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Athena | Heart and Mind Coach

Heart and Mind Coach - Upper Hutt  - Athena
Counselling Upper Hutt - Hutt Valley
75 Totara Park Road
5018 Upper Hutt
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Counselling Upper Hutt - Hutt Valley

My name is Athena. You're welcome for counselling & relationship counselling in Upper Hutt.

2024. LET'S SUPPORT PEACE, BOTH IN THE WORLD AROUND US AND WITHIN OURSELVES. LETS FIND PEACE IN OUR RELATIONSHIPS AND WITH ALL EVENTS  PAST OR PRESENT.

It is often a crisis of some sort that forces us to take stock of what we've experienced, to process and find the full value in who we are and what we've gained, to find acceptance and more peace. The way I see it we are constantly growing, learning and changing until the day we die.

By nature, I am a roll-my-sleeves-up-and-get-stuck-in kind of woman. From the first session I always try and give something concrete to take away and practice or think about. Sessions are an active process for me where I'm open to giving as much as my clients, (when appropriate). I share ideas, techniques and beliefs, and it is your choice what you take away and what you discard. I will probably question, challenge and clarify with you the perceptions and understandings you have about your life and life in general. If you want to discover more about yourself and why you act and feel in a certain way let’s unite our efforts! 

Since we are all in relationships... with other people; with places; with plants and animals; with our computers, phones, cars and of course our families... communication is key. The words we use, and emotions attached to those words,  shape our whole world and all the connections we have. 

I love the subject of communication. I'm quite passionate about it! In fact my whole life I have been passionate about communication. These days, being present with personal growth and strengthening heart qualities are what I seek.


Why work with Me?

To cut a long story short I've had loads of experiences. Some of them more common, others very unusual. For instance I was lowered into a huge crevasse so that other people could practice ice rescuing. To this day I still can't describe that adequately. My therapy started at 16 when I left school to go to university to study psychology. I knew I needed help and desperately wanted to change.

After achieving academic qualifications I realized that I was more of an experiential learner and so  set about getting as many experiences of therapy and growing as I could over many years. So having been alive since 1960 I have accumulated a useful number of skills and understandings. I am whole-heartedly attracted to increasing consciousness and love every moment of everyday! 


Who: Relationships and Individuals.

Whatever the reason, I will assume a client wants change. I work with people from all walks of life, from students to executives, pensioners to plumbers, business owners to full-time mums. People come to me for a variety of reasons including feeling sad, or stressed, or having reached a crisis in their life, or after months of feeling misunderstood in a relationship.

I see many couples; from those who are basically doing OK but want to refresh their communication skills to those who are about to break up and want to tick the “We’ve tried everything box”! Oh! and I really love working with young people (15-20).

Whatever the troubles  I see everyone as a whole human being (with strengths, weaknesses, potentials, fears, wounds and  skills etc). I've been trusted with many experiences by clients over the years from being abducted by aliens (Who am I to say this didn't happen) to some pretty abominable human behaviour. Some have called me gullible,  I prefer the word  open :-)

I always follow up at the next session. The more clients think about what we discuss in sessions, or try out new ways of behaving, the more they will get out of our time together. If a client comes once a fortnight (this might be what they can most comfortably afford), there will be work to do in between sessions digesting, integrating and deepening what we have talked about.

People don't always come to me because they are in crisis. Let me use an analogy: think of me as a book. A resource. For instance, parents contact me to ask if I can help their young people (children) with life. The subject of concern might be bullying, it could be anxiety, it could be a medical event. As an outsider I can say things that friends or family might be afraid to say for fear of hurting a loved one. I can offer  perspectives that might never have been thought about before. They are put on the table as ideas that can be taken or left, with no pressure. But I am better than a book because I have an automatically self-adapting user interface! I will naturally adjust to those I'm sitting with to try and offer the most relevant approach! There :) The most modern and up-to-date technology available: a real human with heart and humour.

Note:If you are using weed more than socially, sessions will only help if you stop for the duration of us working together.

Statement concerning the coronavirus pandemic

I am available for phone or video call sessions during lock down(s).

August 2021 - During lock down "I just want to personally thank you for helping my partner. I can really see him lighten up for the past days now. I was absolutely worried and confused who I can go to for help with the circumstances we're in at the moment.  And for that I do really appreciate your help"

Most common issues I support people with:

So here are some of the reasons you might want to come and see me and that I am used to being able to help people with.

 

  • You are feeling really upset or distressed about someone or something that has happened
  • You may suffer from anxiety, panic attacks or depression. Maybe you want to understand why you, in particular, are like this?  
  • You may be unhappy with how your relationship is going, with you partner, parents, work associates or children.
  • Maybe you are be being bullied or harassed.
  • You may feel stuck. Have an addiction.
  • You could have a habit of using weed or other drugs as a crutch
  • You might be aware of a past event or pain holding you back.
  • You may not be in a crisis but simply feel like something is missing, maybe life lacks overall purpose.

