Our expert team are here to help you
We have a wonderful team of highly qualified and compassionate grief counsellors onboard at the Grief Centre.
Our counsellors are listed below with the locations where they offer counselling.
All of our counsellors also provide their therapy online.
Please call us on 0800 331 333 or email admin@griefcentre.org.nz to enquire.
Kaimahi kaitohutohu
Our counsellors
Aida Dehkhoda
North Shore, Auckland
Online
About Aida
Aida was born in Iran and resided there until she relocated to New Zealand in 2014 to pursue her doctoral journey in Psychology. During her rehabilitation counselling training for her Master’s in Iran, she supported patients with terminal illnesses and their families.
Her particular interest still lies in helping people dealing with chronic and life-threatening illness and their families, and those experiencing loss and grief and existential distress. She also helps people with various psychological and emotional suffering, including anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, relationship challenges, and general personal growth and adjustment issues.
She takes a holistic, person-centred, existential, and eclectic approach to counselling. Being a migrant herself, she is sensitive to cultural differences and their importance in the mind's journey to healing and has worked with people from various backgrounds and cultures.
She is fluent in Farsi/Persian and English.
Amy Benjamin
Birkenhead, Auckland
Online
About Amy
Amy has a wide range of experience working with youth and adults and supports any issues that are impacting mental health.
She understands that counselling can sometimes be a hopeful, yet intimidating process and she provides a warm, empathetic, and non-judgmental environment to make this process easier. She tailors each session to the needs of each individual client and recognises that the quality of the therapeutic relationship is one of the most important aspects of successful counselling.
Outside of work, Amy enjoys adventures with family and friends including visiting new places, spending sunny days at the beach or in the forest and cozy nights by the fire watching movies.
Averill Waters
Birkenhead, Auckland
Online
About Averill
Averill has held positions in a range of organisations, including schools, universities, and many community organisations. She has been Chair of Highbury House, a National Executive Member of Playcentre and was, until recently, the secretary of the Auckland Branch of New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC).
Averill has presented at a range of conferences and has published several papers on counselling practice and cross-cultural perspectives. She places a high value on respect, compassion, and social justice - values that underpin her work.
“The kato (woven bag) represents my hope for our conversations – that they will weave together to shape something that is useful and productive, creating a stronger story of your preferred identity. The strands that form the bag, represent contributions that each of us brings to the conversation helping to enhance our partnership and practice.”
Christine Murphy
Te Atatu South, Auckland
Online
About Christine
Born and raised in Switzerland, Christine has lived in Aotearoa for over 25 years. After working as a retail book seller for many years, she was ready to embrace a career change. Since 2006, Christine has offered counselling in various settings such as hospices, high schools as well as private practice. Intermittently she has also worked as volunteers’ coordinator and trainer, operations manager, and spiritual care coordinator. Now she works exclusively in private practice.
Christine’s counselling style is warm, affirming, and collaborative and she offers a calm and relaxed environment to work in. To suit the individual needs of each client, Christine uses an eclectic mix of therapeutic modalities and mindfulness-based approaches. Underpinning Christine’s work is an attitude of acceptance, compassion and respect towards all people and the issues they bring to her.
Loss and grief is a personal journey that affects us all in different ways and sometimes, in ways we do not expect. Being able to tell our story in a safe environment can help us accept our new way of being and gain an understanding of the way we feel. Diane recognises that each person’s story is different and that we are affected by grief in different ways. She honours that with compassion, empathy, and respect. She also understands the importance of working within each person’s culture and belief system.
Coralie Gibson
Birkenhead, Auckland
Online
About Coralie
Coralie is a registered counsellor with NZAC and holds a post-graduate diploma in narrative counselling. Coralie takes a person-centred and strength-focused approach. She brings 30+ years of experience working in the health care profession being a nurse and a midwife. She enjoys working alongside all people and considers it a privilege to journey with people through their loss and grief.
Coralie provides clinical supervision for professionals and offers a supportive and nourishing experience so you can continue to work safely, ethically and look after yourself.
Dave Perryman
Lynfield, Remuera, Auckland, Online
About Dave
Dave has experience working with all ages and enjoys working with Māori, Pasifika and New Zealand communities. He has recently graduated with a Bachelor of Counselling degree and is a provisional member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC).
