I’m interested in what sits underneath the way we all live our lives.

Why we respond the way we do.

Why we can understand something perfectly well intellectually and still find it difficult to change.

And what happens when the life we’ve carefully constructed no longer quite fits.

Before becoming a counsellor, I spent many years working with people in organisations — initially in banking and human resources, and later in learning, leadership development and coaching.

These experiences taught me a great deal about people, but also about the difference between helping someone solve a problem and giving them the space to understand themselves more deeply.

That distinction matters to me.

I don’t believe people need someone else to tell them how to live their lives. I believe good conversations can help us see ourselves more clearly - our assumptions, patterns, relationships and choices, and decide for ourselves what we want to do with what we discover.

That is what led me to formally train as a counsellor.

What shapes my approach

I completed a Bachelor of Counselling in Christchurch, including several years of supervised clinical practice working with people from a wide range of backgrounds and at very different stages of life.

My counselling training deepened and, in some ways, challenged much of what I had learned during my earlier career.

I've always been a thinker. Counselling taught me the importance of paying attention not only to what we think, but also to what we feel, experience and sometimes avoid.

I don't see those things as opposites.

For me, good counselling creates room for both — somewhere we can think carefully about our lives while also becoming more aware of what is happening beneath the thinking.

How I work

I work collaboratively.

I won't tell you what you should do, diagnose your life from the other side of the room or assume that I understand you better than you understand yourself.

I will listen carefully. I'll be curious. I'll ask questions. I'll sometimes notice patterns or contradictions and invite us to look at them together.

There may be humour. There may be discomfort. There may be things that take time to understand.

The purpose isn't to produce a better version of you.

It's to help you understand yourself more fully, so the choices you make about your life are genuinely your own.

My professional background

I hold a Bachelor of Counselling and have completed extensive supervised counselling practice in community settings in Christchurch.

Alongside my counselling work, I bring many years of professional experience, working with individuals through periods of growth, challenge and change.

My work is supported by ongoing professional supervision and continued professional development. I am a member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC) and any practice is guided by its Code of Ethics. I am committed to practicing ethically, responsibly and with respect for all the people I work with.

If you're considering counselling and would like to find out whether working together might be right for you, you're welcome to get in touch.