Team

Helen has been a Clinical Psychologist since 1980. She worked with adults providing psychotherapy for a wide variety of trauma and mental health conditions. She has worked therapeutically with sensitive claims and brain injured clients since the beginning of her career. Helen has knowledge of a wide range of therapeutic modalities and believes that intervention needs to be custom crafted for each individual client's needs.

Helen also worked in various child services on the Waikato and Hauraki. She gained experience for about 9 years in child and adolescent mental health conditions, in childhood developmental disorders and began psychological services for Waikato District Health Board for children with Type1 Diabetes. She fulfilled a role as Clinical Leader for Psychology within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services for 6 years.

Helen completed studies in Child Clinical Neuropsychology through Massey University in 2006 and maintains an active interest in that area. In private practice since 2010, Helen has undertaken assessment reports for the Family Court, Oranga Tamariki and for ACC.

Helen is the mother of 3 adult children, a proud grandmother and loves her family and her job. She has been married to Vaughan Norman, also of PsychAlliance, for 42 years.

Vaughan has practiced psychology for 39 years. The first 20 years were spent in private practice in South Africa. He immigrated to New Zealand in 2001 and worked at the Adult Mental Health Service in Hamilton as a Consultant Clinical psychologist and later, Clinical Leader until leaving for private practice where he is currently operating.

Vaughan works with adult individuals presenting with a broad range of psychological difficulties and couples wishing to address relationship difficulties. He has a particular interest in men’s issues having undertaken research and group work with men wishing to understand and change aspects of their functioning.

Most of Vaughan’s work involves providing psychotherapy or relationship counselling that is practical and solution focused. In a context of acceptance and understanding, unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, behaving and relating are identified and explored and more helpful patterns are considered and implemented.

Vaughan has been trained in a broad range of psychotherapy models and has endeavoured to integrate the positive contributions of each perspective. He aims to provide psychotherapy and counselling that is suited to each client and their particular difficulties. Progress to identified goals is regularly monitored in order to achieve maximum effectiveness.

Tanaya has been a Psychologist for 12 years. She graduated from Auckland University with a Master Degree in Science (Honours) and Post-graduate Diploma in Health Psychology. She first worked in Napier at Gains Psychology & Consulting where she gained experience in adult individual psychology involving the treatment of anxiety, depression, and trauma as well as stress management and relationship services. She also worked in chronic pain and diabetes management for adults, children and adolescents.

She has since worked in Tauranga developing the Chronic Pain Service at Tauranga Hospital alongside the physiotherapist, nurse specialists and pain specialist doctors. She also worked for Mind Matters Psychology in Hamilton during this time and then started her private practice in 2010. Tanaya is a member of the New Zealand Psychological Society and the New Zealand Pain Society.

Tanaya is passionate about working together with people to achieve their goals and providing a safe, comfortable experience for them. Her treatment focuses mainly on effective management strategies using both Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy modalities.

Tanaya has three beautiful and energetic young children and loves to travel, meet new people and spend time with her family.

Lesley qualified in 2006. She has worked in a variety of settings including child and adult mental health, medical settings, as well as in private practice. Lesley draws on a range of empirically supported therapies (e.g. CBT, ACT, DBT and other mindfulness based approaches) to help find the best match for the particular needs of the client. An over-riding focus of her approach is working collaboratively with clients to find practical skills to help clients meet their goals.

Lesley offers assessment and treatment in a wide range of areas including anxiety, depression, grief, stress, self-esteem and chronic pain.

Originally from Scotland, Lesley moved to New Zealand in 1998. She has lived in the Waikato for the past three years and enjoys spending time with her family and in nature. Lesley is currently available to see people on a Thursday and Friday.

Ruth began her working life as a Registered Nurse at the Royal Free Hospital in London UK, both in hospital wards and rural services. Since then she has had a variety of different jobs including small business ownership, photography and teacher aide. She emigrated from the UK in 1999 with her family who are now grown up. Ruth has always enjoyed working with people and a career as a Clinical Psychologist flowed naturally on from her previous roles, interests and experiences.

Ruth did her Master's Degree and Clinical Psychology training at the University of Waikato and has had experience working with adults, forensic clients, Intellectual Disability and challenging behaviour, and most recently with children, adolescents and their families working for the Waikato District Health Board Rural Service.

Ruth has a client centred focus and primarily uses a combination of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ( ACT), Solution Focused Therapy (SFT), and Mindful Self Compassion (MSC) models of therapy, working with her clients to find the best fit to address their individual concerns and align with their personal values.

