Jennifer Stewart

Kia ora, I'm Jennifer Stewart (she/her) and I work with adults who want to tackle those deep, thorny emotional wounds that we often refer to as trauma or complex trauma.

Sometimes these wounds are caused by big, dramatic events and sometimes they're created by the many smaller injuries that can result from not being fully seen, supported, or understood by those around us.

These wounds can leave us feeling stuck, out of control, or unable to realise our full potential. We may feel easily triggered/anxious or numb/shut down. We may struggle with setting boundaries, low self esteem, substance use, self harm, or be targeted for relationship/narcissistic abuse.

Using evidence-based therapies developed for going beyond just talk and into deep trauma healing, we'll work to calm and balance your nervous system and heal the memories that trigger pain, anxiety, and automatic trauma responses. As we draw on your natural strengths to build a new set of skills and help you find healing you'll learn how to disrupt painful emotional/behavioural patterns and reclaim your body, your story, and your life.

I draw mainly from Hakomi and other somatic (body-based) approaches, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Imagery Rescripting, and other memory reconsolidation techniques (similar to EMDR).

But the most powerful exercises often spring from your personality and interests, and that means the sky's the limit! Clients have incorporated art, sculpture, nature, ritual, journalling, tarot cards, and more. Your instincts are always our best guide and your ideas and inspiration are honoured.

You'll leave empowered with a personalised set of tools you can use to foster calm, resilience, self-compassion, and profound healing.

Trauma work can take some time and can sometimes feel intense and vulnerable, so it's important to find a counsellor who makes you feel safe, cared for, understood, and accepted. If you see yourself as "sensitive," "quirky," "imaginative," "intuitive," "creative," or even "spiritual," then you might enjoy my counselling style, which makes use of metaphor, visualisation, parts work, and your intuition.

My practice is LGBTQIA+- and Neurodiversity-Affirming. I'm ADHD myself and I welcome ADHD, Autistic, Gifted/2E, & Highly Sensitive (HSP)/Empath clients (including self-diagnosed or questioning). Without glossing over the very real challenges of living in a neurotypical world, I very much work from a strengths-based, non-pathologising perspective.