Paula Turner

Availability Friday afternoons at Takapuna Collective

Counselling

I am fascinated by the transformational possibilities that counselling and therapy offer.  I believe that with appropriate support, everyone has the capability to live a life in which they are fulfilled and are sustained by successful relationships, based on caring and effective communication.

How I work

I use my curiosity, life experience and studies in counselling, psychology, and psychotherapy to work with a client, from the perspectives of:

• what issues are causing you distress in the present?
• what has happened in your past to bring you to this place? and
• what do you want your ideal future to look like, and what are the steps to get there?

I work as a relational, person-centred therapist, building a strong therapeutic relationship with a client, which can help you to remediate any  long-term, negative effects of previous relationship issues, including those from infancy and childhood.  Working pluralistically means that I empower you to be involved in the decisions about which way our work will go and what tools we will use

In my practice, I can offer theories, tools and interventions from various modalities – including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, and Gestalt – and knowledge from cutting-edge neuro-science research.

I have worked successfully, with clients who have been experiencing difficulties including:

• relationship difficulties (family, friends, intimate partners, children, work)
• anxiety
• panic attacks
• depression
• life-disillusionment
• eating disorders
• gender and sexuality
• self-esteem
• boundary setting
• familial expectations

New Clients

I offer a free 15 minute telephone consultation for new clients, before confirming a booking, so that we can discuss whether the way in which we can work together is right for your needs.

Why ‘Continuum Therapy’?

In my counselling practice, I often find myself drawing a line or a ‘continuum’, to illustrate to a client that pretty much everything can be viewed from the perspective of where we are on a continuum – whether that is our perceived difficulties, success, failure, age, capabilities, fitness, etc.  And that viewing where we sit on that continuum, and perhaps having a change of perspective towards that, can open up a new way forward.

About me:

I am ceaselessly curious about people and the learnings from psychological and neurobiological research which is being done all over the world.  I continue to study and to learn in order to have better and more up to date knowledge and tools with which to carry out my Counselling practice.  Where appropriate and relevant I will share useful information, tips, and techniques with my clients, for their benefit.

Before becoming a counsellor, for over twenty years I worked in various corporate organisations, building up a set of skills including the ability to quickly build trusting relationships often in challenging circumstances, and the ability to foster strategic thinking and manage change in others, within a caring, mentoring relationship.

Originally from the UK, I lived in Germany and The Netherlands before moving to Auckland 20 years ago.