OUR TEAM OF COUNSELLORS

Aimee Alexander

B.Couns, B.Arts (Hons), MNZCCA

Aimee believes that counselling can have a powerful impact on how people see themselves, function in relationships and perceive the world around them. She likes walking alongside people, hearing their stories, and working with them to gain self-awareness and build the skills they need to overcome the challenges they face. With a background in working with people of all ages who have faced depression and anxiety, Aimee uses person-centred and narrative therapy, integrating other modalities as they will be of benefit to each person.

Kathy Bennett

B. Couns, PGDipHS (Violence and Trauma Studies), MNZCCA, ACC Provider

Kathy enjoys working with young people and adults. She offers a range of counselling including support for sexual abuse, grief, anxiety and depression. Kathy uses narrative and strength-based approaches to build nourishing life-stories that develop the identity and hopes and values of a client. Kathy’s practice supports a collaborative relationship that respects the client, while allowing them a safe, non–judgemental space to explore feelings and challenging issues at their own pace. Kathy is a Seasons Group and DBT Group facilitator (Dialectic Behaviour Therapy), and is interested in helping equip clients with skills for living life well.

Romano Basabas

B.Couns (currently studying)

Intern at Care

Romano is a third-year counselling student at Laidlaw College. He has counselled young adolescents for his placement work; navigating through issues that include family relationships, friendship issues, stresses, behavioural issues, and bullying. Romano hopes to specialise in trauma work, which is fuelled by his convictions to journey alongside the suffering in the hopes of seeing them experience more fulfilled lives

Myles Boag

B. Couns (currently studying)

Intern at Care

Myles believes that sharing stories with someone who listens and cares can be healing. He is in the final year of his counselling degree at Laidlaw College and is an intern at Care. After a decade of working in the trades industry, he has grown a desire to work with men to help them in their understanding of emotions and identity. He has experience working with young adolescents and dealing with issues like family dynamics, bullying, and identity work. He is passionate about being with people in whatever struggles they may face while coming alongside and helping to equip them to live a more healthy and fulfilling life. He enjoys movies, games, and hanging out with his wife.

Stephanie Cassidy

B.Sc; Post Graduate Diploma in Teaching; B. Couns (currently studying)

Intern at Care

Stephanie is a third-year counselling student currently completing an internship with Care
Waitakere. She is a mum of 2 adult children and comes with a wealth of life experience. Stephanie is a former primary school teacher and Teacher Aide and having worked with students and their families knows the gifts that are often unrecognised within people experiencing life’s challenges. She
likes working with them to explore their skills and strengths within a safe and caring environment. Stephanie is a skilled listener and uses person-centered, narrative, and solution-focused therapies to
help clients in their personal growth to develop healthy change in their lives.

Shikha David

B. Counselling, B. ASc. (Env. Health) Provisional Membership with NZCCA (pending)

Shikha completed her Bachelor’s degree in counselling at Laidlaw College in 2022. Shikha’s heart is to journey with people (children, adolescents and adults) in their waka as they slowly and gently unravel their heart narrative of pain, grief and trauma. Her passion is to come alongside people, and discover their gold in them, in the sacred space, as they share their deep struggles. Shikha migrated from India more than 20 years ago and can speak Hindi, Urdu and English fluently. She has a background in working with people from various cultures in public health service for more than 10 years, which has been instrumental in her richness of life experience. Shikha has two teenage children and she is currently enjoying her new hobby of gardening.

