Alison Rowe

Whether you are new to therapy or have been in therapy before and wish to make lasting change, I am an experienced therapist who can help you to understand and resolve your issues at a deeper level. My clients find that they develop the possibility of creating real transformation in their lives.

Areas of Special Interest

I am experienced in working with people who have had past trauma, neglect, sexual abuse, and want to resolve and bring meaning to the past. We will use the learning that has occurred, to enrich and strengthen your present life.

Counselling Services

I am a counsellor trained in several psychotherapeutic models which means that I am able to work more deeply with feelings and trauma. It also means that I am able to bring a variety of skills and approaches to the therapeutic relationship. I’m able to personalise my approach to meet your needs. This is beneficial because there is no ‘one size fits all’ when this applies to all the unique people who come to my practice.

My clients experience reduced anxiety, reduction of social phobia, improved concentration levels and reduction in procrastination behaviour. This enhances their work performance. You can expect to improve their relationship communication skills, learn to trust your authentic emotions and express them more confidently. People report a reduction in addictive-type behaviours, for example internet addiction, food obsession, sexual addictions and other avoidance type behaviours.

My therapeutic approach will help you experience an enhanced sense of yourself and your appreciation of life and relationships.

Counselling Approach

I draw on and am trained in a variety of counselling and psychotherapeutic methods, including Psychodrama, Rogerian Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Gestalt Psychotherapy and Process Oriented Psychology. How I might work with a person or couple, depends on the issues you present, the length of time your issues have concerned you, your personality style and what you want to achieve out of your counselling.

Proccess Oriented Psychology forms the bedrock of my approach. There is a belief that the problem presenting whether, body/health symptoms, relationship issues, inner turmoil, are meaningful and useful, and unfolding and exploring that meaning will open you up to an enriched life experience.

Background and Experience

I began my counselling training in the 1980’s, training as a volunteer Youthline Telephone Counsellor. This training encouraged me to enrol at the University of Waikato and begin 3 years study towards a B.Soc. (Psychology). I attended many counselling and therapy workshops in various modalities including, Re-evaluation Counselling, Breathwork, Gestalt Psychotherapy, Psychodrama, Ericksonian Metaphor and Hakomi Therapy. I enrolled as a formal student in Gestalt Psychotherapy at the Gestalt Psychotherapy Institute (Christchurch) for 4 years formal training. Six years ago I enrolled with the Australia New Zealand Process Oriented Psychology school and am half way through studies towards a Diploma in Process Oriented Psychology.

Supervision Services

I have been providing supervision to other professionals for approximately 15 years. My supervision clients come from a wide variety of roles including other counsellors/psychotherapists, medical professionals, lawyers, managers and teachers.

My supervision training has come from a variety of experiences. It comes from my actual practice of being a counsellor/therapist for 27 years and being on the receiving end of supervision, and various supervision training courses attended over the last 15 years. I have participated in group peer supervision (3 people) and peer to peer supervision. This has been a rich and beneficial source of professional support as a counsellor/therapist and developed and honed my skills as a supervisior. The group supervision was ongoing for 3 years and the peer to peer supervision is ongoing and now for 8 years.