Fees

$100 per session of 1 hour
$120 two people,
$140 three people

I do make a big effort to be accommodating and somewhat flexible to people's needs, for example working evenings and most public holidays. So, please understand when I say no-shows, cancellations or postponements within 1 hour of the confirmed session will be charged at the full price and cancellations or postponements within 8 hours will be charged at 50%



Availability (Opening hours)

Monday On request
Tuesday 11am - 8:30pm
Wednesday 11am - 8:30pm
Thursday 11am - 8:30pm
Friday Closed
Saturday 9:30am - 5pm
Sunday Closed

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Location

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Interview

Read the interview with Athena below.
praktijk

Practice


1. Where is your practice (office) located?
We're about to move to 75 Totara Park Rd. Upper Hutt.
Please note : Answers written in note form not proper English! 😊

2. What life events have been important to you?
So many. Lived in Africa till I was 7, emigrated to New Zealand when when I was 13, went to school in Nelson. Taught bush survival in Western Australia in my early 20s climbed the Matterhorn (Switzerland) in my mid-20s. Lived and worked in a Villa on Lago Maggiore in Italy running groups to develop individual's potentials. Lots of Stories. Work. Mango picking in the tropics of Australia. Met "The One" when I was 40. Had my children at 42 and 44. Had a beautiful garden and home grown veggies . Coming back to work over a year ago now.

3. Why did you become a counsellor / therapist?
The truth? I was born this way. It was a calling and a gift. I wasn't very popular and never felt as though I belonged. Always wanting to understand why I felt the way I did, or why other people behaved the way they did... I also felt as though the world was in a bit of trouble . Initially I studied psychology because I wanted to fix myself.

4. What do you like the most about being a counsellor/therapist?
I like feeling really connected to another person . I feel at home with honest emotions and understandings. I want to live my best life and support others doing the same thing - be that less painful, more aware, more loving, or fuller. I get excited about new Insights and the lightning up that happens in us all when we gain new understandings, acceptance forgiveness, motives and consciousness.

5. What is your most remarkable experience as a counsellor/therapist?
The moments that have made my hair stand on end are when I have listened to someone tell me realities that are outside our common understandings. For instance a young man who was agoraphobic because had been abducted by aliens or a woman who constantly consulted with spirit guides during our sessions. I love having my world expanded.


leven

Life


1. What was your most pleasant moment today/yesterday?
I went swimming in a cool clear New Zealand River with the dog, opening my eyes underwater and looking up at the Sunshine sparkling on the surface.

2. How do you see yourself in 5 years? And in 10 years?
Sitting in the sunshine under the clear blue sky. Welcoming a client with a cup of tea and a dog licking their knees if they allow it. Watching my boys leave home and come back again and leave again. Stretching and doing yoga on the living room carpet before I'm properly awake. Enjoying the weekends with my husband. Eating vegetarian and vegan food - making lots of delicious things together.

3. What are your hobbies? What do you do in your free time?
I garden and cook and walk and meditate and meet friends. We watch a bit of TV and we discuss the world. I want to continue to laugh outrageously at things that come out spontaneously at home with my boys or my husband.

4. What makes you happy?
At this age, apart from the normal comforts of life, I will have to say living my life as a whole person and giving myself permission to be anything I want to be in the moment. This is just as important as the constant knowledge that I am part of the whole shebang of life!

5. Do you have a partner and/or family?
I met Andy "the one" when I was 40. We had Ben when I was 42 and Nick when I was 44. Then my husband said that we must stop making babies while the going was good..

6. Have you ever had therapy / counselling yourself? What was your experience?
I have being involved in personal growth and therapy groups, had Masters and supervisors, for 15 continuous years of my life - then on and off after that. I'm no longer afraid that I will stop growing and I realised that I am not a fixed thing at all. I just have to stay loose and open and connected to my heart and life.

7. What other occupation would you have liked, if you hadn't become a counsellor / therapist?
I have done quite a few different jobs as pauses in my career including working on a fishing boat, being a dental assistant and kitchen hand duties in cafes. My preferred work is probably outside as a farm hand planting, harvesting, picking and pruning. I went mango picking when I was 40 in outback Australia with a backpack on my back. This was one of the highlights of my life!


inspiratie

Inspiration


1. Who inspires you?
Oh dear I can't answer this. I am not a reader. I have been an experiential learner in my life. Nature inspires me and I talk to my god regularly both to say thank you and seek advice!

2. Books you recommend?
The Tao Pooh (a real book)
Hope for the Flowers ( cartoon book about the personal growth journey has seen from the point of view of a caterpillar)

3. Your favourite film and why?
Oh I'm a Star Trek fan :-)

4. Your favourite quote?
Silence

5. What is your mission?
To try and bring love and acceptance to difficult situations. And to try and stay connected and open to life even when I find it extremely painful and I don't understand why.

6. What is your superpower?
My intuition and optimism

7. Top tip for happiness?
Take time every day to do nothing . In other words meditate or be still and breathe


Heart and Mind Coach - Upper Hutt  - Athena

Contact me

Do you want to make an appointment or do you have a question?

Send a message

Great, you are taking the first step.
Leave a message and I will contact you as soon as possible.


Name
City/town
Email
Telephone
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