Narelle Nichelsen (Psychologist)
Overview
Narelle is a registered Counselling Psychologist who values a non-judgmental space and works with people's strengths to identify areas for growth and change. Her practice is person-centred, encouraging open communication and self-reflection while teaching emotional regulation and coping skills.
Narelle holds a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology) from Macquarie University and a Master of Arts in Psychology from Sydney University. She is a member of the New Zealand Psychological Society and DAPAANZ, and is a DAPAANZ accredited clinical supervisor. Originally trained as a nurse, Narelle has worked in therapeutic settings in Australia and New Zealand since 1995.
Skills and Experience
Narelle specialises in emotional awareness and regulation, resilience and wellbeing, mood imbalances, anxiety (including separation, social, and phobias), OCD and exposure and response prevention, and behaviour change including gaming and gambling. She also works with familial and relationship dynamics, parenting, identity exploration, neurodiversity, attachment, trauma, grief, and loss.
Narelle has worked within the Preventing and Minimising Gambling Harm sector in Aotearoa in clinical, training, and leadership roles. She specialises in supporting family members affected by someone else's addiction and mental health issues.
Supervision Approach
Narelle is an experienced group facilitator and educator, with qualifications including Level 5 certification in Supervision Skills for Health & Social Service Professionals (Unitec). She is a trainer in the 5-Step Method of Counselling, Single Session Consultation, and Client Directed Outcome Measures (Miller and Duncan). Narelle mentors and supports a small number of supervisees alongside her clinical practice.
She regularly updates her expertise, recently completing workshops in exposure therapy for phobias and social anxiety, trauma-informed care, autism and Pathological Demand Avoidance, and ACT for OCD. Narelle is currently working toward accreditation as a Sandplay practitioner with the International Society for Sandplay Therapy.
