Welcome.
I'm Dr Nick Laurence, DClin. I provide remote EMDR, IFS, and neurodiversity-affirming therapy for individuals across Aotearoa New Zealand.
I am a clinical psychologist based in Tākaka. I work with adults across a range of different mental health needs, including trauma, depression, anxiety, relationship issues, life transitions, and more. I also offer support for those experiencing distress around bigger-than-self issues to do with the environment, society, and more.
I am expanding my practice to see more neurodivergent adults, including autistic, ADHD, gifted, highly sensitive individuals and more. I offer mostly therapeutic support at this time and am not currently doing diagnostic assessments for Autism or ADHD.
My main therapeutic modalities are EMDR and IFS, which are both evidence-based and trauma-informed, though I am trained in other modalities (such as DBT, CBT, and MiCBT), and tailor my approach to suit your individual needs.
I strive to be gender, queer, and neurodiversity-affirming in my practice, and am working to be an active and responsible partner in Te Tiriti through integrating a Te Āo Māori lens on life and health as this fits with client needs and preferences.
More Info
Finding a therapist who fits your needs is an important and sometimes tricky process, especially for identities and neurotypes that have traditionally been not well understood, marginalised, colonised, or otherwise made to feel on the outside of mainstream society. Whatever your background or needs, I will strive to work with you and meet you where you're at and with what you are wanting support with.
I believe that therapists cannot help but bring their own lenses and life experiences to the therapeutic space, and that disclosing some of these relevant details about our own life can help you to choose a therapist that will meet your needs. Growing up as a straight, cis-gendered male, I've recently been exploring more neurodivergent /neuroqueer aspects of my identity and ways of being in the world, and recognise the importance of such questions for many. Being the descendent of settlers to Aotearoa from England, Scotland, and Denmark, I hold Te Tiriti as foundational in the history and future of this country and am on my own journey in exploring my own ancestry and relationship with Te Āo Māori. I'm also a parent to a wonderfully sparky, sensitive, strong-willed little human, and have experience in navigating both monogamous and non-monogamous relationships.
In my adulthood, studies, and own special interests, I've had a strong pull towards existential, socio-ecological, and philosophical issues. In my doctoral thesis, I developed a construct called "bigger-than-self distress" and approaches to work with such distress. I conceptualised this as an emerging, non-pathological form of distress that has to do with social, environmental, and existential issues outside of or bigger than the individual self, such as climate change, ecological destruction, societal prejudice, discrimination, and polarisation. I'm passionate about helping individuals experiencing such distress to sensemake, metabolise, and participate in the world in new ways that lead to wiser responses to these contemporary crises. I write about this at my Substack, which you can find here.
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