Dave is trained in narrative and CBT therapies and takes a strengths-based and person-centred approach to the counselling experience. He has a real passion for helping people through their journey of loss and grief and loves to incorporate his interest in music and art when working with clients.
He has been married for 12 years to Winnie who is also a counsellor, and they have a teenage son. Located in central/west Auckland, in his downtime, Dave likes to spend time with family, camping and playing music.
Debbie Penlington
Tauranga
Online
About Debbie
For many years Debbie has enjoyed working with people – as a nurse, a career counsellor, a counsellor, and a supervisor. She is passionate about the positive difference counselling can make in peoples’ lives. She uses a non-judgmental, warm, empathetic, accepting approach to create a relationship of trust with clients.
Her particular areas of interest are loss and grief; bereavement including bereavement by suicide and living with cancer or chronic health; couples counselling; building self-confidence, assertiveness and self-compassion; working with individuals or couples experiencing sexual problems, including the impact of cancer on intimate relationships; anger management; career counselling; parenting; trauma; health and wellness; workplace stress, burnout and conflict resolution.
Diane Collins
Whangārei
Online
About Diane
Diane has 16 years’ experience as a counsellor specialising in loss and grief, and trauma. She is a person-centred counsellor and integrates other modalities such as art and sand tray to suit each client’s needs. She also works as a counsellor in Pukekohe, working with clients of all ages and ethnicities, and works with Victim Support there.
Loss and grief is a personal journey that affects us all in different ways and sometimes, in ways we do not expect. Being able to tell our story in a safe environment can help us accept our new way of being and gain an understanding of the way we feel. Diane recognises that each person’s story is different and that we are affected by grief in different ways. She honours that with compassion, empathy, and respect. She also understands the importance of working within each person’s culture and belief system.
Diane Giles
Warkworth
Online
About Diane
Diane worked for eight years as a Lifeline counsellor, and three years with the Antara Natural Health Centre, as well as being in private practice. Diane has a passion for holding a safe space to facilitate greater insights into thoughts, behaviours and emotions which cause suffering. She is an experienced loss and grief counsellor.
Diane has seven children and has been a foster parent for many years. She has also gone through the Russian adoption process. She has been a passionate teacher of the Montessori Method for many years and has her own centre supporting both children and parents.
Emma Mackie-Watts
Devonport, Auckland
Online
About Emma
Born and raised in the North of England, Emma has lived in New Zealand for 17 years and came to counselling from a varied background in education, journalism, and business. She works with adults of all ages. Emma works from rooms in Devonport and online.
Emma welcomes people who have experienced loss, not only through bereavement, but through trauma and abuse; relationship breakup; moving far from home; redundancy; being estranged from family and friends; miscarriage; and fertility treatment. She also has an interest in working with people who suffered a bereavement earlier in their lives, which causes them pain or suffering now.
Emma is easy to get to know. Her warm, compassionate nature and genuine care for others, helps build relationships with clients quickly. While she is passionate about empowering her clients to find answers for themselves, she believes that by walking alongside people through their difficulties, people might find a way to make meaning from their loss, and even grow from it.
Elaine Jacobsen
Central, East Auckland
Online
About Elaine
Elaine has over 14 years’ counselling experience and works with a diverse range of clients, from all walks of life including adults, teens, and children. She has experience working with culturally diverse clients including Pacifica, Māori and Asian and welcomes all cultures, genders, orientations, and backgrounds. Her person-centred approach walking alongside her clients on their journey. Her special interest areas are adoption, grief and loss, suicide, and youth mental health. She has been a Victim Support Bereavement by Suicide worker as well as a Seasons for Grief and Loss Facilitator.
Elaine’s counselling style is to offer a warm, safe, and relaxed space for clients to be in. Her person-centred approach sits with narrative therapy, art and sand tray and she adjusts her approach to the needs of the client. Elaine is a wife, stepparent, step-grandparent and has a fur baby called Blue.ent...
Esther Saldanha
Wellington/Lower Hutt/Online
About Esther
Enter your Esther came to New Zealand in 2003 and loved it so much she became a citizen! Her experience includes as a hospital and hospice Chaplaincy, a trainer and facilitator for the Seasons for Growth grief programme, facilitating grief programmes in prisons, a counsellor in a drug treatment unit, a secondary school counsellor, facilitating youth groups, and as a child and family counsellor for those with complex needs. She also works with survivors of sexual abuse through ACC Sensitive Claims. Her experience with people in this broad range of settings has helped her bring acceptance, understanding, compassion and a non-judgemental approach to her practice.content...
