HEALING & GROWTH
THROUGH
COMPASSION, INSIGHT & CONNECTION
Kia ora. I offer face-to-face counselling for adults in Whakatū Nelson, focusing on compassionate talk therapy and mind-body trauma processing techniques.
If you are struggling with anxiety, distress, trauma or depression, relationship or parenting challenges, loss and grief, self-esteem issues or the effects of abuse, I am here to support you.
I create a safe connection and therapeutic relationship grounded in trust. We can explore what's going on for you and what you need; you can process what has happened; and you can discover how you want to move forward.
ABOUT ME / KO WAI AU?
No Kotaraina, no Ingarangi, no Hamene ōku tūpuna.
I whānau mai ahau ki Ōtautahi.
I tipu ake ahau ki Te Tai Tokerau.
Ko Whakatū taku kāinga ināianei.
Ko Nyree Andrews ahau.
I was born in Ōtautahi Christchurch, I grew up in Te Tai Tokerau Northland and now Whakatū Nelson is my home. My ancestors are from Scotland, England and Germany. I have one beautiful son and we have lived here since 2011.
I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Counselling. I am a member of the NZ Association of Counsellors and am strongly committed to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi in my work and beyond.
I bring my own lived experience of healing and change to my practice. In my life, I have known the profound impact of loving support and validation and I have had my right to self-determination and dignity met with deep respect. These experiences have shaped both who I am and how I work.
I have been a follower of Buddhist teachings since my early twenties and am also drawn to the wisdom and sacredness in many of the religious and spiritual traditions of the world.
I hold a strong commitment to reflection, compassionate awareness, and the ongoing reclamation of self. I continue to walk the path of an examined life, and this orientation will always inform my work with clients.
“The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are”
Carl Jung
MY APPROACH
People come to therapy for many reasons. They come to feel better about themselves, gain insight, learn who they really are, heal from pain, undo old patterns and develop more effective ways of coping and living in this world.
At the heart of the counselling process is learning to accept oneself in our full humanity. This creates a secure basis of self-acceptance and connection to our innate self-worth. From here clarity, growth, healthier relationships, and a way forward can emerge.
The foundation of my work is Person-Centred Counselling, developed by Carl Rogers. Simply put, this approach prioritises empathy, acceptance, and authenticity. When a person experiences these consistently in therapy, they begin to better understand and accept themselves, and feel freer to be who they are. As fear, self-judgement and shame soften, growth, empowerment and a strong connection to self naturally follow.
I also use gentle yet powerful cognitive-somatic techniques (EFT Tapping) to work with distressing or traumatic memories and events. Working with the mind-body connection, these approaches support the nervous system to gradually settle, reducing the body’s stress response over time. As distress eases, people are often able to accept and make more sense of their experiences, integrating them in a way that feels safer and more manageable.
I have worked with adults from a wide range of backgrounds and with a broad range of concerns. I aim to work in a way that recognises, accepts, and respects diversity, leaving space for different worldviews, experiences, and ways of being in the world.
As a Pākehā counsellor, I recognise Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga as founding documents of Aotearoa New Zealand, and work to practise respectfully and biculturally. He tangata Tiriti ahau.
I am committed to cultural sensitivity and responsiveness for all my clients and see these as an ongoing process of learning and responsibility.
LGBTQIA+ clients are warmly welcomed, and I honour each person’s lived experience and identity.
I also welcome conversations about spiritual issues, perspectives, and experiences where these are meaningful for clients, holding space for the whole person.
I hope to offer a respectful, supportive, healing counselling space with a foundation of presence, trust and compassion. Ngā mihi nui.
FEES
Sessions are $90 per hour.
To support accessibility, I offer a sliding scale of reduced rates for people on lower incomes. Please ask.
WINZ funding may also be available if you qualify.
CONTACT
Mobile 022 021 6727
“Once an experience is fully in awareness, fully accepted, then it can be coped with effectively, like any other clear reality.”
Carl Rogers