Overview

Relationship

Thoughts connected as we feel them to be connected, are what we mean by personal selves - William James

Relationships with self

People feel themselves to be fragmented, memories seem to be missing, a sense of emptiness starts to circle on an otherwise colorful world. These are some of the feelings that lead people to seek psychotherapy. They want to feel more whole, they want to make and enjoy their relationships. They want to feel a sense of ongoingness, a connection with themselves and their world. I find it greatly satisfying to work with people at this deep level. The Conversational Model has an established research base making it one of the best validated of all contemporary psychotherapies. It is of particular value in the treatment of complex trauma and chronic mental illness.

I also base my understanding of us, on the the Power Threat Meaning Framework. The framework’s central tenet is that emotional distress and troubled or troubling behavior are intelligible responses, to life circumstances and adversities. It replaces, “what is wrong with you?” with “what happened to you?”

Relationships with others

Finding meaningful connections to others and the wish for a sense of belonging, also brings people to therapy. I enjoy working with all kinds of relationships - whether it be couple, poly, parenting or whanau. Cross-cultural relationships of all types hold a special interest for me, as does working with sexual issues such as sexuality, dysfunction, gender issues and sexual abuse.

You may be interested in this article on the evidence for and against love languages, in the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/jan/01/love-languages-has-been-helping-couples-for-30-years-social-media-has-boosted-it?

Relationships with work

Individual supervision

I offer individual supervision to practitioners in the mental health community as well as being a training supervisor and faculty member with ANZAP. My supervision practice is informed most recently, by the intensive ANZAP Supervision training course. Previously, I have also completed qualifications in cultural supervision and supervision in the human services. I offer an exploratory, enquiry-based approach to enhance and enrich your work. I am curious about transference in these relationships, and keen to work in this way with supervisees who share this interest.

You may be interested in this article: Trauma-informed supervision: Historical antecedents,

current practice, and future directions by Carolyn Knight in the THE CLINICAL SUPERVISOR 2018, VOL. 37, NO. 1, 7–37

https://doi.org/10.1080/07325223.2017.1413607

Supplier for ISSC - Sensitive claims ACC

I hold a supplier and provider role within the ACC sensitive claims service. This means that in addition to my clinical role, I manage sensitive claims referrals for our entire group of nearly twenty, very experienced and talented mental health professionals. You can find out more about this work via our specifically dedicated website - Access Associates website