Eunice Choi
Online only
About Eunice
Eunice has a passion for supporting people’s efforts to overcome life challenges through professional and collaborative counselling practice. She works with adults dealing with issues around anxiety, depression, cultural issues, loss and grief and trauma. As an Asian migrant herself, Eunice particularly wants to help migrants to settle and thrive with resilience and hope in New Zealand.
She has special interest in all areas of grief and trauma caused by losses. Her counselling approach is integrated based on person-centred and narrative therapy. She offers counselling in Korean and English.
Jacqueline Pritchard
Warkworth, Auckland
Online
About Jacqueline
Jacqui’s counselling approach is integrative, flexible, and diverse and each person is treated as the unique individual that they are. Her practice is underpinned by an empathic and non-judgmental approach as she works alongside individuals in a gentle and caring manner.
Jacqui is dedicated to working with people in achieving their goals, making sense of their life experiences and rewriting their life stories into something that has meaning and value. Jacqui works with a diverse range of clients, from all walks of life, including adults (any age), adolescents, new parents (postnatal distress), and immigrants. She has extensive experience in online counselling, digital mental health, working with young people, suicide, and bereavement and loss counselling.
Janet Tezel
Orewa, Auckland
Online
About Janet
Jan counts it as a privilege to walk alongside people as they work to resolve current issues in their lives, and to achieve greater personal strength and wellbeing. She has a holistic understanding of personality, including a spiritual dimension in all of us that continually urges us towards awareness, creativity, honesty, self-responsibility, caring, interdependence and joy of life.
She follows a person-centred approach, respecting a person’s own values and directions. She draws on a range of talking therapies (cognitive behavioural therapy and narrative therapy), dream work, and creative therapies (interactive drawing and sand tray), to fit with needs and preferences.
Jennifer O'Flynn
Birkenhead, Auckland
Online
About Jennifer
Jennifer believes counselling is a balance between emotional and mental processing coupled with exploring and developing strategies that will help meet goals. Issues she regularly works with include anxiety, depression, relationships, neurodiversity and grief.
Methods of therapy she integrates include CBT, ACT, dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), and solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT).
Her practice is informed by a range of people from different cultures, backgrounds, ages, and stages of life, which has come from working in school settings and churches over many years. Alongside her private practice, she also facilitates crisis management counselling for groups in employment spaces.
Kathy McIlwain
Birkenhead, Auckland
Online
About Kathy
Kathy worked as a registered nurse in the United States for 5 years and in New Zealand for 25 years, working as a community mental health nurse for most of that time. She spent 21 years in the United States military reserves (similar to territorials) and active duty to include 5 years as an Army medic and 16 years as a Navy nurse. She has a Master of Education through University of Maryland and is currently completing a Master of Counselling degree focused on Narrative Therapy at the University of Waikato. She currently works in private practice as a counsellor and as a community mental health nursing at Taylor Centre in Auckland. Her guiding philosophies are 'relationship is key' and healthcare as a holistic experience including the four cornerstones of health (Te Whare Tapa Wha) - spiritual, psychological, physical and social. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, dog lover, student, teacher, nurse, counsellor, and friend and can offer many years of life experience.
Johann van den Berg
Birkenhead, Auckland
Online
About Johann
Johann is a professional supervisor and counsellor in private practice on the North Shore. He also does some teaching and examining at tertiary level in counselling. Johann migrated from Africa to New Zealand in 2001. He has worked at tertiary level as a counsellor, having completed post graduate studies at the University of Auckland as a mature student.
Johann continues to enjoy the journey alongside students in their growth as practitioners, as well as the challenges and complexities faced by experienced practitioners. He has a keen interest in loss and grief, cultural difference, migration, and marginalisation in its various forms, and assisting clients in reaching their full potential. Passionate about the arts, Johann lives on the North Shore with his partner and energetic canine companion.
Julie Blakelock-Smith
Lincoln, Canterbury
Online
About Julie
Julie has been practicing for more than 30 years. Her style of counselling is eclectic, having trained in a variety of therapeutic approaches including person-centred, narrative, NLP, strengths-based, CBT, Gestalt and mind-body. She has a special interest in holistic therapies that evoke mindfulness, spirituality, and the integration of mind-body-spirit in healthcare.
