Online Video Consultations
Counselling Psychologist
Phoenix Norden is one of our Auckland Consultants
I am a registered Counselling Psychologist working in private practice in Auckland, seeing clients both face-to-face and online. I am currently in training with Sex Therapy New Zealand and have worked with both individual and couple clients presenting with a range of struggles within the area of sex such as desire, rebuilding after infidelity, sexual pain, sexual intimacy, and sexual identity.
I am passionate about working with clients to make sense of what they think, feel, and want in terms of sex and intimacy, and support them in communicating this to their partner(s). Or in the case of working with more than one person in the room, support them to collaboratively and respectfully cocreate the sexual/intimate landscape they want to have.
I take a client-centred, holistic approach to therapy, with each session being tailored to you and your presenting needs. I provide a confidential and non-judgemental environment and with my authenticity and warmth, aim to create a strong therapeutic relationship to assist clients in feeling safe to bring their genuine selves to therapy and work through what is important to them.
I utilise the Developmental model of working with relationships as well as incorporating skills from other modalities such as ACT, CBT or DBT to assist clients in reaching their therapeutic goals.
My fee is $250.00 including GST per 50-minute session. Please also be aware that once made, appointments not kept or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice will be charged. This service is only available to people who are in New Zealand at the time of the consult or to New Zealanders overseas.
Registered Psychologist
Emily West is one of our Auckland Consultants
Welcome, I’m Emily West
Sexuality, intimacy, and relationships can be deeply rewarding, but they can also bring pain, confusion, and emotional overwhelm, especially when health challenges or past experiences get in the way. My role is to provide a safe, respectful, and non-judgmental space where you can explore your experiences, build confidence, and find ways forward that truly work for you.
I am a psychologist and sex therapist, having supported many people navigating sexuality, sexual pain, chronic pain, intimacy challenges, health conditions and the emotional impact these can have. My approach is holistic, grounded in the biopsychosocial model, and draws on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance Commitment Therapy, tailored to your unique needs, because every person’s story is different. (Please note: I currently offer individual therapy, not couples therapy.)
How Can I Support You
I work with people facing:
Painful sex (including endometriosis, vaginismus, vulvodynia, and pelvic pain)
Changes in desire or arousal
Building sexual confidence and self-esteem
Communication challenges
Navigating the impact of chronic pain or health conditions on sexuality
Healing from Trauma and its effect on sex and relationships
What Can You Expect in Therapy?
A safe, inclusive space where you can be open without fear of judgment. I use evidence-based strategies to help you meet your goals and an approach that values compassion, collaboration, and your whole wellbeing. We will go at a pace that feels right for you.
Sessions
$210 per 50-minute session (incl. GST). Appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, or not attended, will be charged in full. Sessions are available in person (North Shore, Auckland) and online to people in New Zealand.
Your Path Forward
Whether you’re looking to reduce pain, rediscover pleasure, strengthen communication or navigate the challenges that come with intimacy, therapy can be a place to start. The first step is simply reaching out to explore what therapy could look like and whether it feels right for you. If you’re curious, I’d love to hear from you.
Emily West
Registered Social Worker, BSCW, PGDip CCPT, (SWRB, ANZASW)
Claire is one of our South Canterbury Sex Therapy Consultants.
She works in South Canterbury and is also available via video call NZ wide.
Sex Therapy and Sex Education has become a real passion of mine in recent years. I consider working in partnership with people to find solutions to important, challenging and painful issues to be a real privilege. My professional experience is in Social work with children, families and adults since 2011 and in 2019 I began working as a therapist. I currently work in the areas of sexual trauma, sex education for caregivers and supporting adults around sexualised behaviours in children. In my parenting work with caregivers, I often find the sessions lead into issues for the couple and this has become a real interest of mine – helping couples to navigate their needs as well as their children’s.
I am currently engaged in the Advanced Sex Therapy Training that STNZ offer. I see sex and relationships as being things that are impacted by many factors and utilise the bio-pyscho-social model in assessment. I come from a Person-Centred Therapy model, and use trauma informed, brain development, somatic approaches and CBT in my work. My strengths as a therapist are being approachable and real, bringing myself as a human being to the therapy space.
Areas of interest and expertise:
- Women’s health
- The complexities faith-based messaging can have on leading a fulfilling and healthy sex life and relationship.
- Trauma
- Communication in relationships.
I look forward to hearing from you and working side by side together.
My fee is $165 inc GST, per 50 minute individual session, $247.50 for couple's session (75-85 minutes). Please also be aware that once made, appointments not kept or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice will be charged. This service is only available to people who are in New Zealand at the time of the consult or to New Zealanders overseas
Registered Counsellor
Warren is one of our Christchurch based consultants
Welcome to this journey
As we navigate the complexities of intimacy, relationships, and sexuality, having a safe and supportive space to explore our thoughts and feelings is crucial. I'm committed to providing a culturally sensitive and respectful environment where you can feel heard and understood, surrounded by manaakitanga (respect and empathy). I'm currently in training with Sex Therapy New Zealand, enhancing my skills for holistic support.
