Dhara is a Clinical Psychologist of 30 years experience who provides psychological therapies for a diverse range of psychological problems including anxiety, depression, relationship difficulties, trauma related disorders, mood disorders, and navigating life changes. She has a special interest in treating complex difficulties related to vulnerabilities arising from attachment trauma. These might include emotional dysregulation, maladaptive behaviours, challenges in interpersonal relationships, and difficulties with identity and sense of self. She aims to help each individual find a positive engagement in their life, work, and relationships.

Dhara primarily uses CBT and ISTDP therapy models in her practice. These models allow for both skills development and for delving into the deeper reasons behind why someone might be experiencing difficulties. Therapeutically Dhara takes a curious and open/minded stance. Treatments are tailored to the individual and their specific needs and strengths.

Dhara provides services under Private Pay, PHO (GP referred) and MAPS funding. She is an ACC claims provider and an ACC registered assessor. Dhara provides clinical supervision and mentoring to people working in the health sector. She runs offices in both Nelson and Takaka.

License: Registered with the New Zealand Psychologists Board and full member of the NZ College of Clinical Psychologists.

Amber is a Senior Clinical Psychologist and has been practicing for over 15 years in the areas of helping people adjust to life change, overcoming periods of stress and managing physical and mental health difficulties.

She trained in New Zealand at Victoria University, working for a few years in Wellington, and then spent seven years in Melbourne, returning home to Nelson to practice. She brings a curious kindness to her work, alongside using evidence-based therapy models, and fosters an environment for people to safely explore and improve difficulties.
She has specialist and international experience working as a Senior Psychologist, and has worked with various clinical presentations in private and public settings ranging from overcoming attachment and relational issues, mood issues including anxiety and depression, recovering from trauma, through to managing periods of work stress and relationship issues. Amber particularly enjoys helping people transition through times of life change and to identify and break unhelpful emotional and behaviour patterns from family or origin, and other life experiences.

Amber works from skills based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Schema Therapy models and complements this with use of an Intensive Short Term Psychodynamic (ISTDP) model, which helps build awareness into, and change, deeper patterns. Amber is happy to provide one or more models tailored to client needs.

Amber provides services under Private Pay, Primary Mental Health Initiative (PMHI), Employment Assistance Programs (EAP), ACC services, Private Insurance and provides Clinical Supervision.

License: Registered with the New Zealand Psychologists Board and full member of the NZ College of Clinical Psychologists.

If you’re wondering if therapy is a good idea, and you notice a sense of overwhelm, constant worry, or a sense of heaviness and hopelessness, it’s likely therapy can help. Nancy has over 15 years’ experience helping people with stress, feeling overwhelmed or stuck, anxiety, feeling low or depressed, relationship difficulties, substance use issues, addiction, and trauma.

Nancy will be active and engaged as she works alongside you. The models she primarily works in, Core State-ISTDP (Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy) and EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) can help people achieve lasting, positive change and this can often happen in a relatively short period of time.

Nancy (pronouns: she/her) is a Clinical Social Worker with a BA in Psychology from the State University of New York and a Masters Degree in Clinical Social Work from Columbia University in New York City. She worked in mental health and addiction in NYC before moving to New Zealand in 2000. She completed ‘Te Haeata – Certificate in Māori Foundation Studies’ at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology in 2018.

Nancy provides services under Private Pay, through a referral from your GP, or via ACC’s sensitive claims.

License: Registered with the Social Workers Registration Board #10812 and full member of the International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association, the EMDR Association of New Zealand and the Aotearoa New Zealand Association of Social Workers.