The hardest part of counselling might just be finding the right person to work with.

$120 for an hour. The first 15 minute call is free, whether or not you carry on.

Not much, and that’s the point. You tell me a bit about what’s going on, as much or as little as you like, and you get a feel for whether talking to me comes easily. Nothing to prepare, no obligation, and if I’m not the right fit I’ll happily point you at someone who might be.

Yes. What you tell me stays with me. The exception is safety: if you or someone else is at serious risk, I can’t sit on that, and I’ll always talk with you first about what happens next.

For young people there’s a bit more to it (see the questions below).

I hold a Master of Counselling and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education and Guidance Counselling, and I’m a registered member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors. That means I work to the NZAC Code of Ethics, I’m in regular professional supervision, and there’s an independent body you can take a concern to if you need one.

My training spans person-centred and pluralistic counselling, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), solution-focused work, and trauma-informed practice. In plain terms: I have a few different tools, and I fit the approach to you rather than the other way around.

Yes, from around eleven, though that’s not a hard and fast rule. Teenagers are where much of my experience sits, including five years in New Zealand high schools. And if your young person isn’t keen, that’s the most common starting point there is. Finding a way in with someone who’d rather not be there is genuinely one of the things I’m best at.

School counsellors do good work, but they’re usually carrying an entire school, and being seen walking into their office is a real barrier for plenty of teenagers. Online gets around both.

Generally, no, and I know that’s the hardest part to accept. What a young person brings to a session stays with me, and you won’t get a summary afterwards.

The exception is safety. Where there is a risk to a young person, and that includes thoughts of suicide and any self-harm, I will share it with a safe adult. I’ll always talk with them first, so they know that a safety concern has come up, what I’m going to do about it, and who I’ll be speaking to. Nothing happens behind their back.

Outside of safety and risk, what’s said in a session stays there.

A young person who suspects their words will be repeated over dinner tells their counsellor nothing at all. The privacy isn’t me keeping you at arm’s length. It’s what makes the work possible.

And confidentiality isn’t the same thing as keeping people apart. I’m always mindful of the relationships that matter to a young person, and a good deal of the work is about shoring those up. What I’m working towards is them feeling able to share things themselves, with the people in their life, when they’re ready.

Yes. For anyone under 18 I ask a parent or guardian to be involved from the start and to consent before we begin. That’s a little more than the law strictly requires (from 16 a young person can consent to their own care) but it’s how I choose to work, largely because it means there’s an adult who knows what’s happening and can support things at home.

Working online makes it matter more, too. I need to know where your young person is during a session, and to have someone I can contact if a safety concern comes up.

If you’re separated or share guardianship, do let me know early so we can work out who needs to be involved before we start rather than afterwards.

And if you’re under 18 and looking for a counsellor yourself: you’re very welcome to get in touch, though I will need a parent or guardian on board before we begin. If that isn’t possible right now, Youthline on 0800 376 633 or text 234 is free and you can use it without anyone else being involved.