Welcome to Wakeham Counselling
Hi my name is Fumiko Wakeham, I am a MNZAC and ACC registered counsellor based in Christchurch.
I have 10 years' experience working in this field including being a placement counsellor for a year at Belfast Mediqual and then at Petersgate Counselling Centre for the next 9 years. I have enjoyed every part of my work journey and feel so appreciative of all the experiences I have had working with |
courageous clients.I feel excited to now be working in private practice at Wakeham Counselling offering therapy in a warm and inviting environment.
My Training and Counselling Experience
I am trained in Person-Centred Therapy (B.counselling), that is based on the belief in our innate tendency and capacity to self-actualise. I will see you as an expert caretaker of your own life, and work with you to deepen your understanding of yourself.
I have experience working with people presenting issues such as:
I have experience working with people presenting issues such as:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Relationship grief and loss
- Injury and chronic pain
- Traumatic experiences (such as earthquake trauma).
For relationship counselling, I use Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy. I work with couples to look at what blocks the growth of their loving connection and collaboratively create new ways of engaging, using experiential steps.
I find this therapy truly engaging and inspiring.
Why I am A Counsellor
astronauts this same feeling when they saw the earth from the space shuttle - the feeling of expansion, wonder, amazement and clarity.
I imagine that their understanding of the world changed dramatically and at the same time gave them a much clearer perspective.
This is why I am so enthusiastic about and have a great love for this field. I not only understand this journey of inner expansion as a student and practitioner, but also as a client.
I understand how challenging this process can be and am excited to accompany you on your journey with compassion and empathy.
I feel privileged and humbled as a counsellor to witness my clients working through their own challenges and flourishing, experiencing greater spaciousness by embracing their inner world and gaining clarity and a new perspective of their life.
I imagine that their understanding of the world changed dramatically and at the same time gave them a much clearer perspective.
This is why I am so enthusiastic about and have a great love for this field. I not only understand this journey of inner expansion as a student and practitioner, but also as a client.
I understand how challenging this process can be and am excited to accompany you on your journey with compassion and empathy.
I feel privileged and humbled as a counsellor to witness my clients working through their own challenges and flourishing, experiencing greater spaciousness by embracing their inner world and gaining clarity and a new perspective of their life.
About Me
Originally from Japan, I came to live in NZ in 1993.
As my children started schooling, I began experiencing personal and cultural challenges.
Back then, as a Japanese person, it was hard for me to have my own opinions and stand on my own feet to express who I was.
This lack of “me-ness” gave me a whole lot of inner struggle and interpersonal difficulties. Becoming your own person is challenging enough for anyone, doing that in a foreign country in your twenties and thirties was like going through a rite of passage again and again.
I understand how tough it feels to not know who you really are and can relate to the pain of failing to find a sense of belonging.
Becoming hybrid, being cut off from your own rooted culture and grafted on to a new culture, brings its own unique challenges, however this life journey has brought me to where I am and who I am today.
However challenging, it has given me a real interest in what it means to become a whole person, which I am deeply grateful for and why I am so passionate about being a counsellor.
As my children started schooling, I began experiencing personal and cultural challenges.
Back then, as a Japanese person, it was hard for me to have my own opinions and stand on my own feet to express who I was.
This lack of “me-ness” gave me a whole lot of inner struggle and interpersonal difficulties. Becoming your own person is challenging enough for anyone, doing that in a foreign country in your twenties and thirties was like going through a rite of passage again and again.
I understand how tough it feels to not know who you really are and can relate to the pain of failing to find a sense of belonging.
Becoming hybrid, being cut off from your own rooted culture and grafted on to a new culture, brings its own unique challenges, however this life journey has brought me to where I am and who I am today.
However challenging, it has given me a real interest in what it means to become a whole person, which I am deeply grateful for and why I am so passionate about being a counsellor.
"May the nourishment of the earth be yours
may the clarity of light be yours
may the fluency of the ocean be yours
may the protection of the ancestors be yours."