Client Intake Form

Confidentiality & Consent

Everything you share is kept confidential, except where safety or legal obligations require otherwise (e.g. risk of serious harm to yourself or others, or if required by court order). I will always aim to speak with you first, if ever such a situation arises.

To maintain a safe, neutral, and professional counselling space, any potential conflicts of interest - such as close ties to family, friends, or shared networks - will be approached with care and integrity. If a concern arises, I will address it directly and respectfully. If you're unsure, please don't hesitate to ask.

By submitting this form, you agree to participate in counselling with honesty and respect for the process. You can stop at any time. My role is to support, not to judge or diagnose. You are in charge of your journey.

Informed Consent Agreement

Please fill this out before your first session. Your information is kept private, secure, and confidential. You have the right to access, correct, or withdraw your information at any time.

Healing Journey
Take the First Step

It is easy to go through life taking much of everything we have, say, and do – for granted. We judge by appearances, by what we see. We look at people and instantly judge why they look a certain way and why they act a certain way. If we don’t know it or understand it – we are threatened by it, and tend to retreat from it, even to recoil at times. That uncomfortability is about us, not the other person.

What does it say about us? We feel uncomfortable and squirmish on the inside because we can't explain the unexplainable. We talk about it. We write about it. We run far from it. What we don’t realize is – the next person is no different to our own selves. They are human, their hearts beat, they think, they feel, and they act. They cry. They want to be seen, heard, and felt.

Sometimes we go through what we do in life in order to bring us to a place of deeper understanding of who we are, of how we can know who others are – to understand how they feel. After all, we know what it is like to feel pain, heart ache, grief, loss, anger, hurt, stress – the entire gamut of emotions which are familiar to us all.

Ought that not give us a level of empathy, understanding, and compassion for the next person? Ought we not judge others? Do we not bring judgment on ourselves when we judge another? Why would we even do that? Are we feeling that lousy about ourselves on the inside, that we portray another self on the outside?

If any of this resonates with you, then join the club – The Human Race!

I always believed the tough times were to make us stronger and more resilient to face life’s challenges, to have the ability to navigate life. I wanted it to be for a reason, and not in vain – how futile that would be. Would I not be able to help and encourage another human being because I've been through it? That is my steadfast belief. I believe there are many people lined up, waiting at the gate so to speak – waiting for the gate to open into a wide-open space, room enough for everyone. A place to sit and rest awhile. A place to just be. To talk. To be heard. To be listened to. To be understood.

That is why I am here. That is why Whanganui Counselling Services exists – to provide a safe space for people to come to for guidance, help, and support. To make sense of it all. A place where they can know, see, and speak their truth.

Be brave. Take the first step. It’s OK.

Contact us at Whanganui Counselling Services.