Outside of work, she enjoys spending time in nature, music and the aroma and taste of great coffee! She has two daughters and eight delightful grandchildren, all who currently live in Auckland.
Karen Lupe
Online
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About Karen
Karen completed her training in counselling and psychotherapy with the Psychosynthesis Institute. She works empathically across a spectrum of issues, including loss and grief, bereavement, loss of a significant relationship e.g divorce, injury-related loss, trauma, depression, anxiety, existential distress relating to one's spirituality and cultural issues.
Karen is trained in Jungian dream work. Her focus is on creating a safe, warm counselling space to work collaboratively with clients on their own unique healing journeys towards health, fulfilment and wellbeing.
Lea Orpana
Palmerston North
Online
About Lea
Lea was born and raised in Finland. After migrating to Australia, she had career change from Nursing to Counselling. She moved to New Zealand years later where she did further counselling studies and registered with New Zealand Counselling Association.
Lea has worked with children and adults from all walks of life dealing with wide range of issues since 1998 in variety of setting with variety of cultural backgrounds including Immigrants and Refugees.
She also has worked in Malawi, training and counselling people groups and as a result, the number of counselling centres and support groups started operating in villages.
Lea’s significant losses in her life has given her the first-hand experience in understanding the challenging grief journey. She has a passion to walk alongside of person experiencing loss and to help to find healing and adjusting to new life.
She brings a caring and empathic approach to those who are experiencing grief over their losses, in a safe and non-judgemental environment.
Lea is a person-centred counsellor, using CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy), IDT (Interactive Drawing Therapy) and Solution Focused models.
Lesley Smith
Christchurch
Online
About Lesley
Lesley is a Kiwi who has lived a lot of her life overseas. She returned to Aotearoa in 2012 and is based in Ōtautahi, Christchurch. Lesley came to counselling after working in a variety of different areas of employment.
Lesley brings depth to working alongside people experiencing loss and grief in the myriad ways that it impacts us all. While her practice is grounded in providing counselling to people and whānau while they are on the palliative journey and after the death of a significant other, she welcomes people who have experienced all forms of loss.
Lesley provides a warm, safe, non-judgmental, and supportive environment for clients. Her practice is based in the person-centred approach, and she attends to the whole person (body, mind and spirit), using creative therapies where appropriate.
Lesley recharges herself by enjoying nature; principally through tramping, running, tennis, cycling and gardening.
Matthew Flynn
Birkenhead, Remuera,
Auckland, Online
About Matthew
Matthew comes to counselling from a wide and varied background in law, community involvement and working with young people.
He has travelled extensively and brings to counselling a keen interest in the commonality of issues people of all ages and backgrounds experience though out their lives. By listening, talking, and sharing their experiences, clients can receive help and support to work towards regaining their lives after experiencing loss and grief.
Megan Hutchings
Papakura, Auckland
Online
About Megan
Megan has worked with a variety of clients throughout several years of counselling experience since completing the Master of Counselling programme through the University of Auckland. Megan has experience working with young children, teenagers and adults. She supports her clients with a wide variety of difficulties including anxiety, depression, loss and grief, significant life changes, and sexual violence.
Megan works to prioritise the therapeutic relationship between the client and counsellor to create a welcoming, safe, and supportive counselling environment. She takes a pluralist approach to counselling practice, drawing a handful of modalities throughout the sessions to support the client. In taking this approach, Megan aims to walk beside the client as they move through difficult life stages.
Merryn Lala
Hamilton
Online
About Merryn
Merryn's 15-year journey nurturing young minds in education now culminates in her final year of a Master of Counselling Studies, fueled by a passion for supporting the mental and emotional well-being of youth and adults.
Informed by her rich experience cultivating resilience and understanding in young minds, where each person's unique thoughts and feelings find a safe haven and a chance to flourish, she weaves a personalised tapestry of diverse counselling techniques and strategies, ensuring each session reflects the individual's journey.
When not nurturing potential in her sessions, Merryn finds solace in the company of her daughter and furry companions, or immersing herself in the serenity of New Zealand's natural beauty.
Michael Streifler
Mangawhai, Whangārei
Online
About Michael
Michael is a registered counsellor with over 20 years of experience working with adults from all walks of life dealing with a wide range of issues. His approach is focused on building a caring and supportive relationship with his clients encouraging them to discover potential and recognise strength in themselves. He helps his clients to achieve a balanced lifestyle, rational thoughts and high levels of self-care. He has lived in Auckland for most of his life but now resides in a small town in Northland.
