The people who find most success in Psychotherapy are motivated and able to develop a relationship with their therapist. They have good insight and are willing to meet weekly or in some cases more regularly to maintain an emotional attachment. This is the basis of healing, learning and understanding thoughts, feelings and how they influence thinking and behaviour.

Developmentally the earlier the trauma the more frequent contact needs to be. I enjoy working in the community. A community based approach is more relational as opposed to analytical.

The difference between psychotherapy and other therapies is the focus on relationship and thoughts, feelings, behaviours which occur in relationships with the therapist and other people. There is often grieving as we begin to emotionally separate from significant others and the need to develop resilience, build more solid self-capacities.

Helping comes from emotional connection empathy, mirroring or an understanding which evolves over time with the help sometimes of interpretation. New perspectives emerge in self-reflection and insights help the development of new possibilities. Goals change as people grow. There is regularity of contact in a constant safe environment.

I am a qualified counsellor and registered psychotherapist and have been practising in Wellington (and Dunedin more recently) for over 30 years in both the public health sector and my own consultancy.