I enjoy working with a wide range of people and value human and cultural diversity. My ancestry is Scottish (Rutherfurd), Irish and Maori (Ngāti Awa and Tainui). My European ancestors came to Aotearoa in the 1800’s and I was born and raised in the Waikato.
I have been a full member of the NZ Association of Counsellors since 2006 and worked as a Counsellor and Group Facilitator at the University of Auckland for 16 years, and worked in private practice for 10 years.
My Counselling Approach
I am trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness, Solution Focussed and Brief Therapy approaches as well as Gestalt and Sandtray Therapy.
I have a special interest in social anxiety and developed a ‘Social Confidence Group’ at the University. I have worked with a variety of issues including depression, anxiety, grief and loss, addiction, trauma, sexuality and the impacts of sexual violence.
“The Client-Centred and Gestalt approaches work towards helping clients develop a more integrated ‘sense of self’. At the heart of Gestalt therapy is the belief that the more one tries to become who one is not and force oneself to fit into a mould, the more one stays feeling stuck and fragmented rather than whole”.
I am passionate about working with clients to help them make meaning out of their difficulties, move towards healing and find their passion and purpose in life.
I provide supervision for counsellors and abide by the ethics of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors.