Groups | Wai Psychotherapy

Group Programmes at Wai Counselling & Psychotherapy

Group Programmes at Wai Counselling & Psychotherapy

At Wai Counselling & Psychotherapy, our group programmes offer relational, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive spaces for healing, growth, and reconnection.

Our groups are grounded in:

trauma-informed psychotherapy
psychodrama and experiential practice
somatic and body-based approaches
creative arts and ritual
tikanga Māori and whanaungatanga

Groups provide a powerful opportunity to heal in relationship, reduce isolation, and strengthen voice, agency, and belonging.

Our Group Programmes

Mana Ahu Ake

Tikanga-based Healing Group for Māori Wāhine Survivors of Sexual Violence

A kaupapa Māori, tikanga-led wānanga for Māori wāhine, integrating raranga, waiata, kapa haka, psychodrama, breathwork, and mahi ā-wairua.
Mana Ahu Ake supports the restoration of mana through embodied, collective healing grounded in te ao Māori.

Tōku Mauri

Restoring Inner Vitality and Balance

Tōku Mauri supports people who feel depleted, disconnected, or overwhelmed following trauma, stress, or loss.
Through gentle somatic practices, creative expression, and relational exploration, participants are supported to stabilise, restore energy, and reconnect with their mauri and wairua.

Freedom to Fly

Empowerment and Recovery for Survivors of Sexual Trauma

Freedom to Fly is an established therapeutic group for people wanting to make meaningful changes following sexual harm.
The group integrates psychodrama, creative arts, somatic inquiry, breathwork, and reflection, supporting participants to reclaim voice, strengthen boundaries, and move forward with greater agency.

Courageous Arts

Creative Arts & Psychodrama Therapy Group

Courageous Arts is an 8-week therapeutic group that integrates creative art therapies and psychodrama to support recovery from sexual harm and trauma.

Participants are supported to explore experiences through art-making, role work, movement, and reflection, allowing meaning-making without relying solely on verbal processing.
The group offers both single-gender and mixed-gender options, and is suitable for people seeking a structured, weekly therapeutic rhythm.

Courageous Arts supports insight, expression, emotional regulation, and reconnection with self through creativity and relationship.

Going In: An Embodied Recovery Group

Stabilisation, Regulation, and Inner Safety

Going In is a body-focused recovery group for people experiencing trauma responses such as anxiety, dissociation, shutdown, or overwhelm.
The group prioritises nervous-system regulation, grounding, and embodied safety, and is often recommended as an early step in recovery or before deeper trauma processing.

Rainbow PTSD

Trauma Recovery Group for Rainbow / LGBTQIA+ Communities

Rainbow PTSD offers a trauma-informed, affirming space for Rainbow and gender-diverse participants.
The group recognises the layered impacts of trauma, marginalisation, and identity-based harm, and supports healing through relational, embodied, and creative approaches.

Breathwork Group

Regulation, Presence, and Emotional Release

This trauma-informed breathwork group supports:

nervous-system settling
emotional processing
reconnection with the body
increased clarity and presence

Sessions are carefully paced, with a strong emphasis on safety, choice, and integration.

Healthy Relationships

Boundaries, Communication, and Relational Repair

A therapeutic group for people wanting to understand and change patterns in relationships.
The group explores attachment, boundaries, communication, power, consent, and self-worth, using experiential and reflective methods to support healthier ways of relating.

SAFE PLACE

Stabilisation and Support Group

SAFE PLACE is a holding, stabilisation-focused group for people experiencing heightened distress, trauma activation, or life disruption.
The group emphasises predictability, grounding, relational support, and strengthening coping strategies, and may be recommended as a first step before deeper therapeutic work.