My mother exposed me to alternative and holistic health from a young age and I also inherited healing abilities through my Māori lineage (and perhaps through my Welsh ancestry). This exposure included yoga, chanting, immersion in nature, intense physical exercise, bodywork, psychotherapy, play therapy, dance and much more. I became a bodyworker at 14 years, a group fitness instructor at 17 years, a personal trainer at 19 years. I studied a Bachelor of Political Science and a Masters of Indigenous Studies with Credit (intersectional analysis of ethnicity, sexuality, gender, and class) with aspects of philosophy, economics, psychology, post-colonial theory, feminist/queer theory and much more, of which I graduated from at 24 years.
I have volunteered throughout my life in areas of environmentalism, active transport and working with young people and animals in need. I studied a post graduate diploma in psychotherapy and counselling and a postgraduate certificate in developmental psychiatry (child and adolescent mental health). I trained in Bikram yoga, hatha yoga, yoga therapy and focusing (a somatic based therapy that is somewhere on the edge of somatic experiencing, psychotherapy, and meditation) and much more. I have worked in community mental health, indigenous health, public health, and queer and trans (LGBTQ+) wellbeing.
My core therapeutic and theoretical influences are working from a lived experience, kaupapa Māori (indigenous theory), narrative therapy, person centred theory, non-violent communication, intentional peer support (working with lived experience), focusing, polyvagal theory, family therapy. I believe it is essential when working with individuals and communities to acknowledge the powerful effects of internalised trauma (polyvagal theory) and external discrimination (systems theory) on the person. This includes constant reflection on the influences of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, and ableism, among other oppressive forces, as well as reflecting on internalised trauma that comes from past experiences and inherited/intergenerational trauma.
I am currently training to be a Internal Family Systems practitioner.
