Marguerite Laing

Therapy for Anxiety in a Rapidly Changing World

Are you feeling increasingly on edge—unable to settle, think clearly, or switch off? For many people, anxiety is no longer just personal. It is being shaped by the conditions we are living in: rapid and relentless change, economic pressure, global instability, extreme weather events, and the rise of artificial intelligence.

You may notice a constant sense of alertness in your body—bracing as the sky darkens, or as new uncertainties emerge. Or a quieter but more disorienting experience: a loss of clarity, a sense that you are no longer fully at home in yourself, your relationships, or your life.

Some people also find themselves relying on AI in ways that begin to replace their own thinking or emotional processing—creating a subtle but significant disconnection from themselves.

Anxiety can take many forms. It may be acute and overwhelming, or persistent and difficult to name. Either way, it can be hard to manage alone. I provide a space where this can be met directly. Not analysed from a distance, and not reduced to techniques—but understood within a grounded, confidential, relational setting where your experience can begin to settle. Through this process, clarity can return, and a more stable sense of yourself can re-emerge.

Couples Preparing for Commitment

Relationships, too, can become a source of anxiety — particularly at significant thresholds. I work with couples preparing for marriage or long-term commitment, offering a focused series of sessions to bring clarity, honesty, and a grounded understanding of what each person is bringing into the relationship.

About

I have over thirty years of clinical experience and have been in private practice in Auckland for more than twenty-five years, working with individuals and couples from a wide range of backgrounds. I am of particular help to those in high-demand or high-responsibility roles, where sustained pressure can begin to affect clarity and a sense of self.

My approach is grounded in psychoanalytic psychotherapy, with close attention to the patterns that shape how we think, feel, and relate. At the same time, I work directly with lived and felt experience—how anxiety is held in the body, how the mind responds under pressure, and how new ways of being can begin to emerge. The work is collaborative, attentive, and grounded in a therapeutic relationship where experience can be met rather than managed.

For ten years, I trained and worked alongside R. D. Laing, author of The Divided Self, sitting in on consultations, working within therapeutic households, and later leading groups at Universities in the United States and Europe. That experience continues to inform the depth and precision of my work.