Making an appointment
You can contact me via email, text, or an 'old school' phone call. We can then either have a brief chat or message about what you are looking for and whether I would be the right fit for what you need.
We can then make an appointment for a face to face session, or a remote session via Zoom or phone call.
What to expect
The first appointment takes at least a full hour and this time tends to go really quickly! It gives you time to talk through what has been happening, how it is affecting you and what you would like to work on in our sessions. It is important for you to feel comfortable and understood.
You will need to sign a consent form and may be asked to complete a brief rating scale so we can track your progress through our sessions.
It would be helpful before the session for you to consider what brings you to therapy, whether it is a specific life situation or you want to improve your overall health.
Towards the end of the first session, we will set some goals and start to collaborate on a treatment plan.
The real work happens between the sessions so I will often ask you to try out the techniques we discuss in session and practice in real life!
Generally we will meet up weekly or fortnightly at first to get some momentum going so you can hopefully see some meaningful changes in how you are feeling.
Later sessions can be more flexible.
It is important that you feel comfortable coming to see me, so you may bring a support person/animal if this helps.
Confidentiality
As a member of the Nursing Council of New Zealand and the Drug and Alcohol Practitioners Association of New Zealand, you can rest assured I adhere to a strict Code of Conduct. This is based on the core values of Respect, Trust, Partnership and Integrity. Confidentiality is paramount and any personal information, including clinical notes are stored securely and only accessed for the purpose of providing care.
If there are concerns about your safety or that of others, we will have a conversation about how best to support you and make a plan together.