Dr Paula Collens

Approach

I have over 25 years experience of working therapeutically as a psychotherapist (in UK/Aotearoa NZ) and as a counselling psychologist (in UK).  I work with couples/intimate partner relationships and individuals, and provide consultation groups for therapists.  I offer time-limited and longer term psychotherapy and I negotiate this with you according to your therapeutic needs.

I am an integrative psychotherapist and draw on a range of frameworks including: relational, attachment, gestalt, arts-based, mind-body and EMDR approaches.  My work with couples/intimate partner relationships is informed by Bader’s developmental model and Kelley and Marriott’s framework of modern attachment theory and interpersonal neurobiology.

I work collaboratively with you to support you in making sense of your struggles, within the context of your life situation, experiences, relationships and cultural understandings.  Through deepening your awareness of your patterns of relating, both with yourself and others, I will support you in developing greater self-understanding, capacity for connection and communication, and making desired changes.    

In Aotearoa NZ, I am a registered Psychotherapist (PBANZ), full member of New Zealand Association of Psychotherapy (NZAP), and am Senior Lecturer in Psychotherapy at AUT.  My academic, teaching, research and publications profile in the field of psychotherapy can be found here

Professional Background

Prior to emigrating to Aotearoa in 2015, my homeland was the UK. Living in London, I qualified as a Psychotherapist (UCKP reg. Integrative Arts Psychotherapist) and EMDR Trauma Therapist (accredited EMDR International Association) and worked for over 20 years in higher education.  I am a registered Counselling Psychologist in the UK (HCPC) and Associate Fellow and Chartered Psychologist of the British Psychological Society. 

In London I developed and led postgraduate training programmes in counselling and psychotherapy, and taught at Doctoral level in counselling psychology.  I iniated and delivered educational, creative and therapeutic initiatives and contribued to design and delivery of counselling services within Universities.  In University Counselling Services, I was a clinical supervisor to placement therapists and counsellors, and I provided individual and group therapy, EMDR, and psychoeducational workshops to clients. I also had a small private practice in London.

Since 2015 I have been employed as a Senior Lecturer at AUT.  There I contribute to research, teaching, clinical and postgraduate supervision within the disciplines of Psychotherapy and Counselling Psychology.  My key areas of teaching and research specialism are: i) sexuality and gender diversity / LGBTIQ+ wellbeing, and ii) the intersection of the arts, creative practice and wellbeing.

My engagement with creative, embodied, and relational approaches underpins my psychotherapy and teaching practices.  I engage in a regular arts practice, and support artists and those interested in developing a relationship with their creative expression through reflective practice consultations.  My PhD applied understandings from relational psychology to vocal / voice training in music higher education.

Consultation Group for Mental Health Practitioners: using an arts-informed reflective methodology

Starting late 2025

This collaborative space brings together mental health professionals seeking to enhance their clinical expertise and support their personal and professional development. This will be a process-oriented and arts-based consultation group which offers members an engaging and warm environment for exploration, and personal and professional growth.
Arts-based practices have been shown to support clinical insight, emotional regulation, reduce burnout, and foster resilience among mental health professionals. As therapists, engaging in arts-informed reflective methodology allows us to explore the emotional and relational dimensions of our work through creative modalities. This approach integrates response art, metaphor work, and imaginal modalities to deepen understanding of therapeutic encounters.

What to Expect
• Engage with arts materials, poetic and imaginal modalities
• Explore personal responses to clinical work through response art and countertransference art
• Develop an arts-based approach to therapist self-care
• Access to curated resources for evidence-informed practice : articles, podcasts, research, and case studies
• Space to work through personal and clinical challenges while enhancing self-awareness and development
• A safe place to discuss use of the arts in your practice through supportive peer consultation and collective wisdom

Note: This is not a therapy or supervision group, and members are required to maintain responsibility for their caseload. This is a reflective and arts-informed consultation group.

See below section titled ‘Mental Health Practitioner Consultation Group – developing an arts-informed approach’ for more details and how to register.