I seek to become a human who can respond, rather than a human who reacts. I notice when I move our of reactivity, my experience of life feels better. I feel freer. It helps me to connect to calm when the inevitable storms of life arrive. ​ I’m now in my 5th decade of life. I am a mother (sons aged 2, 18 and a daughter of 15), a partner, a sister, a daughter, a friend, a cat-adorer. I have lived in Auckland’s west for 20 years and have developed a recent love of both hiking and mountain biking in the beautiful Waitakeres. ​ I spent four and a half years working as a counsellor in Adult Mental Health recovery, and shifted into private practice in 2020. I have depth and breadth of experience in having conversations with people about all manner of problems and difficulties that are troubling their lives. ​ I have said to all three of my kids at times: "The best life skill you can develop is to tolerate difficulty". That may sound negative to some, but I have found (along with my clients) that increasing my/our capacity to meet the uncertainties of life and living really does place one in really good stead for being able to live a life of greater ease. And the greater our personal agility the more energy we can access to enjoy life. Reactivity takes so much precious life energy - wouldn't you like to begin to respond to life instead? ​ I look forward to meeting you and speaking together ​ Hilary