FAQ
Coaching
What is a health coach?
A health coach supports clients to achieve health-related goals that improve mental and physical well-being by guiding behaviour change and promoting self-management of conditions for a healthier and happier lifestyle. They help develop a plan for action with relevant tools, techniques and resources - for example, to reduce stress, prevent burnout, or specific goals such as quit smoking, increasing fitness or improving sleep.
What is a holistic health coach?
A holistic health coach utilises an integrative approach to improving clients' health through diet and lifestyle modifications. They address the physical, psychological, emotional, social, and spiritual components of health. I help clients to evaluate their nutritional habits, physical fitness and sleep hygiene alongside other lifestyle aspects. I support them in maintaining healthier behaviours for extending their health span.
How do coaching sessions work?
- After scheduling your free 15-minute consultation, you will receive a confirmation email with a calendar invite and a Google Meet link (if applicable).
- You can reply to the email with questions, including any enquiries regarding fees, payment options, and availability.
- At the consult, we will discuss how you feel about your overall health and well-being. The aim is to get to know each other so you can decide if I am the right coach for you.
- If you choose to work with me, we will create a contract or agreement outlining the terms of our partnership moving forward. You decide how often to attend and for what purpose.
- In our first session, we will reflect deeper to identify specific goals and create an action plan for success so you can achieve results within your desired timeframe.
- Bear in mind that behaviour change is not a linear process. My role is to provide a safe, non-judgmental space to support you through the ups and downs with unconditional positive regard.
- I use my active listening skills and professional training to help you set achievable goals and develop healthier patterns that may lead to meaningful breakthroughs and lasting transformational change.
- I tailor each 45-minute session to meet your needs and provide any relevant tools, resources, and links we discussed within 24 hours.
- You may receive a follow-up call or email between appointments where I check in on your progress, offer support, and answer any questions.
- I am available via phone, email, or chat from 9 am-5 pm (NZ) and aim to respond within 2 hours. I look forward to hearing from you.
Do you offer a subsidy?
I offer accessible pricing based on household income and discounted packages, so that adequate support is affordable for all. Please check with your general practice if it offers a free health coaching service. If not, visit the Accessible Pricing page to find your discount code. Alternatively, let's kōrero about koha.
Counselling
What is a counsellor?
Counsellors offer guidance and support to individuals experiencing emotional difficulties and life challenges to facilitate change and enhance well-being. They build a professional relationship built on trust and respect for clients to discuss concerns in a confidential and non-judgmental environment. A counsellor helps clients clarify issues, increase self-awareness, explore solutions and develop coping strategies.
What is an integrative counsellor?
An integrative counsellor believes no single therapeutic approach is suited to all individuals or their situations. They consider the client's needs and merge elements of different psychological theories to help them cope with problems and explore appropriate solutions. They offer a flexible and inclusive approach with counselling techniques tailored to their client's unique identity and circumstances.
How do counselling sessions work?
- After you book your free 15 minute consultation, you will receive a confirmation email with a Zoom link (if applicable).
- You are welcome to reply to the email with any questions - including enquiring about subsidised fees and payment methods.
- At our first meeting we will discuss how you feel about your overall health and wellbeing and get to know each other so you can decide if I am the right counsellor for you.
- When you are ready to book your first session, we will reflect further and identify the purpose of our conversations to create a shared understanding of what you hope to achieve from our work together. We agree on a contract for our partnership moving forward.
- I tailor each 45-minute session to suit your needs and send any relevant tools, resources and links we discussed - within 24 hours.
- You decide how often to attend and for what reason. I use my active listening skills and professional training to support you through a difficult time or life's challenges and offer guidance that helps you gain personal insight for developing strategies to cope and thrive.
- You may receive a follow-up call or email between appointments so I can
check-in with your progress and answer any questions.
- I am available via phone, email, or chat from 9am - 9pm (NZ) and aim to respond within 2 hours.
Do you offer a subsidy?
Yes, I offer subsidised sessions based on household income so that adequate support is affordable for all. Please check with your general practice if it offers a free health coaching service. Visit the Accessible Pricing page for more information.
What to expect
I consider my client as a whole person and take a holistic view of their overall health and well-being. We may look at ways to reframe unhelpful thoughts, which can create negative narratives and limiting self-beliefs. These can lead to unhealthy choices, habits, and patterns of behaviour that hold us back from realising our potential.
Our sessions might focus on your mental well-being or key aspects of your physical health. We may explore emotional regulation and the autonomic nervous system. A heightened stress response physically impacts our bodies but also influences mood and cognitive functioning, as does certain food, and poor-quality sleep. Rather than focusing on specific elements in your life, we could work through these areas as vital parts of the bigger picture.
Thoughts often shape our behaviour. At times, we must harness our human ability to envision a future free of the problem.
I will empower you to draw on your capabilities and create strategies to adapt to and cope with change. Being aware of how the autonomic nervous system functions (when and how we enter fight/flight/freeze or fawn mode) may reduce the impact of environmental stressors on our daily lives as we learn techniques to activate the parasympathetic nervous system through deep breathing, mindfulness, meditation, gentle movement, or nature bathing.
Achieving mind-body balance and practicing self-care is essential for our ability to thrive, especially for those facing adversity. I aim to use the knowledge I have gained during my studies in psychology and sociology, alongside lived experience, to promote post-traumatic growth in my clients so they can flourish and burgeon.
My approach
I use a trauma-informed, evidence-based, and person-centred approach. You choose whether we use talk therapy, mindfulness practice, or science-backed techniques and exercises, including how or when. With me, you are not subscribing to a pre-made program or generic course under the pressure of a set timeframe for progress.
Our one-on-one meetings are tailored to meet your individual needs. We can get to know each other organically or through a more scientific approach that explores your personality traits or unconscious behaviour, for example, in tests, on scales, by self-reports, or journaling. I view my clients as creative and resourceful, and I am flexible working with different learning styles.
I see our partnership as a strong foundation to build on, and together, we can design a lifestyle that works for you.
There are many ways to measure life satisfaction and identify your core values. Resources based on research findings from within psychology may help to set small, achievable goals that align with your authentic self in this present moment. Small wins can be the steppingstones that lead us in a direction full of possibilities.
We are often too busy to pause, but prioritising our mental health can bring clarity to our hectic modern lives. I have developed a collection of tools to reduce stress at work and at home. I will support your personal growth and professional development and observe when you seem ready for the next challenge.