I love Story in all its forms.
Not just in books and movies; I love hearing stories from other people, about their lives. I’m interested and intrigued by their how and why.
In my job as an occupational therapist and EFT practitioner, it is an honour to connect with, work alongside clients and be welcomed into their story for a period of time.
Here’s a short one about me and how I landed here, doing work that I love.
When I was a teenager, my grandfather had a stroke. As part of his recovery, he worked with an occupational therapist. I remember watching the OT working with him. I remember how she connected with him, understood him, and how she was helping him live his life in the best way possible.
I remember thinking to myself: I want to learn how to do that.
After studying, I spent 8 years working as an occupational therapist in Aotearoa/NZ and England in hospitals and communities. For the following 17 years, I was the owner/operator of Eastland Occupational Therapy Services—a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team working with clients with injury related needs.
It was this work that helped me to understand that with the right support, people can adapt, keep moving forward and flourish.
In 2011, I stepped into my sole private practice and in 2013 completed certified training in Life Coaching.
After experiencing burn-out twice, while raising children, running a business, caring for a property and family, I could see clearly that it’s not just big events like injury that negatively affect quality of life—the build up of stress from busy day-to-day life can do so, too.
I had experienced the effects of stress, anxiety, and putting yourself last. I also knew that with the right tools, it didn’t have to be this way. In my private practice, I began using my OT lens and coaching to support women who were never given the tools and taught how to take care for themselves.
Where I welcome clients, online & in person.
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) kept popping up for me after a client mentioned using it with success. I ignored it for a number of years as being too “out there” for me to use; however, I did realise that I needed to look at a somatic/body-based approach to my work, as this is where our stress, anxiety and trauma sit and show up. In 2020, I completed Level 1 & 2 training and certification in EFT and Level 3 training in 2023.
Now, the primary tool in my work with clients is EFT.
I have seen EFT create incredible sustainable results for clients where talk and strategy based therapy have not.
This tool has helped me to become a much more effective practitioner in moving people forward from a place of anxiety.
Where you’ll find me…
I live in the coastal city of Gisborne, Aotearoa/NZ, which is the first city in the world to see the morning sun. I live on a lifestyle block with my partner Mike and I’m a mother and grandmother.
When I am not working, you will find me reading, watching movies or listening to podcasts while I walk, knit or weed the vege patch.