My Story

Hello and welcome to my website

My name is Claire Lefevre. I am a counsellor in private practice since 2010. I offer individual counselling in English and in French. My practice is in Remuera, and I also offer online and phone sessions NZ-wide. 

I have had a passion for travel all my life. Travelling feeds and fulfils my curiosity about the world and people, and my taste for new experiences and for continuous growth. Over time, I have come to realize that travelling can take different forms. One of them is the inner journey of self-knowledge and personal development.
This passion for discovery transfers to my work with clients. I am always interested to meet new people and have the privilege to help them on their individual journey. Each time, I am curious to see where the work will take us and I understand the need to be both clear about a destination for the journey ahead and open to unexpected detours and surprises along the way.  

I was born and grew up in France. I also lived in Ireland and Germany before calling Auckland, and New Zealand, my home. From those migrations, I understand the excitement, the joy but also the challenges and stress involved in getting used to new environments; the hopes and investment that accompanies significant decisions and momentous changes; and the questions around identity and belonging that come when we try and shape a life true to our desires.
These migrations help me understand a wide range of perspectives, experiences and emotions both through my own journey and through contact with different people. They also feed a belief that with time and conscious engagement, we can find balance and steadiness through any upheaval.

Helping people has been a theme throughout my life. Before re-training as a counsellor, I worked for over ten years in the airline industry as front staff on the ground. I worked in several positions and organizations and experienced being part of small, medium and large teams and businesses. As a young adult, I worked as a nanny and a waitress.
​During those years, I developed the basis of strong listening skills, focus on clients needs and the capacity to handle stressful situations with a practical, client-oriented approach. I also developed a first-hand experience of the opportunities and challenges that come with working in a corporate environment, and the challenges of learning to be self-employed and being your own structure. 

I believe that relationships are at the center of the human experience: relationship with self and others; personal and professional; with significant others, people in general, the wider context of society and cultures, the global world, the planet; and ultimately, our relationship with what guides and sustains us spiritually, whatever words we choose to express it.
This focus on relationships strongly informs my work with clients, both in my intention to develop a collaborative, warm and supportive environment with each individual, but also in making sure that the work we do benefits to the wider context of their life and strengthens their sense of being connected and supported.

Personal values of honesty, steadfastness and a bit of humor thrown in the mix have guided me on my life journey and continue to inform my practice.

Credentials and Approach

I qualified in 2010 for the Diploma of Psychosynthesis Counselling provided by the Institute of Psychosynthesis NZ and have been in private practice ever since.

Psychosynthesis takes an evolving approach to psychology. It offers a model for personal development that continues to grow with new research and findings, and draws from a wide range of frameworks and techniques. This means that I have a wide range of tools and strategies at my disposal and the ability to tailor my approach to suit the needs of each client individually. Your needs in counselling are the lead rather than the modality I use so you can feel truly heard and supported in your experience.
For more information on Psychosynthesis, please check: https://psptrust.org.nz/about-psychosynthesis/​, the website of the organization that has now replaced The Institute of Psychosynthesis NZ. 

I also studied Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. MBCBT promotes a more goal-oriented, structured and time-bound approach. This has enabled me to strengthen my skills in providing effective, fast-acting relief, and identifying practical and manageable solutions with my clients.  

Over my years in practice, I have become increasingly interested in the Mind-Body connection and the contribution of neuroscience to the understanding of the human experience.  
My training in Psychosynthesis sparked an interest in a holistic approach that integrates thoughts and a verbal articulation of problems and solutions, but also taps into physical manifestations and emotions as a source of information and guidance.
Brain research developments feed into this interest as it shows that there is a complex interplay between mind and body, and therefore between physical and mental health. In the simplest form, this means that emotional and psychological states can manifest physically in the body, and physical health can influence mental well-being. It also means that by learning to acknowledge what our body expresses and by understanding our feelings, we can harness sources of information that can contribute positively to our cognitive decision making. 
Neuroscience also reminds us of the life-long plasticity of the brain (although it does arguably lessen with time) and our capability to learn, grow and heal until our dying day - a fact that holds much hope, I believe.