Ruth’s interests outside of psychology include yoga, art, music, animals and her family.

Kirsty graduated with her Post Graduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology in 2008, from the University of Waikato.

Kirsty is skilled in both assessments and therapy, having worked in a government role for eight years. She has broad assessment experience including High Court assessments. Within treatment Kirsty works with a holistic, collaborative approach drawing from models such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mindfulness, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, and Acceptance Commitment Therapy, incorporated into cultural models when appropriate. She believes strongly in tailored approaches to meet individual client needs.

Kirsty is culturally minded, empathic and respectful. She embraces opportunities to work with people from all ages, genders and ethnicities.

Currently Kirsty works with a broad clientele in private practice including mental health needs, trauma, grief and sexual abuse, and pain management. She has extensive group therapy facilitation experience and training delivery including suicide-related risk management.

Kirsty is an active associate member of the University of Waikato Clinical Psychology Programme. Kirsty is passionate about lifestyle balance and her personal interests involve her family, outdoor activities and her beach caravan. Her approach to working psychologically with people also reflects her general life approach, in which healthy lifestyle balance and total wellbeing is paramount.

Natalie is Ngāti Apa (Whanganui) and bought up in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Her Clinical Psychology training was completed at the University of Waikato in 2003. Natalie’s clinical experience with in child development, health behaviour change, weight management, anxiety and depression.

Much of her experience has been working with children, young people and families and more recently working with adults experiencing distress related to anxiety and depression. She currently works part-time for the Psychology Centre in Hamilton.

Gustavo is a member of the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists. He is registered with ACC for assessment & treatment of sexual abuse, physical injury, and chronic pain. Gustavo has experience in child and adolescent assessments and therapy. He offers psychological services in English and Portuguese. He can also understand Spanish and Italian despite not speaking or writing in these two languages.

For more than 21 years as a psychologist, Gustavo has been supporting people to manage and overcome their difficulties and to fulfil their potential and vocations in life. He is experienced in delivering psychological services for anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, autism, trauma, loss & bereavement, interpersonal problems, adjustment to change, life & professional coaching and family & couple difficulties.

Gustavo's approach is grounded in evidence-based practice and integrates different streams of thoughts in Psychology in order to meet clients’ needs and preferences. He is skilled in Cognitive Behavioural, Psychodynamic, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness, Systemic Therapy, Psychodrama and EMDR approaches, which ground his clinical work. Collaborative practice with clients, transparency and commitment are the main values that guide his work.

In addition to his private clinical practice, Gustavo has worked for different types of health institutions in New Zealand and Brazil. He has worked part-time as a university lecturer and researcher for about 10 years of his professional life. He is currently a researcher of the Personality Studies Laboratory, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and an ad hoc peer-reviewer of scientific articles for Journals in Psychology, such as the “Psicologia: ciencia e profissao”, Brazilian Board of Psychologists, Brazil. Gustavo has authored numerous books and articles in Psychology.

Ka tangi te titi, Ka tangi te kaka, Ka tangi hoki ko ahau. Tihei Mauri Ora!

Kia Ora Koutou

Ko Jakobs Kop tōku māunga

Ko Vaal tōku awa

Ko Cathay Pacific tōku waka

Ko Pākehā tōku iwi

Ko afriki te tonga tōku hapū

I te tahi o tōku matua

Ko Elizabeth tōku kuia

Ko Jack tōku koroua

Ko Peter rāua ko Virginia ōku mātua

He huatahi au.

Ko Kim tōku ingoa

No Kirikiroa ahau

Ko Paul tōku hoa tane.

Ko Tipene taku tama

Ko Felicia taku kotiro

Mahi ahau hei tohunga hinengaro.

No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

I am a South African trained Clinical Psychologist who has worked mainly in New Zealand. I initially lived in Gore in Southland and then the lovely Invercargill and Oraka Aparima, now I have a home in Tairawhiti and in Hamilton.

I have been fortunate enough to work in various settings. I have had the opportunity to work with many different people since I moved to Aotearoa in 1996. My clinical experience includes children, adolescents, adults and people with physical disability and developmental delay. I have worked with many different problems and have experience in many clinical modalities and types of therapy.

Dr. Sangeeta Dey has been a Psychiatrist since 2011. She immigrated to New Zealand in 1996 and worked as a junior doctor in Dunedin Public Hospital and Taranaki Base Hospital.

