Trish Nicholl

If you’re struggling with depression, anxiety, anger, or addictions, I can help. Together, we can explore the issues along with your strengths, so that you can take back control of your life and experience increased well-being. Respectful, compassionate, and client-centred.

Areas of Special Interest

• anxiety
• depression
• bullying
• anger management
• family violence
• sexual abuse
• addictions
• parenting

Counselling/Therapy Services

Counselling can address problems at home, work, or school, with partners, friends, or family. It can provide support for change when our issues (or baggage), including alcohol and drug use, are causing conflict with others, or otherwise creating problems in our lives. Counselling provides a safe space to talk, a space where you and the concerns you have are treated with respect. It’s a place where you can think about what you want your life to look like and be supported to achieve the goals that are important to you.

The counselling process begins with building a relationship. It moves on to identifying goals, exploring the issues, building on skills and strategies for change, putting these into practice, and then fine tuning anything that still needs working on. Counselling ends when life has become manageable and/or your goals have been achieved.

Counselling/Therapy Approach

• Client-centred counselling: This provides the basis for a safe, supportive, client-focused relationship.
• Narrative and solutions focused therapies: These are strengths based approaches that help to identify the clients own strengths and their ability to act in their own best interests.
• Interactive drawing therapy: This is a great for exploring emotions and gaining depth to the work we do.
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT): Our beliefs, thoughts, and feelings lead to our behaviours and by changing these we are able to change how we experience the world and how we respond to it.
• Skills development: This includes relaxation and breathing exercises and mindfulness, all of which increase our ability to cope with stress and improve our mood.

Background and Experience

I grew up in Porirua and like many people, experienced my own struggles as a teenager as well as dealing with the challenges life throws at us as adults, including relationships, parenting, and loss. I went to university as a mature age student and studied psychology and then counselling to gain insight and skills that would enable me to work with others experiencing difficulties.

I have 20 years experience working with Family Violence in a variety of stopping violence organisations and 7 years experience in Addictions, including working in a residential facility; Youth Counselling in schools, a youth service, with a PHO, and in private practice; and in General Counselling in private practice and with a PHO.

As well as my qualifications I have completed Post Graduate papers: Alcohol and drug rehabilitation; Counselling theory; Couples and family counselling, and papers from a Diploma in Adult Educatiion: Kaitiakitanga; Ahurutanga