Our Wellington Team Rob McGregor - Counsellor After two and half decades working my own para-medical clinic managing complex injuries to the lower limb, I lost that career due to personal injury.
It meant a few years walking a personal wilderness trying to figure out what life was, and also gave me time to process some abuse events I experienced as a child and young person.
Did that really happen? What do I call that? What does the Law call that? And the questions went on and on...
Now I have names for all that stuff and the accurate interpretations. Now I know how to park those ideas and experiences, and it has freed me enormously to engage in life in a much more meaningful manner. I worked with refugees from Vietnam (1988), a short period with St Stephan's Society in Hong Kong working with drug addicts (1988), community-based counselling and counsellor training with Elijah House (2007-2010), and co-facilitated training programmes with Jubilee Resources nationally and in the Caribbean (2010-2015). I am currently formalising my counselling experience into a Bachelor of Counselling degree. Most of my work is with men, and my interests are in counselling and managing trauma, abuse, suicide and grief. I have worked with couples, one-to-one and group-oriented peer support work.
Richard Jeffrey - Counsellor Hi, I am an experienced trauma counsellor and have a long history working with male survivors of trauma, having been one of the founding trustees of New Zealand’s first peer support service for male survivors of sexual abuse in the early 1990s.
I strongly believe that supporting men to work through the challenges that often accompany abuse benefits their relationships and the community as well.
I am experienced in working with people of all ages, genders and sexual orientations. I like working with couples and families.
My clients include Pakeha, Maori, Pacifica, African, Asian and other ethnic groups.
My skill set includes: Therapeutic peer support groups Sexology Trauma and Sexual abuse recovery Somatic experiencing Relationship issues Addiction work
I have worked in a number of settings, including; Corrections Student counselling Suicidality Police advocacy and court support
Rebecca Goldhurst
Hi, I’m a qualified Psychotherapist, Mediator and Wholistic health Practitioner with 25 years experience, supporting people and helping them achieve well-being using simple, natural, safe and practical methods. I have studied Naturopathy, Spiritual healing, Gestalt Psychotherapy and Restorative Justice.
I strongly believe that our physical health and mental/ emotional wellbeing are one and the same. Health and happiness go together. What I’ve learnt from my years of practice is that the most powerful and effective healing comes from within. We all have the power to be healthy and I have gathered many tools and skills to support you to know how to look after yourself.
Taking simple steps, you can resolve health issues, overcome stress and emotional hurdles, by creating good boundaries, listening to your heart and body and gathering some know-how, this can step you, into a healthy way of living.
My aim is to provide personalised, comprehensive and holistic health care which is collaborative, practical and intuitive. I work with you, at your pace, for your physical, mental/ emotional and spiritual goals.
I also work on Zoom and phone. Areas that I work in are; • Sexual Abuse • Child Abuse • Anxiety and Depression • Suicidal Ideation • Addictive behaviour
Cam Malietoa So, how did this men’s group thing start for Cam. It started somewhere in the mix of Ports of Auckland shifts, body building and fitness regimes, band practices and performances, bouts of heavy drinking, and destructive relationships that didn’t survive the test of time. A girlfriend screaming you need help, started thoughts that maybe life can be easier, can I feel a little freer, maybe even sleep a little better.
Perhaps by chance or design Cam’s reaching out for help put him the hands of the brilliant Dave Purcell. The beads of sweat rolling down Cam’s face at their first session, were later replaced by tears and together they chipped away at life becoming easier. As they say it didn’t happen overnight and Cam understands all too well that feeling of going over the same old ground until the strength and tools are gained to walk a different lighter path.
And the quest for tools, knowledge and understanding has never stopped… Cam may have read the most self-help books ever, listened to too many podcasts to count, and attended many workshops and training sessions, attended and facilitated many men’s groups. And yet his friends still know a new self-help book is top of his Xmas present wish list, and certain nights are men’s group nights. Wellington has been Cam’s happy home for the past 4 years. Still not the best person to ask the quickest way to get somewhere in Welly however (or maybe Cam is a living example of life being about the journey rather than the destination).
So, who is this guy Cam… Cam is Samoan, Rarotongan, English and Scottish. He was born in Tokoroa and spent the first few years of his life there before the family moved to Whakatane.
Cam is currently a drummer in a Wellington based covers and originals band (having previously drummed for various Auckland bands). The passion for drumming started at very young age, being the drummer for his uncle’s band saw him play at many a gathering, sport’s club, parties and weddings in Tokoroa. His mum confident in 12-year-old Cam’s drumming talents dressed him in his best shorts and sent him off to a TV competition.
Fast forward to 17-year-old Cam’s move from Whakatane to Auckland to study to become a personal trainer, a logical career choice for someone dedicated to fitness and body building (which he later took to a competitive level). The newly minted personal trainer then moved to Masterton to work at a local gym (he even took aerobics classes!)
Post the personal training stint Cam headed back to Auckland and starting work at the Ports of Auckland as both a straddle and crane driver. Despite the militant culture and the constant shift work Cam stuck it out for 20 years. Leaving with a sore neck and head, Wellington was the perfect backdrop to detoxify and reflect.
In addition to life and lived experience Cam’s qualifications (for those interested in that sort of thing) are: •Intentional Peer Support certification •Better Blokes 24 topic training course •Peer Zone training
Sancia Duncan I have a Post Graduate Diploma in Counselling and Guidance and have just recently completed my Masters in Counselling. I am a member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors and the New Zealand Christian Counsellors Association. In sessions with clients I use a pluralistic approach that is client centred and based on the needs of the individual. I have a particular interest in Acceptance Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Solution Focused Therapy, however I am not limited to these modalities. I have experience working with adults and youth from various cultures and backgrounds. I see it as a privilege to support and journey alongside people offering hope as they grapple with the challenges in life. I believe that each individual knows what is best for them and that they have within them the resources needed to make change.You can expect to feel valued, respected and heard in sessions with me without any judgement.
Andra Moldoveanu My name is Andra, I was born in Romania and grew up in Toronto, Canada. I have been lucky enough to call Wellington home for the past 2 years. I thrive and recharge out in nature, love the sounds and sights of the ocean and I’m happiest out in the sun with a great book and a good cup of coffee.
I am a trauma-informed professional with an extensive educational and work background in social work, psychology, and child, youth and family counselling. In addition, I am a certified trauma-informed yoga teacher and a trained mindfulness facilitator.
I am focused on creating safer spaces for healing that honour diversity and inclusiveness and foster individual and collective empowerment, connection, integration and growth. I place a strong focus on individual agency and choice, cultural humility, invitational language, self-awareness and compassion.
I am a passionate, authentic and empathic clinical social worker working from a person-centered, strengths-based approach with efficient use of various, eclectic therapeutic modalities, such as attachment theory, narrative therapy, the neurobiology of trauma, somatic and sensorimotor psychotherapy, mindfulness and compassion practices. I bring over 10 years of experience in the helping fields, ranging from counselling, teaching in post-secondary educational settings, child protection, community mental health, concurrent needs and case management, as well as family violence, crisis intervention, counselling, sexual harm prevention and intervention.
I work with Men and Trauma clients who have experienced: • Sexual Abuse • Child Abuse • Intimate Partner Violence