Tabby Besley

About me

Kia ora! I’m Tabby, she/her – I am a Pākehā queer and neurodivergent cis woman and grew up between England and Whakatū, but now call Te Awa Kairangi home. I am a counsellor and primarily work with young people, rainbow neurodivergent people and survivors of sexual violence in my mahi. I have a background in youth work, NFP leadership and community development, having worked running a rainbow NGO for many years. This means my counselling practice is shaped by a strong value of social justice. I am committed to honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi in my counselling practice and throughout life.

I know that it takes a lot of courage to reach out to a stranger to talk about your mental health! I consider it a privilege to be a counsellor and support people in this way.

About my counselling

I adapt my approach to suit the person coming to counselling, with a belief that one size doesn’t fit everyone. It is important for me that you get to talk about what’s most pressing for you, that you feel heard, understood and respected. 

I aim to provide counselling that is reflective, strengths-based and founded in a warm relationship, where we work collaboratively to look after your wellbeing.

 I don’t see myself as an expert, but someone to walk alongside you for this part of your journey.

I have experience with different therapy modalities and draw on these where useful to support the individual, and I’m always interested to hear what has or hasn’t worked well for you in the past if you’ve had counselling previously.

I am particularly passionate about and experienced at working with:

• Rainbow and takatāpui people, or those who are questioning/exploring their identity
• People living with ADHD, autism or AuDHD or who are questioning/coming to terms with neurodiversity
• Whānau of young people exploring their sexuality and/or gender, or supporting young people and whānau to have conversations together about this
• Queer and trans survivors of sexual violence
• Trauma, and understanding how your past impacts the present
• Relationship difficulties, including non-monogamous relationships


I have experience working with clients on a range of issues e.g. anxiety, depression, self-harm, disordered eating, addiction, stress and am open to hearing whatever it is you need support with.

I am respectful of non-monogamy and sex work, appreciating sometimes these are areas people experience judgement of when seeking support, that they absolutely shouldn’t!

Supervision

I can also offer rainbow cultural supervision to support other mental health professionals to better support their rainbow clients, and professional supervision for people working in youth work, rainbow sector or non-clinical NGO/community support services.

Connecting with me:

Feeling like your counsellor is the right fit for you is really important. If you would like to get a sense of this first, or have a space to ask questions please reach out and we can have an initial free 10-15 minute discussion to see how it feels before booking a session.

I primarily work online with some limited availability for in-person work in Lower Hutt.