About the service
Happiness House is a not-for-profit community centre, committed to the wellbeing of the community. Our
organisation therefore offers free counselling by a registered counsellor to those in the Whakatipu. There are
no criteria to participate in the service. We only ask that people read information about how the counsellor
works before agreeing to proceed.
You can expect the following: We provide approximately 5-6 sessions, each of a 50-minute duration. Extra
sessions can be negotiated if necessary. The service is available on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
between 9am and 2pm and Tuesdays 9am to 12pm. (Note these hours may vary depending on counsellor
availability).

Counselling approach
We work with a range of experiences including relationships, grief and loss, anxiety and depression. Our work
is with adults. Our approach is underpinned by a belief that people know about their own lives and experiences more than anyone else. We all have stories that have been shaped by our experiences and we work to address the stories that do not work for you and, together, find ways that fit more with your hopes and preferences.
We are committed to:
• Act with care and respect
• Avoid doing harm
• Actively support working in culturally appropriate ways
• Promote the safety and wellbeing of those who consult us
• Seek out further support/opportunities if these are needed

Ethical conduct and supervision
Counsellors are registered with a professional body such as the New Zealand Association of Counsellors
(NZAC).
It is an established practice for counsellors to talk with a supervisor about clients in order to provide the best
possible service. The counsellor’s supervisor is also responsible to a professional Code of Ethics. If a situation
occurs where you or others are in serious and imminent risk of harm, all possible steps will be taken to address
this together and the counsellor will discuss this with their supervisor.

Confidentiality and informed consent
• A counsellor has a duty to protect what you say in confidence.
• This means the counsellor will not disclose your private information and stories unless you give
consent to do so and where:
  > there is serious risk to you or others - we will take all possible steps to address this. This may
mean informing a supervisor or others who can assist us to manage the risk; and
  > if a court subpoena requires the provision of counselling notes.

Contact Happiness House staff to find the right counsellor for you. It may be
our own staff member or another counsellor in the community.
We welcome your inquiries.

See here for social services available at Happiness House.