Pukemanu Centre

Our service is shaped by the principles of:

• Tika – Honouring our families/whānau
• Pono – Working with integrity
• Aroha – Providing empathy and compassion
• Tautoko – Supporting students in a high-quality learning environment
• Manaaki – Valuing families/whānau by providing high-quality psychological services

The Centre aims to provide:

• Early intervention to prevent later problems
• Evidence-based interventions - informed by sound research, which fits with recognised professional practice and tailored to individual family/whānau situations
• Strength-based approaches that recognise child and parent abilities
• Skills parents need to confidently manage in the future
• Parenting programmes brochure

We provide assistance for parents, whānau and caregivers concerned about their child's behaviour, social and/or emotional development. We also offer practical assistance, parenting information, advice and support for parents of children from infancy through to high school age. Our services include:

Triple P - Positive Parenting Programme

The Triple P programme is evidence-based and uses internationally recognised family support strategies including:

• