The ancient gods
of my ancestors
are in the rivers, in the lakes,
in the mountains,
in the skies and in the forests.

My ancestors came from Switzerland,
and I was among the first generation of my family to be born in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Currently I live in the Noosa Hinterland, Australia, where the traditional custodians of the land
are the Kabi Kabi.

I was born,

the youngest of two brothers and a sister, near the sea in Whāngarei and grew up under the hill of Hikurangi.

I feel a deep relationship to the land and people in Aotearoa. Te reo Māori speaks to my heart. I still have much to learn, yet every word I learn reminds me of the wairua and sacredness of life.

I still have a strong connection to Switzerland. I do my best to go back there so I do not lose the language, an important part of my heritage.

Living in the rainforest in Queensland is a beautiful experience, I am surrounded by birds and jungle and feel right at home. I am also learning about the traditional custodians of the land, the Kabi Kabi and their stories. It is an honour to be here and learn.

I have a passion for understanding our earth, she is our heritage and a part of us. I feel that being connected to our land offers healing to the suffering of the individual and our communities.

Greeting

the rivers, trees and mountains around me is what keeps me in my natural state. Connecting to animals and the elements brings me life. I also love to explore life through art, crafting, singing, making music and drinking herbal tea in the sunshine. I have an avid interest in plant medicine, philosophy, and sci-fi novels.

I am fortunate

to live with a loving partner I’ve known for many years. We enjoy traveling together, discovering, and collecting rocks and lounging in the sun playing music.

Before studying psychology

I had a background in youth work in New Zealand and as a support worker for people with physical and intellectual impairments. I also completed a diploma in theology and a certificate in massage.

I am an avid traveler and over the years I have traveled through Asia, Africa, Scandinavia, Europe and Islands in the South Pacific. In my travels I worked and volunteered at various places including orphanages, schools, hotels, restaurants, and hospitals.

For My PhD in Psychology ,

which I completed at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand), I designed a program on building resilience in adolescence. I ran this program throughout secondary schools in Wellington in 2012. The results indicated that fostering positive emotions in adolescents such as gratitude can help to prevent the development of depression.

I completed

a master’s in clinical psychology At Queensland University of Technology (in 2013-2014, Brisbane, Australia). My masters involved two years of working with clients in different settings including an indigenous school, at a private psychiatric hospital and at the university clinic.

From 2016-2017 I was working with children, adolescents, and adults, at a mental health foundation called Headspace in Warnambool, Australia.

From 2018 - 2021

I established a private practice in the sunny Ōtaki, Aotearoa. During this time I also worked with Jenny Gibbons at HEARTS (Human-Equine Alliance Resilience Trauma Support) doing equine assisted therapy. We worked with horses to help people heal from their past trauma. We also did family constellation work with the support of the horses.