Real. Present. Deeply Human.
About Darinee Turnwald
I’m Darinee Turnwald — a mental health and trauma therapist based in Katikati, working with adults, teens, and children across Aotearoa.
I’m also someone who’s been through it.
Over 30 years ago, I was navigating my own childhood trauma and living with daily chronic pain. It affected my body, my emotions, and how I moved through life. I didn’t just want relief — I wanted to understand it.
To heal. That desire shaped everything that came next.
My Path to Therapy
I began by studying naturopathy, drawn to the way natural health treats the whole person. I learned how to support the body — but I also knew I needed to go deeper. So I trained in social work and spent years working in communities, supporting people through some of life’s hardest moments. From there, I specialised in trauma and mental health, with a focus on neuroscience-based, somatic, and expressive therapies.
Today, I weave it all together:
Body, Mind, and Soul
to offer gentle, personalised therapy that meets you exactly where you are.
What I Believe
I believe you're the expert in your own life.
I believe the body holds wisdom.
I believe healing happens when we feel safe enough to soften.
I believe therapy should be practical, creative, and sometimes even full of laughter.
And I believe in starting exactly where you are: overwhelmed, numb, exhausted, uncertain and going from there.
My Approach
I work holistically, blending:
Somatic Therapy
Listening to the body’s signals and calming the nervous system.
Havening Techniques®
Gentle, touch-based therapy grounded in neuroscience.
Interactive Drawing Therapy
Expressive, non-verbal work that supports deep emotional processing.
Naturopathy
Lifestyle and self-care support.
You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. You don’t have to have the right words. You just have to show up, and I’ll meet you there.
Who I Work With
I work with adults, teenagers, and children — especially those navigating:
Anxiety and emotional overwhelm
Depression or disconnection
Trauma, PTSD, and childhood wounds
Chronic pain
Grief
School refusal or self-harm
Life transitions, identity, and burnout
I also accept referrals from the Western Bay of Plenty PHO, The Katikati Community Centre and Oranga Tamariki and Intensive wrap around Service (IWS).
If you live in the Western Bay of Plenty, you may be eligible for six fully funded counselling sessions. I’m happy to guide you through the process -just get in touch.
A bit more about me & Nichiren Buddhism
I live in the countryside with my husband, 3 rowdy boys (well 2 have left home but visit often enough) a bunch of animals, and a wildly overgrown garden full of dahlias and dreams. I’m trying to convince my husband to let me turn a paddock into a full dahlia field (watch this space).
I’m not a polished therapist in a white coat. I’m real, I have wrinkles and cellulite, and wear jeans and sneakers to work. I’ve also struggled big time, and I've done the work (Well, that’s an ongoing process).
What I do know is your struggle is unique to you. But inside you, you have this incredible innate potential full of wisdom and courage, it's just currently clouded with what's going on for you right now. Lets clear the fog. Firstly, we work on creating a sense of safety. Together, we will use different strategies to calm your nervous system. I am eclectic in my approach to therapy as I have many skills in my kete that I draw on. You will learn how to rewire your brain.
A change in one's state of mind can change everything.
We dive deep (well as deep as you want to go and at your pace), finding your inner wisdom and strength to expand and take the action you need to move forward in your life. I bring my full self to this work — my training, my wairua, and my lived experience. I show up with honesty and compassion, and I will never expect you to go anywhere I haven’t gone myself.
My clients comment that they are so grateful for the way I work.
A bit about Nichiren Buddhism
I started practising Nichiren Buddhism in my 20’s and it is an integral part of who I am today. Nichiren Buddhism teaches that it is not our environment that makes us happy or unhappy. It is a change within our heart and mind. Way back in 1275 Nichiren Daishonin encouraged us to ‘become the master of our mind rather than let your mind master you’ and ‘it is the heart that is important”. Buddhism is the highest form of psychology, neuroscience and psychotherapy rolled into one. As a Buddhist, I believe in the dignity of life and that we all have this incredible potential within us
If you want to know about Nichiren Buddhism just ask me. FYI I do not talk about my Buddhist practice in sessions uless I am asked.
Ko wai au - Who am I
Ko Panguru te maunga
Ko Whakarapa te awa
Ko Ngāti Manawa te hapū
Ko Tiapakeke te tangata
Ko Te Rarawa te iwi
Ko Maungataniwha te maunga
Ko Tāpapā te awa
Ko Ngātokimatawhaorua te waka
Ko Mangamuka te marae
Ko Ngāpuhi te whare tūpuna
Puhi Kai Ariki
Puhi Moana Ariki
Puhi Taniwha Rau
Ko Nukutawhiti te rangatira o runga
Ko Te Uri Mahoe te hapū
Ko Ngāpuhi te iwi
Ko Darinee Turnwald tōku ingoa
Why Kōwhai Therapy?
The Kowhai has always touched my heart
Ka mutu te hōtoke, ka puāwai tuatahi te kōwhai — he tohu kōura o te tūmanako me te kaha kei roto i a tātou. Ahakoa te makariri, te pōuri nui rawa, ka hoki mai anō a koanga.
As winter ends, the kōwhai is the first to bloom — a golden reminder of the hope and strength within us. Even after the coldest, darkest times, spring always returns
Darinee
I am a mental health and trauma therapist based in Katikati, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.
Tel: 0212610116
Email: darinee.turnwald@gmail.com
Katikati Community Centre
45 Beach Road
Katikati 3178
I work from the Katikati Community Centre, from home, schools and Zoom