She completed her Psychiatric training in 2010 from Waikato and started her career as a Psychiatrist at Waikato Hospital in 2011. Dr. Dey worked as a Perinatal Psychiatrist (mother and baby service) with Hauora Waikato (Maori Mental Health Service) for two years.

She completed her sub-specialisation in Consultation Liaison Psychiatry in 2012; a branch of Psychiatry specialising in assessing people with significant psychological distress or psychiatric illness in the context of suffering from chronic medical illness, chronic pain, traumatic brain injury and assessment of people requiring psychiatric evaluation before organ transplant. She continued to work as a Psychiatrist with Adult Mental Health and Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Department of Waikato Hospital until October 2019.

Dr. Dey completed her Post Doctorate from Auckland University in 2017 as an Academic Psychiatrist. She has presented in multiple national and international conferences and published several papers in a peer reviewed international journals in recent years. She is continuing her research and her passion for teaching junior doctors in addition to her clinical work.

Elize has been a clinical psychologist since 2010. She worked with adults and was trained in various hospital settings in South Africa focused on mental health conditions. Within this setting she developed a deep interest in trauma, bereavement, and loss. Her passion is investigating the underlying root of problems with a non-judgemental humanitarian stance. She combines a developmental psychology approach with symptom management techniques to facilitate immediate and long-term change.

She moved to New Zealand in 2018, starting her career here in Vocational Rehabilitation Services. Over the last five years, Elize has extended her focus to also include the identification of problematic behaviour patterns across generations and the implementation of epigenetic resilience.

She views trauma and life challenges as opportunities for growth that can lead individuals to transformation and new beginnings. She holds that through a process of self-awareness and reflection, clients can be assisted to reach their full potential based in self actualisation and the restoration of balance.

Elize practices an eclectic therapeutic approach drawing on various models in psychology to adapt the therapeutic approach and goals to the unique needs of the client.

Elize completed her postgraduate studies in 2017 with a PhD in Clinical Psychology while managing her full-time private practice in South Africa.

She has an unquenchable curiosity into the human spirit’s ability to endure hardship. For Elize, therapy is not just what she does in her office; it is calling engrained in how she approaches live and personal challenges. She lives with her two dogs and enjoys connecting with her family, art, reading and motorcycle trips in her free time.

Jacqui is a member of the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists. She is trained and experienced in working with a wide range of mild to severe mental illnesses and problems in living; including personality disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, change management and adjustment issues, performance and achievement issues, compulsive disorders, drug and alcohol problems, criminal offending, relationship difficulties, grief and loss, trauma, stress management, chronic disease management, pain management, identity issues, improving health, wellbeing and resiliency, and behavioural issues.

Jacqui uses a variety of evidence based psychological modalities including Cognitive behaviour therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical behaviour therapy, Schema therapy, Solution focused approaches, and positive psychology approaches.

Although born in England Jacqui has lived in the Taupo – Turangi region for most of her life. In her spare time she enjoys the wonderful outdoors, spending time with family and friends, and reading and writing.

Nemsha Naidu is a Registered Clinical Psychologist with 15 years of experience in mental health and forensic settings, currently in full time private practice. She is a member of the New Zealand Psychologists Board and the New Zealand Psychological Society.

Her practice focuses on the assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and adults. Her experience spans a broad range of mental health conditions and health related issues including pain management, past or recent trauma, grief and bereavement, and adjustment difficulties.

She is trained and proficient in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Analytical Therapy (CAT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Guided Mindfulness, selecting the therapeutic modality best suited to individual needs.

She uses a collaborative treatment approach in working with individuals, couples and families. Nemsha also provides supervision to other Psychologists and service providers in mental health related professions.

Nemsha lives in Tauranga, with her husband and two children. Her interests include traveling and exploring the outdoors.

Dom is a proud father and husband. He is dedicated to looking after his family, his wellbeing and just being a good Kiwi bloke.

Outside of his home life Dom has a passion for psychology and helping those who want to better their life. Dom has been a registered clinical psychologist since 2013. His education began at Otago University where he gained a Bachelor of Science, and Master of Science (with Distinction) in Psychology. In 2011 Dom moved to the Waikato to complete his Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology.

Dom works with a broad range of psychological difficulties and has particular interest in sport/ performance psychology (currently working with the New Zealand Black Ferns Rugby Sevens team), sleep psychology and clinical psychology. He has a history of working within Corrections, forensics and mental health. Since 2015 Dom has worked part time in private practice and also currently works part time for a Maori mental health organisation.

