Kia Ora, Hello, and AlSalam Alaikum,

Thank you for visiting my page. 

I much prefer the face-to-face whakawhanaungatanga, but understandably, people would like to know a bit about a person before they reach out:

My name is Areej Arif, an Iraqi Syrian born in the Emirates. I immigrated with my parents to NZ in 1997. We spent a decade moving back and forth between the Emirates and NZ, therefore experiencing primary, intermediate, and high school in both countries (the literal definition of walking in two worlds). It was great seeing the world from two different perspectives, but the downside was that I felt like I didn't belong anywhere. I always wanted to study psychology, but it was still generally stigmatized in my community at the time, so I started my university journey in a degree I really did not enjoy, but thankfully, switched to psychology before it was too late. It took me 10 years to register as a psychologist. Mainly because I took gaps to have my wonderful two children and gain work experience in different areas, but also because it just takes a lot of study! Upon registering, I worked as a psychologist for several agencies. Now, I am taking a leap of faith to with starting Aleph and ready to contribute to filling a societal gap! 

Memberships: New Zealand Psychologists Board, New Zealand Psychological Society.

Qualifications: BA (Psychology, Massey University), PgDip (Psychology, Massey University), MA with Distinction (Psychology, Massey University), PgDipEdPsychPrac (Victoria University of Wellington, 2019).

Languages: Arabic and English.

Modality: Integrative (Integrating CBT with evidence-based holistic approaches and expressive therapies).