Xixi Xian

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Kia ora and  你好!

My name is Xixi, pronounced “Cee Cee” (she/her). I am Chinese-Kiwi and I bring fresh and creative perspectives to counselling and therapy (refer to client testimonials below).  

Going through counselling as a teenager and adult, I have struggled to speak up about my concerns, so I know the importance of feeling heard and understood and working collaboratively through a challenge together at your own pace.  

I am currently working as a counsellor in tertiary education, I am an NGO board member and consultant in social development sectors.  I am a big believer in giving things a go and a quote that I live by is from Nelson Mandela: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

Background and Experience

I began my counselling journey in 2016 in the Addictions sector and have over eight years of counselling experience. My counselling background includes addictions, trauma, abuse and Employee Assistance Program (EAP) counselling.

I have worked in a variety of settings including: groups and individual work, DHB, Corrections, NGO, corporate, and  education; I have worked with diverse population groups including  children and youth, young adults, adults, and migrants.

I have also volunteered in mentoring spaces, working with youth and graduate working professionals, and those from refugee and foster care backgrounds. I am passionate about connection, holistic health, spirituality, and creativity.

Counselling/Therapy Approach

I have an eclectic approach to therapy, using a range of modalities. This includes:

  • Strengths-based
  • Client-centred approach
  • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
  • Solutions-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
  • Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT)
  • Motivation Interviewing (MI)
  • Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT)
  • Mindfulness
  • Creative Arts Therapy (CAT)
  • Cultural models

My Masters studies was an Arts-based research on my lived experience of displacement, trauma and liminality.

FAQs

Q Registration and Membership

- Registered Practitioner with Drug and Alcohol Practitioners Association Aotearoa New Zealand (DAPAANZ)
- Professional member of ANZACATA (Creative Arts Therapy)

Q Qualifications

- Master of Arts in Creative Arts Therapy (First Class Honours), Whitecliffe
- Post Graduate Diploma in Creative Arts Therapy, Whitecliffe
- Post Graduate Certificate in Health Sciences (Alcohol and Drug Studies), UoA
- Bachelor of Health Sciences, UoA

Q Appointments and locations

- Mondays - Fridays: virtual (online or phone, in-person sessions negotiable)
- Some evenings negotiable
- Remuera and West Auckland

Phone: 022 310 3493
Email: [email protected]

Q Fees

- $140 per session (~50 minutes)
- I am also an EAP contracted counsellor under Telus Health and Clearhead, so check with your company if you can get some sessions through them.
- Happy to discuss if cost is an issue for you

Q Cancellation

- At least 24 hours notice
- 50% of fees charged for less than 24 hours notice/ no notice

Q Payment Options

- Internet Banking
- Cash

Q Languages

- fluent English
- basic Cantonese and Mandarin

Q Client Testimonials & Feedback

- 8th April 2024: "I just wanna say that I am very very grateful for having you in my healing journey! You are a wonderful counselor who has helped me to acknowledge my inner child, that I was able to explore my inner strength for gaining inner peace! I could feel the relief from the healing process. I may have become a better myself as I believe. This is life changing for me. Thank you so much for allowing me to know that I have the ability to heal. Thank you!!!"

-30th October 2023: “Really really grateful for all the help I received. I feel like a different person from my first session. I was given helpful tools, alternative ways of thinking about situations, validation and support, and still use these things in day to day life. Xixi was a really good listener who made me feel that my emotions were valid and really advocated for me to get the extra help I needed. I'm feeling so much more confident in life and couldn't have done that without the amazing support I received in these sessions.”

- 15th September 2023: “I am very thankful to the … team and most specially Xixi for assisting me on my problems at my work site. I have been more relieved from the stresses that I’ve been having since last year. And now I am happy and stress free. I sleep good and I work well at my area.
Again, thank you and God bless!”

- 4th Sept 2023: “Xixi Xian was amazing, I am very sad to not being able to see her anymore as she was a great help. Would highly recommend!!”

- “I became aware of EAP when it was recommended by my employer.
I really appreciate the extensions I was given, allowing me more sessions. Xixi helped me so, so much.”

- 3rd August 2023: “Xixi was professional and helped talk me through many problems I had been facing in life”


Jan to July 2023:

- “The counsellor (Xixi) was incredible. She understood exactly why I was there and what I needed from her, and supported me toward realizations, next steps and progress. She’s an absolute gem and I feel very grateful to have been allocated her as my support person.”

- “Thank you so much! You have been so helpful and kind during the past couple of months!”

- “My counsellor was great! I had no concerns with her service. She was very good at listening then giving her feedback. I believe after having these appointments with her I know what I need to do moving forward in order to create a happy life for myself.”

- “I was quite skeptical to start with about the service being free (EAP) - and the quality of support that I would receive. However, Xixi was brilliant. She made space to let me discuss my situation, provided practical tangible examples and frameworks for me to think about and was empathetic to my situation. I’d highly recommend her to anyone else going through mental health challenges.”

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