Robin Eloise Dibble

B. HhSc (Social Work), SWRB, Accredited Professional and Cultural Supervisor, Dip.MHS, Mental Health and Addictions Practitioner, Counsellor

Ko Taranaki te maunga
Ko Ngati Ruanui te iwi
Ko Nga Ruahine te hapu
Ko Aotea te waka
Ko Aotearoa te marae
Ko Robin E Dibble taku ingoa
Ko tenei taku mahi

I have a long-standing passion for working in Community Health across a range of settings and
services. While having an eclectic background I have primarily been dedicated to working in mental health and addictions in both Kaupapa Maori and mainstream services. I have a background in managing and providing Clinical Supervision to Counselling Teams in both Aotearoa and Australia. In all of my management roles I have maintained and continued to work as a
practitioner. Having gained formal qualifications over the years, it is my experience working with service users in my chosen fields that has brought me my true wisdoms. The transformative nature of being alongside and working with individuals brings me a high level of reward and satisfaction.
There is a saying that sums up why I love my vocation:
He aha te mea nui o te ao
He Tangata, He Tangata, He Tangata
What is the most important thing in the world?
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people

Cathy Dodd

B. Couns., Dip. Teaching, MNZCCA.

Cathy is passionate about children, teenagers and adults having a voice. As a counsellor, she is particularly interested in life transitions, personal identity, grief and loss, anxiety and depression, and family relationships. She has always been involved with children and families, as a former Primary Teacher and foster parent, mother and grandmother. Her life experience and skills have taught her the value of helping children, teenagers and adults share their difficulties in a safe environment, discover their strengths, and to find healthy ways of self-care for optimum wellbeing.

Helen Dyer

B. Counselling, MNZAC

Helen loves sitting with people and journeying alongside them as they deal with the deeper and more personal issues that life brings. She sees it as an absolute privilege to be able to hear others’ stories and support them as they shift through their thoughts and emotions in a safe and non-judgmental environment. Helen is passionate about working with teenagers and adults who are dealing with a range of issues. She has been trained in Narrative therapy and PCT, but likes to work eclectically; drawing from many different areas that might help support each client (i.e. DBT; psychotherapeutic models; transactional analysis; and mindfulness). She has a background in working as a support worker in both adult mental health and a residential eating disorder service. Helen loves to paint in her spare time and has two small children.

Dianne Everest

B. Couns., MNZCCA, ACC Provider

Mum to three almost adult sons, Dianne is familiar with the world of boys and works with children, teens and adults. Experience in supporting high school students with special needs brings a compassion and desire to hear, help and give voice to those who are less understood by society and to assist parents living with Autism in the family. Dianne works in creative ways; clients are given opportunity to express themselves in a safe environment, learn coping skills that work best for their personality type and can be taken into their everyday life.

Su Fenwick

MNZAC. B.Soc.Prac (Couns), ACC Provider, Registered Teacher, Adv. Supervision Cert. VWB & SW Facilit

Su brings a wealth of experience in counselling across a range of areas, contexts and people. Su works with children, adolescents and adults where she is able to walk alongside those experiencing the impact of trauma, grief and pain. Her counselling approach is to strengthen and equip while gently lifting the weight of memories and experiences, pain, shame and guilt. Her passion is seeing people freed from what holds them in places of struggle and pain. Su is also a clinical supervisor and has worked in both schools and agencies during her years of Counselling.

Susan Fuhrer

B. Couns., Dip. Teaching, Trained Debriefer. MNZCCA. ACC Provider.

Susan is passionate about wholeness and people coming into freedom to be all they can be. Her particular interest is working with trauma in the area of sexual abuse to bring empowerment for change and restore self-esteem. She also works with anxiety, depression, assertive communication, self-esteem, grief, inner child work, and uses a number of modalities. She particularly enjoys using Interactive Drawing Therapy. Susan has a high working knowledge of DBT (Dialectic Behaviour Therapy) and related skills. As transition has been a large part of her life she understands the challenges of change and is trained in the area of debriefing.

Sarah Hargreaves

PGDip Ed (Couns), GDip (Teaching), M.A (Development Studies), BA, NZAC (Provisional Member), ACC Provider.

Sarah is an experienced counsellor who works with adolescents and adults to help them overcome struggles and lead more fulfilling lives. As a counsellor, she enjoys supporting her clients to gain an increased understanding of themselves, tools and strategies for healing and change, mental and emotional wellbeing, and to feel empowered and re-connected to themselves and others. Having experienced the benefits of counselling herself, she believes that clients have the ability to discover and determine what is best for them. She has worked within educational, forensic and drug and alcohol treatment settings in New Zealand.

