Iain Thomson

NAU MAI, HAERE MAI
WELCOME

Kia ora and warmest greetings my name is Iain Thomson. I am an experienced, creative counsellor, therapist and clinical supervisor based East and South Auckland.

I have over 18 years experience as a counsellor working with people from diverse backgrounds across a wide range of human issues and experiences. I have held clinical roles in a range of contexts including mental health, violence prevention, family support agencies and have worked as the Head of counselling department in a large co-ed secondary school. I am experienced in group facilitation and supervision

I know through personal and professional experience that therapy works and is worth the investment. It supports people to build capacity to live better and more expansively in the present – resulting in increased personal wellbeing, connection to self and others, and a life that is manageable and meaningful.

I am committed to ongoing personal and professional development, attend regular clinical supervision, and work in accordance with both the New Zealand Association of Counsellors and New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists Codes of Ethics.

My practice is inclusive and minority affirming.

SERVICES I OFFER

A supportive therapeutic relationship holds us while we face our difficulties and vulnerability. It takes account of who we are, our existing strengths and capacities, enabling us heal, build resilience and develop to our potential.

COUNSELLING AND THERAPY

I work with adults and adolescents across a wide range of issues and experiences including trauma, abuse, grief and loss, relationship difficulties, anxiety, depression, and concerns around spirituality, identity and life direction or transitions. I offer both short-term counselling to address current concerns and longer-term therapy to address underlying issues such as trauma or life-long patterns of behaviour. I am ACC registered to provide sensitive claims therapy for sexual abuse.

My practice is ‘relational’ in that it first supports connection and utilizes the relationship to build understanding and awareness, and facilitate exploration and change: Through a supportive and collaborative working alliance, I help people to clarify their experience and navigate challenges. I employ an ‘Integrative’ therapeutic approach with a humanistic/person-centred base. This means fostering a high-quality relationship where people feel safe to bring forward their concerns and vulnerabilities to guide exploration. It also involves being responsive to the whole person and their context. I also incorporate psychodynamic, family systems, behavioural/skills-focused and somatic/body-based approaches according to the needs of the individual and depending on the duration of therapy.

Research consistently shows the ‘therapeutic relationship’ to be the key determinant in achieving good outcomes in counselling and therapy. Because of the importance of the ‘fit’ between us, and because the nature and process of therapy can take time to understand, I usually suggest a limited number of sessions as a starting point and I welcome an initial conversation by phone. Feel free to get in touch.

SUPERVISION FOR PROFESSIONALS

I supervise counsellors and therapists who provide therapeutic services in agencies, schools, mental health settings and private practice.

​I foster a collaborative approach to developing clinical practice and professional growth, building on people’s existing strengths, experience, and capacities. This will be guided by, and tailored to, each individual supervisee.

Consistent with my therapeutic approach, the relationship is central as a basis for the process both in terms of clinical exploration but also practitioner development. This means that I am also an active participant in the process and will provide supportive and genuine feedback.

I believe that supervision (like therapy) should consider people’s context and environment and I look to facilitate supervisee’s awareness of dynamics that may be present in the work context.​

I believe effective and supportive supervision is essential as our primary professional resource.