About Me

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Kia ora e hoa!

I’m Annie Brown, and I live in the West Auckland suburb of Te Atatū. I offer in-person counselling to adolescents, youth and young adults, based out of both Ōrewa and Auckland Central in Tāmaki Makaurau.

I have seven years (including my training) of professional counselling experience, equating to around 2,000 hours of counselling practice, and I’m a full member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (MNZAC). I also have regular professional supervision to ensure ongoing safe, ethical and effective practice.

In the words of Narrative Therapist Michael White: I regard my clients as “fellow travelers.” If we meet for counselling, you can expect to be welcomed with a down-to-earth warmth - I place a high importance on the fostering of a genuine relationship between myself and my clients.

Alongside this, you can be reassured my practice is equally shaped by strong theoretical foundations and the wisdom and robust professionalism gleaned from several years spent practicing and training in a range of different professional contexts.

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A professional counsellor with seven years’ experience working with youth and young adults.

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My Counselling Experience

Before leaving to undertake masters-level study at the end of 2024, my most recent role was working as Head of Counselling in a Red Beach-based school with 1700 students in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Relating to the more challenging aspects of student wellbeing, this role involved regular engagement with staff, students and their caregivers, as well as the day-to-day leadership of a team of four counsellors. The school encompasses all year levels, and I was predominantly based in the senior school (Years 7-13), but also spent one day per week working with primary students (Years 1-6). 

Prior to this role, my counselling experience was within the contexts of school counselling (working with students aged 10-18yrs); a postgraduate psychotherapy internship doing private counselling (clients aged 18-30yrs); as well as counselling for a not-for-profit organization, where I worked with at-risk youth and young adults (aged 12-25yrs). 

I have also co-facilitated process groups with first and second-year adult students studying towards a Bachelor of Counselling Degree in both Ōtautahi Christchurch and Tāmaki Makaurau.

My Qualifications

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  • Full Member of New Zealand Association of Counsellors (MNZAC)

  • Currently working towards the completion of a Master of Theology Degree

  • Bachelor of Counselling Degree

  • Graduate Diploma in Theology

  • Post-Graduate Diploma in Theology

My Counselling Practice

I believe we run into mental health challenges when we find ourselves situated within stories that devalue our identity, and when one particular story has been given too much power in defining us. Some stories are also more conducive to flourishing than others.

I am a counsellor that has been trained to attend to difficult stories safely, and to have conversations that can bring to the foreground alternative stories that can have leverage over your experience of yourself and your life in hoped-for ways. These conversations often reveal resources that can help you feel better able to manage the problems you are facing, too.

In my counselling practice, I hold the belief that there is always hope – because people are so much more than the one story that brought them to counselling.

I also have this hope because the way we ‘story’ ourselves can be fluid – there is more than one way we can make sense of ourselves and our experiences, because our lives are much richer than any one story that can be told of us.

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The way we ‘story’ ourselves can be fluid – there is more than one way we can make sense of ourselves and our experiences.

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How I Work

My practice is primarily based off Attachment Theory, Narrative Therapy and Person-Centred Therapy (PCT), and where appropriate, I draw on Internal Family Systems (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) as well as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to complement that primary base.

As a general rule, Attachment Theory and PCT inform my understanding of the therapeutic attributes of the counselling relationship itself, while Narrative Therapy often provides the ‘tools’ of my practice as well as how I make sense of the person in front of me and the problems they might be navigating.

Narrative Therapy also has a specific understanding around the idea that people experience challenges when they define themselves by only whatever the problem (that brought them to counselling) tells them they are, and moreover, that they begin to flourish when they are able to define themselves as more than the problem that brought them in.

You can read more in depth about how Narrative Therapy might shape my understanding of a problem brought to therapy, as well as my approach to practice here.

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Narrative Therapy has a specific understanding around the idea that people experience challenges when they define themselves by only whatever the problem (that brought them to counselling) tells them they are, and moreover, that they begin to flourish when they are able to define themselves as more than the problem that brought them in.

What I Can Help With

I work primarily with youth and young adults. If you or a loved one falls outside of that age group but you’d still like to work with me, feel free to send an enquiry.

Below are the kinds of issues I frequently provide support around:

  • Identity challenges

  • Christian spirituality

  • General spirituality

  • Processing confusion

  • Self-esteem

  • Processing of grief

  • Making life decisions

  • Stress and burnout

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Friendship challenges

  • Processing anger

  • Setting boundaries

  • Processing of relationship issues and finding a way forward

  • Where you are wanting to build on your existing strengths (more of a strengths-focused conversation)

  • Self-harm

  • Suicidal ideation

Bookings

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  • My rates are $115 per 50 minute session.

    Please send an enquiry if you wish to discuss fees or possible funding options.

  • I am available for online or in-person sessions on the following days: 

    Tuesdays

    Auckland CBD - please enquire for more info.

    Wednesdays

    The Practice

    498 Hibiscus Coast Highway, Ōrewa

  • Email: anniebrowncounselling@gmail.com

    Mobile: +64 204 585 384

    I aim to respond within 24 hours.

    Please note: I am not available to attend to crisis. If you are in urgent need of support please contact 111 if your life is in danger, or any one of these 24/7 helplines:

    Crisis Assessment Team (CAT): 09 4868900

    Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865

    Oranga Tamariki (Child Protection Services): 0508 326 459

    Youthline: Free text (234), or call (0800 376 633), https://www.youthline.co.nz/

    The Lowdown: Free text (5626) or call (0800 111 757), https://thelowdown.co.nz/

    Need to Talk?: Free text (1737) or call (1737), https://1737.org.nz/

    Parent Help: Free call 0800 568 856, http://parenthelp.org.nz/helpline/

“Sometimes the most dangerous thing for kids is the silence that allows them to construct their own stories—stories that almost always cast them as alone and unworthy of love and belonging.”

- Brené Brown