Jane Hepburn

PGDip HSc (MindBody Healthcare), B.Couns, MNZCCA, ACC Provider.

Jane enjoys meeting with adolescents, adults and families. She likes helping people grow through life's challenges and works alongside clients experiencing depression, stress, grief, self-esteem, relationship and identity issues. Jane is also a lecturer at Laidlaw College where she enjoys teaching Year 2 Counselling students in the School of Social Practice. Jane has two adult children, three grandchildren plus she can juggle!

Rob Hunter

Grad. Dip. Pscyhotherapy, B.A. Soc. Anthropology, M.A. Soc.Anthropology (Maori Studies)

As a psychotherapist I am interested in how the mind manifests in our life. I have always wondered how we can use challenging life experiences to evolve. I am curious about the role symptoms can play in this process of development. Arnold Mindell the founder of process orientated psychology eloquently expresses and conceptualises an approach to the human experience that I feel closely aligned to. The mindfulness revolution that seems to be exploding in many fields of human endeavour is an area I am partcularly interested in and fits well with my background in Taiji (a Taoist mindfulness practice). I am also fascinated by the developments in Neuropsychology and the influence this is having on psychotherapuetic thought and practice.

Andrew McRoberts

DipCouns, MNZAC

Andrew believes our lives are precious and deserve our care. He focuses on depression, anxiety, trauma, loss, grief and self-esteem, through individual, relationship, and family counselling. As children we all cleverly devised ways (often unknowingly) to deal with our bad feelings from our circumstances; self preservation! He helps clients realise what these are, how they effect our emotions, thoughts and behaviours today, and provides tools to release them. These dynamics effect our relationships, personal or not, and our families. Every life is important and valid, and he would be honoured to help you towards a brighter future.

Julie Reddy

PGDip Counselling Theory, BSc. Earth and Ocean Sciences, MNZAC (provisional)

After transitioning careers from environmental and health sciences, Julie has found her passion as a counsellor where she is honoured to walk alongside children, young people and adults as they more deeply experience themselves in the counselling space. She is completing her Master’s degree at the University of Auckland this year, with her research focused on understanding parents experiences within child counselling. Julie is inspired to help others through difficult life challenges including abuse, trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, loss, interpersonal relationships and identity issues (gender, sexuality, spiritual etc.). Her eclectic knowlegde and skills provide her with a kite of strength-based counselling methods to support diverse clients needs including play therapy/child counselling, DBT, mindfulness, sand tray, creative expression, narrative therapy as well as others. As a mother of two children, Julie is passionate about supporting parents and their children in other social community initiatives as well.

Mavis Seymour

Dip. Counselling (endorsed in Family Therapy) Adv. Cert. Dreamwork, MNZAC

Mavis has 15 years’ experience counselling and facilitating groups in the West Auckland community. She has extensive experience in the areas of family violence, family relationships and relationship with self. She also works alongside clients experiencing grief, depression and anxiety. Mavis uses dream-work as a way of enabling clients to gain insight and strength and to connect with their inner process. Working with people and families impacted by disability is of particular interest to Mavis.

Ann Welcome

PGCert. Health Sciences, B.Couns, dapaanz registered Practitioner/Accredited Supervisor, Brainspotting Practitioner, ACC Provider

Ann migrated from Malaysia (of Chinese ethnicity) more than 20 years ago, is married to a New Zealander and is mother of two teenage boys. Ann works with individuals and couples who are struggling with life transitions, migration issues, feeling stuck, anxiety, trauma, depression, addictions, grief, stress and feeling overwhelmed. She works in a holistic way (mental, physical, emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing). She uses a variety of therapeutic modalities and skills to empower her clients to move towards a more purposeful and fulfilling life, to grow psychological flexibility and learn skills to better manage difficult thoughts and feelings.