In a time of heightened social and political awareness of mental health issues and needs in the community, psychology services are feeling the pressure.  It’s in this environment that Massey University’s well-established Centre for Psychology – a clinic located above the Albany Public Library in Albany village ­– continues to grow its services and staff to help address the needs of the community under the leadership of its new director Louise Morgan.

“With a full team and a wide range of expertise, our clinic is keen to provide workshops and groups for the community, focusing on areas of need such as building resilience, social skills, managing anxiety and depression, mindfulness, emotional wellbeing and stress management,” says Louise Morgan.

“Our team is currently in the process of engaging with a number of North Shore schools, non-governmental organisations and medical centres to gain a greater understanding of the needs of the community in order to develop groups and workshops to meet these needs.”

The whakataukī (Māori proverb) shared by the centre and the clinical psychology programme it is associated with is Ka whiria te harakeke; kia mura te muka (Abraid the flax to reveal the silken threads).

“This whakataukī was developed by Māori psychologists and kaumātua to symbolise the work required of staff and students on the journey towards fostering the development of culturally competent clinical psychologists,” Louise says.

“It also resonates with the key values and goals of the clinic – to walk beside those who are struggling and facing difficulties in life; to find the strengths within – the silken threads; to acknowledge these strengths and values, and to weave what has been revealed into something of strength, beauty, meaning and purpose.”

Team strengths

Louise has worked as a clinical psychologist across a wide range of fields including health, child and family, older adult, and private practice, and has been involved in supervision, and in teaching and training psychology at university level, at both Massey University and Auckland University of Technology (AUT). 

Her new role brings her full circle as a Massey alumnus – she completed her undergraduate training in psychology at Massey’s Manawatū campus, and she was an inaugural student at the Albany campus, completing a post-graduate diploma in social policy and social work in 1993. She later completed a master’s degree in psychology, and postgraduate diploma in clinical psychology, both through the Massey’s clinical programme, graduating in 2005.

The core team at the centre includes senior clinical psychologists Kay Mathewson and Kirsty Furness, and clinical psychologist Pixie Armstrong-Barrington (Whakatōhea).

Kay Mathewson has more than 15 years’ experience working with children, young people and families; while Kirsty Furness has expertise in a range of therapies and mindfulness-based interventions.

Pixie Armstrong-Barrington completed her internship at the Centre for Psychology in 2016. Her doctoral research explored treatment barriers for Māori with social anxiety, using a Māori-centred approach. She is committed to the development of Māori mental health and wellbeing, and providing a safe and culturally appropriate service to Māori and other ethnicities.

The team also includes part-time contractors ­– senior clinical psychologists Beverley Haarhoff, who has more than 30 years’ clinical experience and is an expert in the field of CBT; and Dr Snezana Mitrovic-Tosovic, who also has more than 30 years’ clinical experience with expertise in older adults and neuropsychology. The centre also provides placements and internships to students in their final years of clinical training at Massey’s adjoining School of Psychology.

Alongside providing assessment and therapy, the clinic provides low-cost cognitive assessments for children and adults, to assess various learning difficulties across the age span from children and young people to adults.

Personal vision

Louise Morgan sees life as a journey of “ups and downs, twists and turns, joys and struggles” and her role as a therapist as “being someone who shares a part of the journey with people – like a guide helping people to understand their journey, and to get unstuck or make sense of what is happening for them.

“I consider it a privilege to sit alongside someone as they struggle with making sense of some of the challenges of life. I’m encouraged by peoples’ resilience in the face of difficulties, and enjoy helping people discover their strengths and values in order to live life fully.”

If you would like to find out more about workshops, or to make a referral, please contact: centreforpsychology@massey.ac.nz.

More details about the Centre for Psychology: www.psychology-services.massey.ac.nz