Young Minds Psychology

16/05/2025

It’s Tourette’s Awareness month, and Tourettes Association of NZ is running a brilliant campaign.

The number one thing you can do to support someone who has tics - don’t draw attention to it. This can make people feel self conscious and take away from the conversation or activity at hand, so follow their lead, and if unsure, ignore!

23/06/2024

🧠 There may have been some changes recently to what you may be entitled to as a parent of a neurodiverse child 💵

⚒️ But there are some amazing tools & gadgets out there, and this is one website that has a great example about how to apply for them with your NASC provider! Sensory Sam

(Not an ad - their products are genuinely awesome!)

As of 24th April 2024, further clarifications have been made by Whaikaha regarding Sensory and weighted products being included in Individualised Funding purchasing guidelines. "....the purchase of ...sensory items (such as fidget spinners), and weighted blankets are able to be funded from Carer Sup...

13/04/2024

I have been quiet on social media since my return - in part because I can only offer a few hours a week, and as I have been overwhelmed with referrals and have had to close my books 📕 Fortunately I am in a position where I will be able to offer some appointments in June, and can open my waitlist once more.

However this time I would like to do something different - as I can currently only offer Saturday mornings virtually, I would like to invite those families who are living with tics and who are searching for supports to reach out. 💻

As a trained CBIT provider, I specialize in supporting young people and children with tics, and am aware there are very real gaps in our health system for access to treatment. I have also found that CBIT works very well over Telehealth, and enables me to reach whanau across the country. Please reach out if you have a child with tics and if you are considering therapy ✨

09/09/2023

I find that this is the time of year when things start to really step up for those of us working in children’s mental health! This has meant that my (already limited!) availability has been filling up quickly, with new and returning families.

The upcoming mock exams for teenagers, and the general wearing down for younger children as they simply get tired towards the end of the term (which means their parents do, too).

We all have a different way of coping when we’re overwhelmed, and children and young people are still learning how to regulate their emotions and cope with stress. So this message is for anyone who needs to hear it going into this part of the year, including parents!

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13/08/2023

I am a big believer in looking for patterns to identify what may be causing or reinforcing a behaviour. What a lovely reframe this is - the idea that every action may have a purpose behind it. If we can put aside our own frustration for a moment, we might be able to understand what drives the behavior. Our “attention seeking” may be their way of communicating and connecting with us.

THIS!!!! It's all about connection, it always is. 💜

13/07/2023

👋 Hello everyone ❤️

My maternity leave lasted longer than I thought, as I just couldn’t bring myself to part with my little boy just yet… I was also gifted with the opportunity to empathize fully with parents whose babies rely on them for sleep. 🥱

👩‍💻 At this stage I will be coming back in Term 3, but at a very limited capacity, and offering virtual sessions only. As always, I will aim to be available firstly to support families I have already been working with, and will be taking on a limited number of new clients as time allows.

I know that one particular area of need for therapists is in the area of tics and Tourette’s, and I am looking forward to being able to help young people in this area again.

⭐️ Mānawatia a Matariki! ❄️

11/05/2022

💫 An exciting announcement!
Unfortunately, Young Minds Psychology is not currently accepting new clients. Instead, I am very much looking forward to spending some time with my own little one, and will be on maternity leave from July 2022.
Please keep checking in on social media or my website, and I will provide an update when I expect to return back to work.

28/04/2022

💫 “Children are resilient!” This is a statement we have all heard, to highlight how kids are able to cope with all sorts of things that we may be surprised by. And some children are resilient! Just as some adults are resilient. But in my experience, this isn’t always the case. Children may appear to be resilient, because they may not understand what is happening, not yet. And when they start to make sense of it - days, months, years later - when their brains have the capacity to understand - they may seem to not be so resilient after all. Other children may appear to be unaffected, but there may be other changes - sleep, appetite, behaviour - that they don’t connect with what is happening, but their brains are trying to understand without knowing what it is.
Resilience is a skill that we nurture, develop, and learn - how do we cope when things don’t go our way? How do we find the bright side if things didn’t work out as we expected? We take it one step at a time, and learn that sometimes, there are positives.
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14/01/2022

💫 A gentle reminder for those who need it these holidays! Children are all different, and require a different approach - what works for one may not work for another. We are also limited by our own resources - exhaustion, time, pressures. You’re a good parent.
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16/12/2021

🎄Coming into the holidays brings a different kind of busy. During the year we often have so much to focus on - work, school, life - that the end of the year becomes a welcome respite. But it can be a busy time too, often with expectations we tend to put on ourselves.
☕️ Take this as a gentle reminder to take the time to chill - however it may look for you! This year has brought with it a lot of ups and downs, and we all deserve some time to unwind.
💫 Young Minds Psychology will be taking a break from this week until early January, and I look forward to seeing you all in 2022!
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22/10/2021

If you have found these school holidays a challenge, I would highly recommend checking out Triple P (Positive Parenting Programme).

Their online courses - Triple P, Teen Triple P, and the new Fear-Less Triple P for parents of anxious children are now available for free through Triple P - Positive Parenting Program

These are concepts I use often in my own work, and are a great way to refresh your skills, and get basic structure and strategies under way. The most common complaint I hear is that it doesn't quite work "in real life" - which is where therapy comes in! Together we can work through the challenges that may arise in applying the theory into practice in your own household, as well as when things are just a little bit more complicated.

4 million kids & counting! Triple P – Positive Parenting Program works for toddlers & teens. Get parenting tips & classes in New Zealand: face-to-face or online.

18/10/2021

💭 People often come to therapy with expectations. Some families have sought me out for particular areas of expertise, others are simply reaching out for help wherever it’s available. Either way, there is hope that therapy will provide answers, guidance, help, solutions.
🥼But the more I work with young people, the more I realize that it doesn’t matter how much I know about a particular area. I could be the expert in my field, or this could be a novel presentation I haven’t come across as often - this is almost irrelevant (to the kids, if not their parents!)
💬 Because above all, kids don’t want to be taught, or told how to fix what are perceived as their “problems”. What matters more is if they feel heard and validated. After all, kids don’t care if I’ve helped other kids just like them - they want to know, how can I help them?
❤️ The psychological term for this is therapeutic rapport - the relationship you build in therapy. Research shows this is the most important aspect of determining whether therapy will be successful - above experience, style of therapy, and years in practice. None of it matters if the kids don’t feel like you listen, care - that you get them.
🎲 What makes therapy with kids and young people so different, is that we get to be creative with how we build our relationship and trust. In my sessions I love to incorporate play - board games, cards, arts and crafts, lego - whatever helps kids feel comfortable and open.
🦠 Under Level 2 play therapy has had to be on hold for many of my younger clients, who I miss dearly! Unfortunately it’s hard to engage in play when we are keeping a 2m distance apart. Although virtual sessions have been seeing us through, I can’t wait to be able to bring out all of the resources at my disposal for younger kids!
💬 Thomas Roosevelt