Reach Out Counselling in Palmerston North reaches out to people from ethnic backgrounds

Reach Out Counselling director Sabina Larsen says every person has a story to tell and a purpose for their life. Photo / Judith Lacy

When Sabina Larsen was going through a divorce, she searched for a counsellor.

She found some but couldn’t relate to what they were saying because of cultural differences such as expectations about staying in her marriage.

So Larsen decided to train as a counsellor herself.

She achieved a Bachelor of Counselling from Whitireia Polytechnic while juggling work and family responsibilities.

Larsen moved to Wellington in 2008 from Harare in Zimbabwe, but now lives in Palmerston North.

Larsen says going through separation and divorce as a foreigner was tough.

“It was difficult but I went through it and came out on the other side.”

She is a director and counsellor at Reach Out Counselling.

It opened in Wellington in 2019, and in Palmerston North two years later. The counsellors work with people from all backgrounds.

Reach Out has a business side and a charity side.

Larsen says there are a huge number of migrants and former refugees in Palmerston North.

ACC doesn’t cover counselling for any abuse in their motherland, yet often these new residents have financial challenges so cannot afford counselling.

A person might be in agony or experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Who is going to pay for that client? Who is going to look after those people?”

Larsen says these clients can relate to her as an immigrant.

“It’s just a joy sitting down offering counselling to people who have been through situations like myself, just talking to them and being there.”

Sabina Larsen at a Reach Out dinner for ethnic couples.

The charity arm runs wellbeing events for ethnic people with speakers about topics such as mental health, raising children, and communication.

Reach Out offers free one-on-one counselling to people from ethnic communities if they can’t afford to pay.

Larsen says counsellors are bound by ethical guidelines such as confidentially. They are non-judgmental, approachable and walk through the client’s journey with them. Counsellors don’t provide solutions to problems.

Counsellors are like taxi drivers. When someone jumps into a taxi the driver doesn’t take them to just anywhere. Instead, they ask where the passenger wants to go. Counsellors are the same because they ask clients where they want to go, Larsen says.

Reach Out’s charity arm has received some Lotteries money and is seeking other funding. It welcomes donations and sponsorship and is working with HOW² Te Ako Charitable Trust.

Larsen was a primary school teacher in Zimbabwe and tutored literacy and numeracy at Rimutaka Prison and Arohata Prison in Wellington.

She has two daughters aged 30 and 23, and four grandsons.