Dom primarily uses Cognitive Behaviour Therapy intervention with his work. However, one size does not fit all, nor is any individual the same. Therefore Dom is also adapting in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Mindfulness Based therapies to help customise a strengths-based approach to best suit his clients.

Dom is all about listening to a client's journey and helping people reach their potential to be the best they can be. He prides himself on providing a reliable and genuine experience to all his clients.

Chhavi has twelve- years clinical experience working with people with a broad range of concerns.

She graduated in 2007 from the National Institute of Mental Health and Allied Sciences in India, and practised for 5 years in a range of settings including Mental Health, Child Development, and Employee Assistance Programs, before migrating to New Zealand in 2013. She has been working as a Clinical Psychologist with the Mental Health for Older Persons and Memory Service teams at the DHB. She now works in private practice two days a week.

She uses an integrated approach of intervention drawing upon her training and knowledge of various established and evidence based therapies like Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Interpersonal therapy (IPT), Schema therapy, and Existential approaches. She has a special interest in working with challenging personality issues and complex trauma.

She assures a supportive, respectful, empathic and safe environment and strongly believes in working ethically and collaboratively with her clients to enhance their emotional well-being. She is fluent in English and Hindi. Outside of work, Chhavi enjoys spending time with her family, practising yoga, and gardening.

Heidi has worked in New Zealand, England and South Africa in a range of settings including schools, tertiary colleges, residential mental health settings, hospital outpatient departments, within government psychology services, and has been in Private Practice in New Zealand for a number of years. Heidi trained as an Educational Psychologist in South Africa, had Chartered Status in England, and is currently registered as a Psychologist in New Zealand.

Heidi is experienced across child and adolescent mental health, and focuses on educational matters touching learning and development. Heidi offers full Cognitive, Behavioral and Educational Assessments and works collaboratively with students, teachers and parents to ensure that her recommendations are understood and implemented.

She has a passionate interest in Specific Learning Difficulties in reading, writing and math (Dyslexia/Dysgraphia/Dyscalculia); and does assessments for Special Assessment Conditions (Reader, Writer or Extra time). Heidi also delivers training to teachers to help them meet the social, emotional, learning and behavioral needs of children and young people.

Therapeutically, Heidi uses an integrated approach drawing mainly on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and mindfulness based approaches which are practical and solution focused. She has a genuine interest in ensuring that her clients develop the understanding and skills to lead productive and independent lives.

Heidi is married with two daughters and loves spending time with her family.

Located in Hamilton, able and willing to travel if needed and have availability.

I am a Social Worker with over 20 years’ experience 5 years working ACC Sensitive Claims, Training for Independence, ACC Pain Contract, ACC Brain Injury and recently working as part of the ACC Escalated Care Plan Pilot. Previously worked as a Social Worker in Schools based in Tokoroa.

I am passionate about being confident in my own judgement and decisions and calling things as it is. My favourite quote – If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door!

Originally from the UK, and with a Welsh background, Steve has worked in the mental health field in New Zealand since 1998, initially in a residential setting with adult clients who had a range of complex mental health issues. Realising that many distressed adults had unresolved issues from childhood, Steve retrained as a counsellor and psychotherapist, working with both adult and younger clients across a range of issues, including addictions, trauma and abuse, and with young people with challenging (distressed) behaviours. Steve has a specialist qualification in addictions work, and was previously a regular interviewee on Central news, speaking about addiction issues.

Steve has continued to upskill over the years, and after completing post-graduate studies, graduated as a clinical psychologist in 2014. Steve has a firm belief that early interventions can save many years of distress, and from 2014 onwards worked in Child and Adolescent services at both Counties Manukau and Waikato DHBs. Since October 2021 Steve has been working solely in private practice, with clinics in Thames and Paeroa.

Trained initially in an eclectic model of psychotherapy, Steve seeks to first understand the individual client’s needs and concerns, so that an appropriate treatment approach can be identified. Over the years Steve has drawn on a wide range of modalities, including CBT, DBT,ACT, IDT, TA, and mindfulness approaches. He has a keen interest in the psychoanalytic field and associated literature, as a way to best understand how past experiences can often underpin current distress.

Steve has had experience working with depression, anxiety, physical and sexual trauma, and a wide range of other issues, as well as in the assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with complex presentations. Steve is qualified in the assessment of Autism Spectrum, and has an interest in this area.

In his spare time, Steve focuses on his small organic farm, where he cultivates a wide range of fruit, vegetables, and has numerous largely free-ranging animals. He practices mindfulness, walks, cycles, and swims (if the water is warm!).