We are appreciative that our house has a solid presence and the energy of a tranquil retreat, which contains and supports us in our work of wrestling with the inner life and helping with mental health.
Our team – Debbie Thomson, Kate Bracefield, Beth Garvey & Shirley Prendeville – offer a safe, effective, confidential service, and a commitment to going beyond the ordinary.
We are warm hearted and caring – with services that focus on healing: grief counselling, self-esteem issues and help with anxiety. We value individuality and support people finding their voice and creativity. At Albany House we are passionate about working with people so they can live a more vital life.
Each of our therapists is qualified and experienced and is a member of a Professional Body. Fees are negotiated on a case by case basis. Some funding streams may be available. Please ask us.
Kate Bracefield
Registered Psychotherapist
MNZAP GANZ
ACC Approved
All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.
-Buber
Kate is a Gestalt therapist who works with people intuitively and from the heart. In revealing aspects of our personal landscape in ways that encourage self-expression, invite acceptance and unfurling, we can live in a more embodied way. Each of us has the ability to craft our lives to connect with greater vitality and meaning in our contemporary environment.
Kate is interested in the role of the body in existential and spiritual issues paticularly in how isolation and loneliness manifest as traumatic stress, depression, anxiety and as other symptoms of disconnection.
Kate has a background in the visual arts and a love of animals.
Shirley Prendeville
MNZAC
Shirley is a member of NZAC and has been a therapist since 1994. She trained from a Jungian approach and has added many many hours of further trainings.
Do you know Rumi’s poem “The Guest House”? It reflects much.
As I was foraging for walnuts, pondering, it came to me that relationship/connecting is sacred, of vital importance. Life tends to dish us up many challenges as opportunity for development. I believe I walk gently with you as we find genuine embodied connection then meaning emerges and Self is unearthed.
Shirley offers both long-term and short-term sessions, having had many years of experience as workplace support, facilitating both Critical Incident Work and Debriefing.
Debbie Thompson
NZCCA
Debbie has a gentle and respectful person-centred approach, working with individuals and couples. She offers a safe and non-judgemental environment to help her clients navigate life’s challenges and find new solutions for issues they are bringing to counselling. Debbie has trained with EFCT, Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy and aims to help couples reconnect and find the spark they long for again.
Do you know all human beings need love and connection, from the “cradle to the grave”, because we are all hardwired to relate to each other and find meaning in relationships.
Having taken this truth to heart, Debbie’s biggest passion is to see her clients connect with the self and others, regardless of age, race or gender.
Beth Garvey
MNZAC
ACC Approved
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.” Minnie Louise Haskins
Beth has an interest in the theories of Carl Jung, in working with dreams, and with the shadow, as a person journeys to find and recover what has been lost to them. She accompanies a person in counselling with a trust that they can make sense of their life, and make changes that make sense to them.
Beth is comfortable working with people for a brief or a longer time, as they choose.
She has a background in music, and a casual interest in photography.
