- Neurodiversity Affirming - Holistic Wellbeing - Creative Connection -
Kia ora,
My name is Diva (they/them)
I am a Pākeha, queer, neurodivergent artist and clinical creative arts therapist registered with ANZACATA, the professional body representing creative arts therapists across Aotearoa, Australia and the Asia/Pacific region.
I grew up in Tāmaki Makaurau and Tauranga, and was drawn to the world of creative arts therapies from my background as a visual artist and the impact creativity has had throughout my own wellbeing journey. After completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Auckland University in 2016, my pathway led me to Whitecliffe where I completed the Masters of Arts in Creative Arts Therapies in 2023.
I live in Titirangi with my partner and my cat, Beans. In my spare time I love to dance, read, rock-climb, swim, cook and hang out with pals!
My Approach
Holistic, trauma informed, culturally aware, and neurodiverse, queer, and gender affirming approaches guide inter-modal exploration in my practice. This includes a combination of creative processes and talking, and a variety of modalities such as visual art making, narrative, movement, drama, and play, as well as psychoeducation, and visualisation and mindfulness techniques.
Grounded in a person-centred and strengths-based approach to therapy, I invite people to lead the way in their own therapeutic journey, travelling together with their supports and whānau, and working collaboratively with the arts to explore experiences, identity and expression.
"Art becomes a record of the self in the process of becoming"
- Jessica Masino Drass
Experience
My therapeutic experience is in group and 1:1 contexts working with young people with diverse life experiences from primary to young adult ages, supporting general well-being, neurodiversity, mental health, and the LGBTTQIA+ community. With experience in schools and community organisations over the past four years, these roles involve working with clients to explore identity and self-expression through the arts, tools for anxiety and regulation, growing confidence and social connections, and discovering strengths and skills.
I bring specialised knowledge around neurodiversity and neuroaffirming practice to my mahi, as well as lived experience, and incorporate elements of Mindfulness, Internal Family Systems, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy approaches.
My approach honors embodied and relational ways of being, and invites curiosity around our environment, the systems around us, and the stories we carry.
