Val Leveson

Experienced counsellor with strong personal integrity, genuine empathy for others and a commitment to maintaining high ethical standards.

Areas of Special Interest

• loss and grief
• trauma work
• workplace issues
• life changes
• Self compassion
• relationship challenges
• immigration / cultural issues
• personal growth
• goal setting
• anxiety
• depression

The destiny of every human being is decided by what goes on inside his skull when confronted by what goes on outside his skull.
– Eric Berne

Counselling Services

Sometimes we need someone to really listen and help us work through our problems and challenges with compassion and focus. I see counselling and therapy as walking beside someone for a while, helping them to change their lives or adapt to new circumstances. I’ve done my job when clients have learnt to feel confident and engaged well within themselves and with other people in their lives.
I have great respect for my clients’ cultural background and beliefs and am committed to the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Counselling Approach

I vary my approach to suit each client’s needs. Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Transactional Analysis (TA) are the modalities that I mostly draw from.  I believe, however,  that one size does not fit all and therefore I tailor my work to an individual client’s needs in a person-centred way, always discussing the approach with the client as I strongly believe in counselling being a collaborative process. I use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy tools, visualisation, Mindfulness, Gestalt, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) techniques in my work. I have also trained in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), and am continuing my training in this area.

Background and Experience

I have been working in counselling and therapy for more than 10 years.

Before that I worked as a journalist for a variety of publications around the world, in particular South Africa, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. The life experience, knowledge and multicultural perspectives I am able to bring to my work has helped me to understand the problems of a wide variety of clients.

In addition to my individual client work,  I run groups, often focusing on grief and loss, and have facilitated them for the Grief Centre, Child Cancer and Multiple Sclerosis, Auckland.

Supervision

I provide supervision for counsellors and others working in the field. I am happy to support people through the NZAC membership process, and am also able to work with ACC counsellors, as I have been with ACC for more than the required amount of time.