Rodger Pool

There are times when it is good to accept that, after everything you have been through, you need some help and support.

My initial focus when I meet you is on creating a kind and caring space to speak openly about what is happening for you, your inner emotional world and your private thoughts.

I help clients with a wide range of problems, including:

• Relationship challenges
• Depression
• Anxiety and stress
• Trauma (developmental and Post Traumatic Stress)
• Anger
• Chronic pain
• Adjustment issues
• Personality disorders

Please contact me to have an obligation-free chat to discuss your needs and see how I can help you.

We work together

I am focused on understanding you as a unique individual and creating a kind and caring space which is safe enough for you to speak openly about what is happening for you, your inner emotional world and your private thoughts.

I work with both couples seeking to deepen their intimacy and to find new joy in being together, and adults (16+) facing a wide range of personal challenges, including anxiety and depression. I have a passion for helping clients to access their inner resources, including their natural capacity for mindfulness, the power of their emotional lives, and the overlooked wisdom and sanity that we are all born with.

At our first counselling session, we will talk about what has brought you to counselling, what you want to achieve, what makes things better or worse, and begin a process of clarifying your goals and discussing what may work best for you.

As therapy progresses, my passion lies in helping you to create new emotional, cognitive and behavioural experiences, within the context of your values and the realities of the situation you face. The aim is to reconnect you with your inner strengths and resources, your natural wisdom and sanity, in ways that either resolve the challenging situation you face or, at minimum, change your relationship with the challenging situation in such a way that it becomes workable and manageable for you.

Relationship Counselling

I’m passionate about working with couples who want to recover or deepen their intimacy and find joy in being together.

A trusting emotional bond gives us the vitality and strength to flourish in all aspects of our lives. I want to create a safe space where both of you feel genuinely supported so we can unpack the behaviours, thoughts and feelings that trigger reactive responses and the underlying emotional longings that are not being met. My intention is to help you find new moves that nurture the love you want rather than inadvertently pushing each other away, freeing you from the old patterns that have undermined your happiness and intimacy.

I work with Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples. It is a highly researched and effective approach that works to create feelings of safety and trust between partners, creating a deeper, more fulfilling and lasting connection.

Counselling for Depression

We are all potentially vulnerable to depression, even the strongest people who appear to have so much going for them.

Feeling sad and unhappy is a normal response to loss or a general lack of positive experiences in our lives. If these feelings settle in, it is important to reach out to for help before a depression deepens and pervades your life, often with long term implications.

Working with clients to rebuild positive experiences in their daily lives can often make a significant difference to their well-being, their feelings about themselves and their sense of belonging. In addition, effective treatments for depression will normally include elements of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Mindfulness.

Counselling for Anxiety

It’s normal to feel some worry or anxiety in our lives, however, it can spiral out of control.

It’s normal to feel some worry, fear or tension when we’re facing stressful situations. However, when it dominates our lives it can undermine our health, our career, and our social and financial well-being. We can work together to find your unique path to freeing yourself from the debilitating effects of anxiety.

With caring support and guidance, you can find your way to a life full of promise and vibrancy. Treatments for anxiety related problems normally include evidence-based therapies such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).

Mindfulness

Integrated with therapy, mindfulness is a powerful tool to help you to live in ways that are most important to you.

As human beings, it’s natural that we’ll experience uncomfortable feelings at times. Sometimes unhelpful thoughts and behaviours dominate our lives in ways we’d never consciously choose. They may even take us away from who and what is most important to us.

I help clients with both mindful acceptance and mindful enquiry to free themselves from past hurts and constraints. While, some clients choose to make mindfulness a focus of therapy, I generally use mindfulness within the context of whatever other work we are doing.

A little about me

I am a fully registered psychologist, working in private practice in both Ponsonby, Auckland and Online. I previously worked as a psychologist within a multi-disciplinary public health team and a university counselling service. Among other things I have a background in advocacy, I have been a Meditation Instructor for over a decade, and I volunteer my time to run secular mindfulness courses. My academic and professional research in psychology has been into how traditional Buddhist mindfulness practices have been absorbed and adapted in the context of western psychology.