He works with people who are having difficulty with sexual orientation, identity & acceptance, relationships, work and study stress, depression and anxiety, family dynamics, major changes, illness or injury, loss and grief, addition issues, and low self-esteem.
Monica Barnett-Harris
Browns Bay, Auckland
Online
About Monica
Monica has 21 years general counselling experience in four countries and has also worked in corporate for several years. Special interest areas are autism (ASD), grief, couples, 11-25 years, and cross-cultural issues. Using a person-centred or integrative approach to counselling, Monica meets every client where they are in their journey by providing a safe confidential space to explore what they bring to each session.
She believes self-nurture and self-kindness are an integral part of looking after oneself while the reason that brings someone to counselling is explored. Monica helps her clients explore tools and techniques that meet their individual needs to help them between sessions and for personal navigation of future challenging situations.
She previously worked for government for three years and non-government agencies for another three years. She has personally experienced the benefits of counselling in the past when going through tough times and now enjoys helping others in their own times of challenge.
Nicki Foster
Albany/Helensville
Online
About Nicki
Nicki is passionate about supporting people to live their best lives. She appreciates the trust involved in a counselling relationship and works to ensure her clients feel safe and cared for.
As a mixed-race, multi-cultured person, born overseas, she treasures the different cultures and customs she grew up with, which has created a broad, non-judgmental personal worldview, as she believes each life is unique. Warmth, empathy, and caring, would best describe her approach to counselling.
Respect and acceptance for all underpins Nicki’s approach to life. Nicki is comfortable with Narrative Therapy, CBT, Solutions & Strength Focused, FACT, Grief & Loss, Attachment and Person-centred Therapy, and her multicultural background has enabled her to understand issues relating to identity and belonging.
Nola Forsyth
Birkenhead, Remuera, Auckland Online
About Nola
Nola has worked in social services and counselling for many years and is a trained professional supervisor. She now provides supervision only. Nola has managed a team of counsellors, along with counselling students and researchers and has counselled a very wide range of people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Nola has a breadth of experience in individual, couples, family, and group work, including counselling for loss and grief, relationship issues, depression and anxiety, eating issues, sexually harmful behaviour, domestic violence, and employee assistance. She is warm, empathetic, safe, ethical and client centred.
Rosalind Heathcote
Clyde, Central Otago
Online
About Rosalind
Ros is a New Zealand-trained, British counsellor providing general counselling for anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, and life changes. As a person-centred counsellor, she works hard to ensure counselling provides a safe, non-judgmental space for clients to be heard and feel understood.
In difficult times, it can be useful to notice and acknowledge strengths, understand limits, and reflect on our lives to provide new perspectives. To achieve this, she uses a variety of therapeutic approaches to support her clients in their unique journey towards peace and wellbeing.
Additionally, her training in neurodiversity informs her holistic and person-centred practice by acknowledging that every person has a unique way of perceiving, processing and understanding the world. She is committed to working sensitively and safely with people from all cultural backgrounds, with any neurodivergence such as ADHD or autism, and LGBTQI+. Most of the therapeutic approaches that she uses can be successfully used online as well as in person.
Rosie Brown
West Auckland,
Online
About Roșie
Rosie obtained her Bachelor of Counselling specialising in the modalities of Narrative Therapy and Person Centred Therapy. She is also skilled in several other modalities to enable individualised and holistic therapy for her clients structured in a way that works best for them. She is flexible and compassionate in her approach and walks alongside her client whilst honouring and respecting their autonomy. It is her vision to create a safe, confidential, non-judgmental, kind and caring space for clients to explore their grief experiences. She also has experience working in the fields of anxiety and depression, post-natal depression, stress, trauma, domestic violence, family harm and relationship issues and has worked in the disability sector. In her spare time she enjoys the beach and outdoors with her husband and two teenagers together with cafe trips and a spot of shopping!
Seno Tuinukuafe
Birkenhead, Auckland
Online
About Seno
Seno Tu’inukuafe (MNZAC) is a Tongan mother living on the North Shore. Born in Tonga, she migrated to New Zealand in 1986 and has been a counsellor since 2011. Seno holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling from the University of Auckland and recently completed a Master of Psychotherapy degree from Auckland University of Technology.
