Welcome to Integrative Therapies

A private counselling practice for cool people i.e. fellow sensitive, overthinking, emotionally complex, intense, and neurodivergent humans

How I work & what to expect

The counselling I provide is trauma-informed and grounded in person-centered therapy, with a pluralistic philosophy.

I believe that healing and making sense of the struggles, pain, loss, and trauma we've faced means reconnecting with our whole selves: the rejected and protective parts of us; the feelings not yet allowed, owned, or understood; the capacities of our minds to make meaning that can hold the weight of our lives; and our bodies - the seat of our innate sense of power, purpose, goodness, and direction.

I support this process by being fully present with you, in a therapeutic space that is empathetic, inclusive, accepting, attuned, collaborative, and culturally responsive*. A space where you can be fully seen and heard, and where you keep autonomy over the direction and pace of the work.

This therapeutic relationship - along with tools like somatic approaches, neurodiversity-affirming practice, parts work, attachment theory, grief work, existential therapy, positive disintegration, dream work, and shadow work - is used collaboratively and flexibly to support your movement toward greater health, wholeness, and freedom.

This often looks like: more flexibility and adaptability, a stronger sense of authentic living, more vitality and clarity, a deeper sense of purpose, and - perhaps most importantly - the feeling of being "more myself than I have ever been."

*When I say culturally responsive, I mean culture in its broadest sense: race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and the many subcultures, identities, and intersections that shape our experiences. When I speak of disability, I'm also acknowledging the ways society can fail to create environments that let people participate fully and authentically as themselves.

Areas of interest/specialty

I work primarily with adults, and welcome all neurotypes, identities, and life stages. 

  • Neurodivergence & Identity:

    • Autism/ASD/Takiwātanga and ADHD/Aroreretini (all neurotypes welcome), including high-masking and non-stereotypical presentations (e.g. genderqueer people, women, BIPOC). I'm affirming, inclusive, and an ally to LGBTQIA+ and Takatāpui communities, and hold the strong intersectionality between neurodivergence and queerness with care.

  • Anxiety and Depression (including existential angst)

  • Anger

  • Trauma

  • Grief, change, transition, and loss

  • Giftedness/2e/multi-exceptionalityand multipotentiality

  • Existential concerns (death, freedom, responsibility, meaning), existential/quarter-life/midlife crises, Positive Disintegration (Dabrowski's theory) and overexcitabilities

  • Jungian psychology and individuation

  • Christian disaffiliation

  • Atheism

  • Spirituality

  • Relationships and different orientations: relationship struggles of all kinds - intimate, friendship, family - including different orientations (CNM/ENM/Polyam), and identity.

  • Reproductive decision-making (child-free living, parenthood, caregiving)

  • Health & disability: health and disability, complex chronic illness, and the body-mind intersection (I believe we are one being, and everything intersects).

  • Death and dying, ageing parents, Alzheimer’s dementia

  • Living authentically: deconstructing normativity and finding authenticity.

LGBTQIA+ rainbow badges including t
LGBTQIA+ rainbow badges including t

My work is underpinned by Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Toitū Te Tiriti!) and the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC) Code of Ethics.

What to expect

How my clients experience me

My clients frequently describe my way of working as different from other counselling they have previously received. What they often mean by this is that earlier therapy felt more surface-level, focused on techniques or strategies that did not fully explore the underlying patterns or deeper context of their distress. In contrast, they often describe feeling deeply understood in our work together, as though I am able to “get” them in a way that feels both accurate and compassionate, and that I can integrate knowledge and insight in a way that is attuned and meaningful.

Clients often say that this is the place where they can truly think their thoughts and make sense of their feelings.

They describe experiencing a magical feeling of making connections they had not seen before, and noticing that long-standing difficulties begin to loosen or shift in their impact, even when external life circumstances remain largely unchanged.

Over time, clients tend to come to know themselves more deeply. They begin to understand the underlying roots and patterns behind their difficulties, and often leave feeling freer, more vital, more connected, and more empowered than they have felt in years - or sometimes in their entire lives.

What you can expect from my way of working

  • Excellent skills and a strong knowledge base, held with humility

  • A root-cause approach - I work like a detective, following the "branch" issues you present with (e.g. depression, anxiety) down to their roots, so we can address things in a lasting way

  • Flexibility and divergent, out-of-the-box thinking, fine-tuned to your needs

  • Compassion and gentle challenge, together

  • The ability to park my biases and hold your beliefs, values, and complexity with skill and heart

  • That you’ll be in charge of the pace, direction, and growth process - I'm in charge of creating a supportive healing environment

  • Safety to fidget, stim, meander, and go "all over the place" - trust that I can hold it all, follow you, and bring it back to what matters

  • Space to just think your thoughts and make sense of your feelings, without a need to perform "doing therapy"

  • That I will welcome all of who you are, from the perspective of 'no bad parts' (Internal Family Systems/IFS)

  • Approachability and humility, I will welcome your feedback and honesty and I know that despite my utmost commitment I will get it wrong sometimes but I welcome opportunities to say sorry and repair things between us in therapy, I want to know so that I can do better, you deserve that

  • Deep empathy, care, and commitment to your healing and growth

What you won’t find working with me

  • Band-aid measures, or attempts to "fix" you

  • Judgement, defensiveness, or gaslighting

  • Re-traumatisation - you won't be asked to relive or retell traumatic experiences in overwhelming ways. Our focus is on healing and the impacts you're living with now

  • An obsession with the past - we won't wade through your childhood "just because." If we go there, it's with purpose, because it's impacting your present and your ability to move forward

  • Excessive homework, rigid structure, or "technique overload"

  • Clinical jargon you have to decode, or sessions ending abruptly at "time" if you're not safely put back together

  • A need to take care of me - I'm skilled and able to hold the therapy space

  • Arrogance (except on this website, where I am hoping to inspire you to work with me!)

  • Leaving our work together unchanged

What the process itself asks of you

  • It will often get harder before it gets easier and you may want to give up and wonder if you are strong enough to navigate your inner world, YOU ARE, and also, I'll steadfastly hold the hope for you until you can hold it yourself

  • Tiredness. Facing the past and doing healing work is exhausting, but we'll build self-care practices and work at your pace to make it manageable

  • Disruption. This work is about moving toward authenticity, so expect change - in your relationships, your work, your values, and how you see the world and yourself. Counsellors have been called "midwives to a new personality" - like childbirth, it's painful, but transformative

  • Growing consciousness - becoming more awake to yourself, to life, and to what matters

  • Your commitment to this path, and applying what you learn, will increase your rate of change and healing

  • Courage. The courage to embark on the hero’s journey ahead of you, to become the hero of your own story, and the hero in the stories of those you love. To reclaim the lost parts of you, to let go of burdens no longer needing to be carried forward, to take up what is yours to do in this world

It won't be easy, because growth is hard - but it's some of the most rewarding work (and money) you'll ever invest in yourself. Persevere, and you'll find authenticity and true freedom. You won't regret this work, because who ever regrets becoming themselves.

I am feeling excited just articulating all of this to you! If this is resonating, then please get in touch