Having had a career in the social services field for over 28 years, Emma continues to be a passionate about the benefits of therapy. Witnessing the courage people have to engage with their vulnerability and inevitably discover resources and strengths continues to inspire Emma.

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Emma first qualified as a counsellor in 1999. During and following this training she specialised in working with young people and their families for over 12 years. First employed as a play-therapist for a Child & Family Development Centre focused on attachment therapy, Emma later began working at a Youth Health Centre, within a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals as a counsellor and group facilitator. Emma also enjoyed developing group-work programs.

 

As well as working in various community-based roles, Emma established her first private counselling practice with a colleague in 2004 and extended her focus on to begin working predominantly with women, survivors of trauma.

 

After establishing a Group Practice with colleagues in 2012, she decided to seek new experiences in Brisbane in 2014. Employed in a multidisciplinary team providing phone-based assessments, treatment planning and counselling for an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) Provider, Emma gained telehealth experience and benefitted from working with inspirational colleagues and working in a different culture.

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Back in Aotearoa, New Zealand and after training in EMDR, Emma co-founded the Kāpiti EMDR & Therapy Centre, kapitiemdr.co.nz in 2019.

 

Emma aims to provide a professional and supportive approach and is influenced by her life experiences, values, clinical experience and training. She is highly committed to practicing in a culturally sensitive, ethical and effective way.

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Emma seeks to continually be informed about the meaning and implications of the Treaty of Waitangi and Te Tiriti of Waitangi, particularly in her therapy work. Emma is committed to the principles of protection, participation and partnership with Māori, the indigenous people of Aotearoa, New Zealand.

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Emma works in a person- centered manner and aim to provide clients with a safe, non-judgmental therapy space where you can experience respect for you, your values, your beliefs, your uniqueness and your right to self- determination.

 

Emma aims to understand the cultural and socio-political context in which you live and how these factors affect the presenting ‘problem’. This includes awareness and assessment of social and cultural influences such as age, development, (dis)ability, religion, cultural identity, indigenous identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, nationality and gender. Professional psychotherapists and counsellors value such differences and avoid discrimination on the basis of these aspects of identity.

 

Emma's approach is strength-based drawing from a range of counselling and psychotherapy approaches such as; Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Transactional Analysis (TA), Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (C.B.T), Interactive Drawing Therapy (IDT), Narrative Therapy, Family Therapy, Parent-Child Therapy (Attachment Based).

 

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