About Me

I am a Kiwi born and bred Pākehā cisgender (he/him) heterosexual registered clinical psychologist who completed a law degree and was admitted to the Bar years prior to retraining as a psychologist. After a working holiday in England I spent many years working for a large accountancy firm before realising this wasn’t for me and starting my psychology studies.

 

While re-training I worked as a group counsellor for a stopping violence agency then worked for five years in hospital based mental health services with adults, adolescents, children, and adults with substance abuse issues. I finished my clinical psychology training in 2003 and began with the Victoria University's Health and Counselling service in 2006. I have had stints in leadership and as a Health Improvement Practitioner (HIP), honing my
Focused ACT skills. My therapeutic approach is informed by Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Emotion Focussed Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). I co-designed and co-facilitated an ACT informed sleep workshop with the university psychiatrist for a decade and for many years co-facilitated a university DBT emotion regulation skills group.

 

I feel fortunate to have raised three healthy adult children who continue to educate me in the ways of the world. In my spare time, I enjoy tramping, cycling, cooking, gardening, reading, movies, and catching up with friends.

 

I have enormous confidence in the benefits flowing from therapy and feel privileged to be of service.  Listening carefully to my clients and working alongside them as they negotiate life’s challenges is both an honour and humbling. I am often amazed by the radical changes clients make in just a small number of sessions.