound familiar? In that case therapy might be for you.
I work with people wanting brief psychotherapy therapy focussed on addressing a particular issue, as well as those wanting to explore their psychological patterns and processes in more depth to facilitate long term change. I value working with the LGBTQIA+ community and am committed to providing gender affirming healthcare.
I also provide clinical supervision to Psychologists and other health professionals at various stages of their career, and I thoroughly enjoy this work.
Training
I have an ongoing commitment to professional and personal development and believe that this supports my effectiveness and genuineness as a therapist. I offer a skills-based approach that is catered to each client (or couple) based on their presenting issues and what they are wanting to achieve. The nature of my clinical psychology training was primarily cognitive and behaviourally oriented, and I have since undertaken further professional development and/or training in the following modalities:
- Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)
- Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
- Sex Therapy
- Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Emotion Focused Therapy for Couples (EFCT)
- Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
- Registered Clinical Psychologist with the New Zealand Psychologists Board
- Full member, New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists
- Supplier and provider of Psychological Services under ACC’s Integrated Services for Sensitive Claims for survivors of sexual abuse and assault
- Associate member, EMDR Association of Australia