A Safe Space for Connection
With over 20 years of experience as a counsellor, I offer face-to-face counselling in Christchurch and online sessions. My approach prioritizes whakapapa (genealogy and heritage), whanaungatanga (family and relationships), and hauora (health and well-being), acknowledging the interconnectedness of our well-being and relationships.
Areas of Support
I will provide support in the following areas:
- Relationship challenges and intimacy issues
- Sexual concerns and abuse
- Trauma and attachment issues
- Building healthy relationships and communication
- Exploring and understanding your sexuality
Working Together
In our sessions, you can expect:
- A commitment to manaakitanga (respect and empathy) in every interaction
- Collaboration to find solutions that work for you, at your pace.
Inclusive and respectful support, honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi (Treaty of Waitangi) and our shared humanity
Fees
$165 per 50-minute session. Late cancellations and no-shows will be charged. Available to NZ residents and citizens overseas.
Let's Take the First Step
Take the first step towards healing and connection. Contact me today.
Warren Mason
JP, B.Com., Dip. Couns., MNZAC, DPAANZ, Counsellor
Consultant
Sheridan is one of our Nelson Consultants
Kia ora,
My name is Sheridan Duncan, I am a therapist based in Nelson, New Zealand. I’m passionate about supporting people to explore, discover, or reclaim their sexual well-being and identity, and to build healthy, fulfilling intimate relationships.
With warmth and compassion, I offer a person-centred approach that is both strengths-based and trauma-informed. My favoured therapeutic modalities are IFS and EMDR therapy.
Whether you're seeking deeper connection with yourself and/or others, healing from past experiences, or navigating questions around sexuality, I’m here to walk alongside you with care and support.
As a registered social worker who is in training with Sex Therapy New Zealand, my fee is $165.00 including GST per 50-minute session. Please be aware that once made, appointments not kept or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice will be charged. This service is only available to people who are in New Zealand at the time of the consult or to New Zealanders overseas.
Ngā mihi mahana,
Sheridan Duncan
Sexologist, Occupational Therapist
Angela is one of our Taranaki Sex Therapy Consultants
I’m a qualified Sexologist, Occupational Therapist, and rainbow ally, specialising in supporting individuals, couples, and people in diverse relationship structures to navigate sexuality, intimacy, communication, and connection.
I help clients develop a healthy, empowered relationship with their sexual thoughts, desires, fantasies, behaviours, and identities — always with compassion, curiosity, and respect. I am kink and BDSM aware. I believe every relationship deserves the tools, space, and support to grow, and I’m here to help you reconnect with yourself and others.
Whether you're single, in a long-term relationship, exploring new relational models, or practicing consensual non-monogamy, I offer a safe, inclusive space to explore what’s working — and what’s not — without judgment or pressure.
My work supports both, individuals trying to understand their sexual behaviours and, couples facing desire discrepancies, emotional disconnection, conflict, infidelity, and the complex transitions that can arise through parenting, illness, or identity shifts. I also work with multi-partner relationships, navigating trust, boundaries, and relational clarity.
Together, we’ll work holistically — integrating emotional, physical, relational and sexual wellbeing — to support meaningful, lasting change in your relationship with yourself and others.
My fee is $145 (incl. GST) per 50-minute individual session, and $190.00 (incl. GST) for a 65-minute couple's session. Please also be aware that appointments not kept or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice will incur a charge. This service is only available to people who are in New Zealand at the time of the consultation or to New Zealanders overseas.
I offer ONLINE consults only presently
Clinical Psychologist
Linee is one of our Central Auckland Consultants
I am a clinical psychologist specialising in sex and relationship therapy, working with individuals and couples who want more connection, fulfilment, and aliveness in their intimate lives. I’m based in Ellerslie, Auckland and also offer online sessions.
I am drawn to this work because I have seen the difference meaningful change in this area can make. When sex shifts from something tense, avoided, or uncertain to something more open and satisfying, the impact on connection, wellbeing, and life satisfaction is often significant.
Who I Work With
I work with individuals and couples across many stages of their lives and relationships. This includes partners who feel they have “lost the spark,” who describe themselves as more like flatmates than lovers, or who are navigating changes in desire, intimacy, or connection.
I also support individuals and couples facing sexual functioning concerns, differences in desire, intimacy challenges, or questions about identity and relationship structure.
I offer an inclusive and affirming space for people of all sexual identities and relationship configurations, including monogamous and consensually non-monogamous relationships.
