Tēnā koutou katoa, Ko Tititea te maunga, Ko Mātukituki te awa, Ko Pākehā te iwi, Nō Wānaka ahau, Kei Te Tihi o Maru tōku kainga, Ko Macfarlane te whānau, Ko Chris tōku ignoa
I am a passionate, considerate and dedicated therapist with over 24 years of experience working within the Education and Health sectors, community services, non-governmental organisations and private practice. I am registered with the New Zealand Association of Counsellors.
I was born in Wanaka in Central Otago and grew up as the middle child of 6. My father and mother had moved from Wellington in the mid 1960’s. On my mother’s side our family are of English descent and my father’s family came from Scotland and Denmark. My Danish ancestor Bishop Monrad came to the Manawatu and was influential in the establishment the Lutheran Church in Aotearoa. Wanaka was a great place for kids to grow up – a small town where everyone knew each other’s names and we played outside lots in the beautiful surroundings. In 1976 my parents separated and shortly afterwards my mother moved away. In those times it was rare for children to stay with their Dad, and certainly our family was unusual in such a small town. My father remarried and we moved to Timaru for my teenage years
When I was 17, I moved to the Bay of Islands and continued to live there for the next 27 years. I am a mother to four adult children, three sons aged 32, 31, 24 and a daughter aged 19, all who were born and raised in Northland. Kindness, a strong work ethic, self-awareness and compassion were some of the traits I have sought to instil in my children. They are all beautiful people and I feel very proud of their who they are.
NZAC President, Post Graduate Certificate Professional Supervision: University of Auckland 2012, Post Graduate Certificate Health Sciences - Child & Adolescent Mental Health: University of Auckland 2009, Bachelor of Counselling: Weltec 2007
I am a counsellor in Private Practice, working with anxiety, depression, ACC Sensitive Claims, adults and adolescents, supervision and facilitating Mindfulness courses. I have worked with a variety of organisations within health, education, community services presenting at conferences and providing workshops on mindfulness and staff wellbeing. I am a lead facilitator for South Canterbury District Health Board Navigate Leadership programme and have presented on wellbeing to the South Canterbury Primary School Principals Association, South Island Deputy Principals Conference and the National Rural Support Trust Annual Professional Development training.
My time in quality roles at Presbyterian Support South Canterbury and South Canterbury District Health Board have been of value in gaining knowledge in internal and external auditing processes, and the reporting of outcomes to the Ministry of Health. My work in the health sector - child & adolescent mental health, older persons health and the general mental health areas has given me a wide range of knowledge and experiences. I have valued the opportunities to work with a variety of governmental, non-governmental and community groups developing beneficial networks throughout the country.
