About Lisa

Originally from Yorkshire in the UK, I moved with my family to New Zealand in 2013.

We are a family of 4 plus a crazy dog!

Both here and in the UK I spent over a decade working in Specialist Mental Health Services, mainly Crisis Resolution Services and Community Mental Health.

Whilst enjoyable and rewarding, I felt I could be more helpful to people earlier on in their  journeys, before they got to breaking point.

Building on my undergraduate degree in Psychology, I completed Postgraduate training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and saw the transformation in my clients almost immediately. They felt they had some real tools to help them not only make sense of what was driving their depression and anxiety, but most importantly how to deal with it. 

As I developed more experience in using CBT, I became interested in other evidence-based approaches and have completed training in both Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy.

I have been privileged to work in brief Intervention in Primary Care for several years now, both in Christchurch and in Wellington. I was part of the PIKI pilot through Tu Ora Compass Health which provided extended CBT for young people aged between 18 and 25 years.

I was also one of the first Health Improvement Practitioners in New Zealand, under Te Tumu Waiora using Focussed Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

IIn 2022 I completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Addiction and Co-existing Conditions with registration as a Drug and Alcohol Practitioner. 

I am also a Registered ACC Therapist.

Of course, skills and training are important, but they amount to very little without the ability to make people feel comfortable, understood and valued. A good conversation, where a person is supported to speak their mind without judgement, feel validated, identify their strengths and then empowered, is crucial to any approach to therapy.

"She wasn't like other therapists I've been to. It just felt like a chat but I got so much out of it"  Abbey M.

"I was really worried when my doctor suggested I speak to someone, but Lisa made it so easy to talk" Malcolm C.

"It felt like she saw me as a whole person, not just the problems but what I was good at" Jenny S.