I am a fully registered psychotherapist with the Psychotherapists Board of Aotearoa New Zealand (PBANZ), which means that I hold an approved qualification, meet the professional competencies defined by the Board and am required to maintain ongoing professional development to ensure my competency to practice. PBANZ enacts the legislation of the Health Practitioner's Competence Assurance Act (HPCAA 2003) which is in place to protect the public by ensuring the competency of health professionals.

 

Although much of my work has been in a clinical setting, I approach psychotherapy & counselling from a holistic perspective, considering the psychological, spiritual, emotional and physical health of the individuals I see.  My goal is to help people improve their overall well-being and I believe each person brings his/her unique experiences to the room, which requires me to be flexible in how I work.  I draw on a range of therapeutic approaches which aim to identify the thoughts, feelings, & behaviours that are impacting a person's functioning so we can figure out the most effective way to shift the "problem(s)" and make change happen.  I tend to think about how the identified problem or "symptom" may serve a function that the client isn't explicitly aware of and through exploring this we often discover the "necessity" of the symptom that may protect the client from some other suffering.  I also consider the cultural, environmental, familial, socioeconomic, and social factors that may play a role in one's difficulties.