St Peters House

Website: www.stpetershouse.co.nz

Tel: 07 571 5916

St Peters House is a community agency located in central Tauranga. Their services are open to anyone within Tauranga/Western Bay of Plenty - they work with all people regardless of ethnicity, gender, lifestyle choice or belief,- but our particularly focus is on those who could not afford to get help elsewhere.

Services are short to medium term but have lasting impacts on our clients and their whanau. Their focus is providing tools and skills that clients can continue to use to strengthen themselves and their whanau and increase control of their lives.

The vision of St Peters House is ‘people achieving wholeness’, as defined by the principles of te whare tapa whā including: taha hinengaro/mental and emotional wellbeing, taha whānau/family and social wellbeing, whataha wairua/spiritual wellbeing, and taha tinana/ physical wellbeing. We want to see people living debt free, free from abuse, parenting with excellence, engaged in the community and making positive life choices

They provide low-cost professional individual and relationship counselling to address issues such as depression, anxiety, grief, anger, stress, family violence, relationships, and parenting.  There is no charge for the first 6 sessions; any additional sessions are charged at an income-related fee between $10 and $60.

They also offer 4 adult education courses:

• The Incredible Years course for parents that helps them make positive changes in their family and manage difficult behaviour.
• Your True Worth (for women) – a course that considers values, strengths, grief, forgiveness and the impacts on self-worth.
• Boundaries (for women) – a course focusing on setting boundaries for healthy relationships and self-care.
• A practical Life Skills group that covers budgeting and practical money-saving tips, getting organised and making good decisions, healthy eating, positive well-being and healthy relationships.

St Peters House accepts self-referrals as well as referrals from government services and other agencies. Their biggest challenge is trying to meet the increasing community need for services. Accessibility, alongside their professional reputation, means that they experience high demand for all of their services, especially for relationship counselling.  There are often long waitlists for counselling and at times they have reluctantly had to close their intake.