Teressa Hoon

I offer you a safe space to talk things through. I will walk alongside you and support you as you embark on a journey to explore, process and understand the issues that have been troubling you. Through psychotherapy, you will find more clarity and confidence to deal with your life issues while fostering a deeper sense of connection with yourself and your history.

My Approach

I am predominantly trained in relational psychodynamic psychotherapy. The focus of psychodynamic psychotherapy is to expand your self-awareness. It is achieved through understanding how the conscious and unconscious aspects of your mental life could influence your experience and behaviour. With more self-awareness, you will gain increased freedom from your past, see more possibilities for the future and stay more fulfilled in the present.

My approach is relational and collaborative. I tailor my treatment to the individual needs of each client. My interventions are integrative and may also incorporate principles or strategies from other modalities, such as DBT (dialectical behavioural therapy), mindfulness, behaviour analysis and the mind-body connection.

Areas of Interest

I have special interest and experience in the following areas:

• Depression, including high-functioning depression or dysthymia
• Anxiety
• Life transition
• Grief or loss
• Trauma, including attachment trauma
• Self-esteem issues, including impostor syndrome
• Migration

Personal Background

I am originally from Malaysia and migrated to NZ in 2012. Having lived in different countries, navigated different cultures, and gone through some major life transitions myself, these experiences shaped my interest and empathy as a psychotherapist. Besides English, I also speak Chinese (Cantonese, Hakka and limited Mandarin) and Malay. I offer psychotherapy sessions mainly in English, but it may be helpful to know that I could understand the nuances of your first language where relevant.