My Approach
As a therapist, I bring warmth and steadiness, along with clarity and direction when needed. We work collaboratively and at a pace that feels manageable, exploring sexual concerns not only as physical difficulties but as part of your wider emotional and relational world.
My aim is to create a space where conversations about sex can feel safe, respectful, and free from judgement, and to support you in building a sex life and relationship that feel more authentic, pleasurable, and connected.
Fees
My fee is $200 (incl. GST) per 50-minute individual session and $230 (incl. GST) per 50-minute couples session. Late cancellations and missed appointments are charged at the full session fee.
Registered Counsellor
Sunitha is one of our Northwest Auckland Consultants
I’m Sunitha, a certified trauma, relationship, and sex therapist, and an ACC sexual abuse/ sensitive claims practitioner.
Sexuality, intimacy, and relationships can be sources of deep connection and meaning, and they can also be places where people feel confused, distressed, or emotionally overwhelmed. This is especially true when past experiences, trauma, or ongoing life challenges affect how safe, connected, or at ease we feel with ourselves, our bodies or with ( intimate) relationships with others.
My work offers a calm, respectful, and non-judgmental space where you can explore what you’re experiencing, make sense of it, and begin to find ways forward that feel supportive and right for you.
How I Work
My work sits at the intersection of trauma therapy, relationship therapy, and sex therapy. I support individuals, partners, and couples across diverse relationship structures, including people exploring sexual identity, sexuality, gender identity, and experiences of transitioning.
Sexual concerns are rarely just about sex. They are often shaped by how the nervous system responds to safety and threat, how we relate to ourselves and others, and how past experiences influence intimacy, desire, and communication. By working across these overlapping areas, therapy can address the fuller picture of what is happening for you.
Difficulties with desire, intimacy, communication, or connection are understood not as personal failures, but as understandable responses shaped by life experience, relationships, and the body’s learning around safety and closeness.
Areas I Support
I work with people who are navigating:
• Desire and arousal concerns
• Differences in sexual desire within relationships
• Sexual identity and sexuality, including exploration, questioning, and change
• Gender identity and experiences of transitioning
• The impact of trauma on sex, intimacy, and relationships
• Communication, boundaries, and consent
• Feeling disconnected from the body or unsure of needs
• Chronic Pain and Disease
• Relationship strain linked to intimacy or emotional closeness, and cultural and religious issues
What Therapy With Me Can Feel Like
Our work together is collaborative and paced with care. We slow things down and gently explore what is happening for you — in your body, your emotions, and your relationships. Many people find that as they become clearer about what they need and more able to express boundaries and consent, they feel steadier in difficult conversations and more connected with themselves and with others.
Therapy is not about fixing or forcing change, but about building understanding, safety, and choice over time.
Practical Details
I offer sessions in person and online. My practice is based in Whenuapai, Auckland, and is easily accessible from the North Shore, Central Auckland, and West Auckland.
Sessions are $175 (GST incl) for a 60-minute appointment. Appointments cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice, or not attended, are charged in full.
Considering Therapy
Starting therapy doesn’t require certainty or having everything worked out. It can simply be a place to pause, to be met with care, and to begin understanding yourself and your relationships in a new way. As such, I offer a free 20 minute introduction session to further explore working together to support your needs and hopes for the relationship with yourself and others that you are wanting.
MCouns, NZRN, MNZAC
Debbie Penlington is a senior consultant in Tauranga
I particularly enjoy working with individuals or couples who are experiencing sexual, emotional or intimacy issues, supporting them to make their relationship and sex lives as fulfilling and enjoyable as possible.
Common issues include lack of closeness and connection; desire differences; self acceptance and body image; difficulty talking about sexual needs and preferences; sexual pain; performance anxiety; confusion over sexual orientation; affairs; erectile dysfunction and pornography. I find the combination of my nursing and counselling experience also enables me to work effectively with clients where health issues / illness is impacting on their ability to maintain a satisfying close, intimate or sexual relationship.
I believe that every couple's relationship is special and different from all other relationships. Over time, cycles or patterns can develop in a relationship which make it difficult for partners to hear each other, neither partner is right or wrong - both just see the same situation from different perspectives. With my support each partner can better understand what is happening for them in the relationship, how this may be influenced by their previous experiences and how they impact on their partner.
My approach is strongly influenced by the work of Dr Sue Johnson who developed Emotionally Focussed Therapy (EFT) in the 1980's. EFT is one of the very few approaches to relationship issues that has had research on its effectiveness carried out. Compared to other approaches findings have been very positive showing that relationships of 80-90% of couples receiving EFT improved and 60% of these maintained their improvements or continued to improve. I work from rooms in the Tauranga CBD
My fee is $185.00 inc GST. Please also be aware that once made, appointments not kept or cancelled with less than 24 hours’ notice will be charged. This service is only available to people who are in New Zealand at the time of the consult or to New Zealanders overseas.