Seno values diversity and works with any ethnic community on a variety of issues including loss and grief.
Her hobbies are gardening, reading, crafting, travelling, music, culture, and anything relating to spirituality and soul care.
Simran Lamba
Manukau, Auckland
Online
About Simran
Simran is client-centred in her practice and utilises the skills of empathy, congruence and being non-judgmental with her clients. She aims to work collaboratively with the clients and ensures her best to provide a safe space for the client by practicing ethically and maintaining confidentiality.
Having lived in various countries, Simran’s passion lies in working with people from different backgrounds and being culturally inclusive in her practice. Using a pluralistic approach in her counselling she believes every individual is unique, and hence, what may work for one person may not necessarily work for another. Areas of passion for Simran are trauma, loss and grief. She is fully proficient in English and Hindi.
Sunny Lin
Online
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About Sunny
Sunny is a passionate counsellor and supports clients suffering from anxiety and depression, addiction, loss and grief, low self-esteem, relationship stress, and workplace issues.
She previously worked for government for three years and non-government agencies for another three years. She has personally experienced the benefits of counselling in the past when going through tough times and now enjoys helping others in their own times of challenge.
Dr. Susan Crozier
Central Auckland
Online
About Susan
Susan is a writer, artist, gardener, educator, meditator and yoga practitioner with many years of personal seeking and discovery informing her counselling practice. Trained in Narrative Therapy, Susan also draws on Buddhist ideas about how we can learn to live a good life even when we experience grief and loss, and the many other painful experiences that can come along. Susan has worked as a counsellor in Hospice for several years, supporting people living with life-limiting illness and those facing significant bereavement. Alongside her experience with grief and loss, she has a sensitive approach to working with people whose lives are affected by anxiety and depression, or difficult life changes.
She also works with couples wanting to create secure and loving connection and is an LGBTQIA - friendly counsellor.
Val Leveson
Birkenhead, Birkdale, Auckland and Online
About Val
Val has a Master of Counselling from the University of Auckland. She has previously worked as a journalist and has lived and worked in different parts of the world – this brings valuable life experience, knowledge, and multicultural perspectives to her counselling.
In addition to her work at the Grief Centre, Val also does face-to-face counselling for Youthline. Her clients vary in age (from teenagers to over 60s), gender and nationality. Her empathy for others, counselling skills and personal qualities of genuineness, gentleness and compassion enable her to establish empathetic relationships and work effectively with clients of all backgrounds.
Valentina Bargiacchi
New Lynn, Auckland
Online
About Valentina
Valentina has more than 10 years counselling experience, working for both government and non-government organisations as well as in private practice. Valentina has worked with people from diverse backgrounds, cultures and lifestyles and feels passionate about supporting people in their journey of change, growth, and healing. Her style is warm, kind, and empathetic.
Valentina’s areas of interest include loss and grief, addiction, relationships/communication, anxiety, depression, harmful sexual behaviour, self-esteem/confidence, eating-related issues, anger issues, stress, and life transitions.
Counselling modalities used to support such issues include person-centred, schema therapy, acceptance, and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), emotionally focused therapy (EFT), cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and motivational interviewing. How these are used will depend on a client’s unique experience.
Veronica Cusack (She/Her)
Pukekohe, Auckland
Online
About Veronica
Veronica is a Pākehā/Māori and like a lot of people, she wears many hats. She is a mum, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a friend, counsellor and confidante. She is a “later-in-life counsellor” and recent graduate of a Health Science Degree in Counselling. For her this has meant she’s been graced with her own personal experiences of life’s complications and challenges. Her hope is to walk alongside her clients, have them feel seen, heard and accepted in order to help them to take on the difficulties that life produces. She approaches all clients through a lens of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and works integratively depending on client/whānau needs and has a base in narrative therapy.
Viola Beintken
Howick, Auckland
Online
About Viola
Viola is an experienced counsellor working with children, teens, and adults. She uses a person-centred approach walking alongside clients and supporting them with concerns like anxiety, depression, life changes, migration, loss and grief. Viola incorporates elements of narrative therapy, mindfulness, and art and play-based modalities in her practice and adjusts her approach to the individual needs of the client.
Viola’s areas of special interest are anxiety, loss and grief and neurodiversity (ASD, ADHD, giftedness, etc.). She grew up in Germany, moving to New Zealand in 2012 together with her husband and their four children.
