Dr. Susan Watson

CBT helps you understand how your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours interact. It offers practical tools to gently shift patterns that may be keeping you stuck, while building emotional insight, and resilience. CBT is collaborative and goal-oriented, supporting you to make meaningful changes in both how you feel and how you live.

ACT is centred around helping you live a life guided by what matters most to you. Rather than focusing on reducing symptoms, ACT helps you clarify your values and take committed, purposeful action—even in the presence of emotional discomfort. It’s about building a life that feels rich, authentic, and aligned with who you want to be.

EMDR is a structured, evidence-based therapy designed to help people process and heal from traumatic or distressing experiences. By supporting the brain’s natural capacity to integrate memories, EMDR can reduce the emotional intensity of past events and promote a sense of clarity and resolution.

Mindfulness based therapies help you cultivate greater awareness, presence, and self-compassion. Mindfulness can support emotional regulation, reduce reactivity, and deepen your connection to the present moment—enhancing your overall wellbeing.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a widely researched and effective psychological treatment that helps individuals understand how their thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and behaviours are interconnected. The core idea is that the way we think can influence how we feel and behave, and vice versa.

CBT doesn't just focus on "changing your thinking"—it takes a holistic view. When you're experiencing emotional distress, such as anxiety or depression, it often shows up in multiple ways:

• Thoughts may become self-critical, pessimistic, or fearful.
• Emotions like sadness, anger, guilt, or worry may feel overwhelming.
• Behaviours might include avoidance, withdrawal, overworking, or other coping mechanisms that, while understandable, can sometimes reinforce the distress.
• Physical sensations (like fatigue, restlessness, or tension) also play a role in the cycle of distress.

CBT works by helping you identify and gently explore these patterns, bringing awareness to how they interact. With guided support, you can begin to test out new ways of thinking and behaving that are more aligned with your values and goals. It's a collaborative process, often involving practical tools and strategies that you can use in daily life to build resilience and regain a sense of control.

Rather than offering quick fixes, CBT supports long-term emotional and behavioural change by helping you understand yourself better and respond more flexibly to life’s challenges.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on helping individuals clarify what truly matters to them—their values—and take committed action toward a meaningful, fulfilling life.

Rather than getting caught up in trying to eliminate difficult thoughts or feelings, ACT helps people build a life that is guided by what they care about most. This often involves identifying areas of life that feel stuck or disconnected, and gradually making choices that are aligned with personal values, even in the presence of discomfort. The focus is on learning how to respond to internal experiences in a way that opens up possibilities for change and growth. Clients often find that ACT provides a compassionate, empowering framework for reconnecting with purpose and taking steps toward a life that feels authentic and worthwhile.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured, evidence-based therapy originally developed to help people recover from traumatic experiences. It supports the brain’s natural healing process by helping clients reprocess distressing memories in a way that reduces their emotional charge and the sense of being “stuck” in the past.

During EMDR sessions, clients are guided through a series of techniques—such as eye movements or tapping—while focusing on aspects of a distressing memory. This helps the brain integrate the memory more adaptively, often leading to relief from symptoms like flashbacks, anxiety, or low self-worth.

EMDR can be helpful not only for PTSD, but also for a range of difficulties including grief, phobias, and performance anxiety. It offers a powerful way to resolve emotional pain and build new, more empowering beliefs about oneself.

Sessions cost $220. This is for both in person and online therapy.

Clinical psychologists are trained professionals who specialize in understanding, assessing, and treating emotional and psychological difficulties using evidence-based talk therapies. We help people with a wide range of issues such as anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and stress—supporting them through tailored therapeutic approaches like CBT, ACT, EMDR, and mindfulness-based therapies.

We hold postgraduate qualifications in clinical psychology (typically a Master's or Doctorate) and are registered with the New Zealand Psychologists Board.

In contrast, psychiatrists are medical doctors who have completed medical school and then specialized in psychiatry. They can diagnose mental health conditions and prescribe medication, and some also offer therapy—though their focus is often more biological or medical in nature.

In short:

• Clinical psychologists: Provide therapy; do not prescribe medication.
• Psychiatrists: Medical doctors who can prescribe medication; may or may not offer therapy.

Many clients benefit from working with both, depending on their needs.