I have been interested in well-being ever since I was a young child and my journey of understanding our body-mind connection.

I initially trained in nursing which included mental health nursing, and began to learn the power of touch to assist in recovery and alleviate pain and anxiety.

I ran a holistic nursing clinic for many years working with people’s stress and well-being. I then became a midwife and for around a decade assisted many women, couples, and families in their journey through birth and parenting.

Later I found Traditional Chinese medicine to be helpful in reducing and alleviating discomforts, including emotional changes.

I studied to gain post-graduate qualifications in Traditional Chinese acupuncture and gained clinical experience in Chinese hospitals, where acupuncture is integrated with Western medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine deepened my understanding of the body’s healing abilities and our connection to the environment in relation to this.

I continue to work with the mind and body, and this has led me to Somatic Experiencing®, which is a body-oriented approach to helping the body-mind connection with the healing of trauma and other stress disorders. Somatic experiencing has proven to be an invaluable method for assisting us to address physical, mental, and emotional stressors, and for establishing healthy nervous systems for ourselves and with each other.

I have furthered my studies to include Emotionally Focused Therapy® to work with couples and small groups in relationships.

My work includes our understanding and relationships, within us, with each other, intergenerationally, with our environment, cultures, and more.

Qualifications

COACHING
- Somatic Experiencing®Practitioner, Somatic Experiencing® Australia, Somatic Experiencing®International
- Somatic Experiencing®, Maggie Kline 'Trauma Through a Child's Eyes’

-Emotionally Focussed Therapy®, NZCEFT externship, core skills 1 and 11

-Somatic Attachment Therapy Certificate- The Embody Lab

- Supervision Skills for Health & Social Service Professionals, Unitec Cert- NZ Coaching/Mentoring Centre
- Certified Relationship Coach, Institute of Professional Coaching
- Professional Mentoring / Coaching, Unitec
- Adult education, Unitec

TCM
- Certificate Clinical Acupuncture Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), China
- Post Grad. Certificate in Traditional Chinese Acupuncture AUT
- Specialist Acupuncture, Women’s Health AUT

MIDWIFERY and NURSING
- Diploma of Comprehensive Nursing AUT
- BHSc (Midwifery) AUT
- BHSc (Nursing) AUT

- Registration with NZ Midwifery Council and NZ Nursing Council (nonpracticing)

TOUCH

-Training in Neuro-Affective Touch-The NeuroAffective Touch® Institute. Developmental Trauma-informed.

-Somatic Experiencing trauma-informed touch.

- Jin Shin Jyutsu Practitioner

Actively involved in ongoing training and professional knowledge and skills updates.

“Donna has a lovely ability to get alongside people of all ages. She works with people in a holistic manner and has a great degree of empathy that enables people to be open with her. I thoroughly recommend Donna in her ability and capacity, to provide the best possible care.”

J