About Clare
Kia ora | Hello. I’m Clare Rousseau, a psychotherapy practitioner based in Pōneke, Central Wellington and online.
I offer psychotherapy to support people in deepening self-awareness, healing trauma and relational wounds, developing thriving relationships - both personal and professional, and creating more fulfilling lives.
I believe that at the heart of a good life are good relationships.
We are born out of and into relationships.
We come to know ourselves through relationships.
We learn, grow, contribute, create, and play in relationships.
We are hurt (❕) —and we heal ( 🌱 )— in relationships.
We leave our mark on the people around us and carry each other with us in the world.
And when we leave this life, our legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of those we’ve touched.
So the cycle continues.
My Philosophy
My work is shaped by my own journey of healing from early relational trauma—a process that at times has felt more challenging, shaming, and tumultuous than it needed to be. I know firsthand that being a client can be bloody hard work, and I believe that your commitment should be recognised and celebrated.
Qualifications, Training and Therapeutic Orientation
I have a Masters in Science with Distinction (Consciousness, Spirituality, and Transpersonal Psychology). My undergraduate degree was a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Philosophy. I completed a counselling training nearly 15 years ago and have been in private practice offering therapy for about six years. Prior to that I worked as a coach, facilitator, and trainer in community and organisational contexts. I am in my second year of a three-year psychotherapy programme for experienced mental health professionals (GPs, psychiatrists, counsellors, psychotherapists, and other allied health professions) already working in psychotherapy and counselling.
My approach draws from psychodynamic psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, somatic therapy, and the neurobiology of trauma. I also draw on training and experience in improvisational theatre; yoga, breathwork, and meditation (200-hr YTT); non-violent communication; and awareness-based systems leadership. I believe my experience writing, playing and producing music, as well as being an avid music consumer, supports me in being able to attune to what is happening for you, and between us.
Alongside my clinical training and experience, I have significant experience with the public sector, having previously worked in senior roles across strategy, policy, communications, and organisational development - primarily across the social and justice sectors, including at the New Zealand Treasury. This background allows me to see both the big picture—the interconnectedness of things—and the deeply personal, inner aspect of our lives.
I understand that opening up about certain parts of your mind or life can feel uncomfortable, sometimes even shameful. Many of us carry beliefs, passed down through our families and culture, that certain emotions or experiences are bad or wrong. Or we might feel that deep down, we are bad or wrong. While it’s important to acknowledge how we impact ourselves and others, these judgments can make it difficult to seek support.
The irony is that the very places we feel discomfort or shame are often where the greatest transformation happens. Our early experiences shape us profoundly, and while healing is our responsibility, we have, in many ways, inherited much of our psyche from the generations before us.
I commit to holding a non-judgmental, open, and expansive space where all parts of you are welcome. Your thoughts, emotions, sensations, experiences, dreams, stories, beliefs, desires, essence, and the parts that may be hard to name.
Supervision, Personal Psychotherapy and Inner Work
My work is grounded in ongoing supervision and a strong commitment to my own therapeutic process.
I currently undertake regular supervision with three registered psychotherapists in New Zealand and Australia, including a Jungian analyst and two Conversational Model practitioners, one of whom brings a background in British Object Relations. I also engage in ad hoc consultations with other specialists where needed, to ensure my work is well supported. From 2021 to 2025, I participated in fortnightly group supervision with a small group of psychodynamic psychotherapists.
Alongside formal training and supervision, my work is shaped by my own personal psychotherapy and inner work over many years.
My early life included experiences that have required me to engage deeply with the impacts of trauma held in the body-psyche, particularly in very early, pre-verbal stages of development—my mother’s illness during her eighth month of pregnancy with me, and being dropped when I was only five days old. As a result, my therapeutic journey has extended beyond classical psychotherapy to include work with specialist practitioners in areas such as perinatal trauma and rongoā Māori.
This has allowed me to cultivate the specific kind of presence needed to meet these non-verbal layers of experience—where shock, terror, helplessness, and grief are often held outside of language.
Having done this work myself, I am better equipped to offer a steady, patient presence for the parts of you that may find it difficult to trust, feel safe, or put words to what is happening. I am comfortable sitting with the wordless layers of intensity that may arise, and supporting a gradual movement toward integration and a more settled sense of self.
Beyond Private Practice
I am passionate about empowering people and systems to heal, and I am exploring ways to open-source what I am learning, so that healing can be more widely accessible.
Outside of my work, I love immersing myself in nature — especially hiking and being in the ocean; playing and writing music and poetry; and experimenting in the kitchen, particularly when it comes to pairing wine and food!
Want to know more about psychotherapy
If you’re not sure about what psychotherapy is, you may like to explore the videos on my About Psychotherapy page.
Ready to Begin?
If you’re curious about working together, I invite you to reach out. Let’s explore whether psychotherapy with me is the right fit for you.