Based in Nelson, Aotearoa New Zealand, working locally and online.
About Me
I’m Nicky.
Nurse - Mother - Educator - Writer - Therapist - Storyteller
I've spent more than 30 years as a nurse, and nearly 40 years working in care. I've worked in hospitals, homes and communities, alongside people at the beginning of life, at the end of it, and through much of what happens in between.
I've held space when things fall apart. I've seen what happens when people are truly seen, and what happens when they're not.
I've also burned out and come back. I've changed course more than once, not always because I had a plan, but because eventually I could no longer keep doing life the way I was doing it.
Those experiences changed the way I understand helping.
That's not just a clinical observation or theory. That's my lived experience.
These days, I don't try to fix people. I work alongside them. I listen, and stay present in a way that things can begin to make sense in their own time.
Sometimes that means sitting in the mud with someone while they find their way through it.
That of course looks different for everyone.
I don't believe people need to be continually told what to do. Most of us already know far more than we think we do. What is often missing is enough space, safety and time to come back to ourselves again.
I'm a Registered Nurse with advanced training across Trauma, Attachment, Hypnotherapy, Havening, Nervous System work and many other therapeutic approaches. I bring all of that with me, but I don't begin with a method. I begin with the person in front of me.
I pay attention to what is happening in the body and nervous system as well as what can be understood through words. Sometimes talking is enough. Sometimes there are things we understand intellectually long before the rest of us has caught up.
I also work one-to-one with individuals, with parents and caregivers through Circle of Security™, and with health, education and community organisations through workshops and professional development.
The context changes. My approach doesn't.
Unhurried - Honest - Human
If you'd like to talk, you're welcome to get in touch.
Email me hello@nickycooper.life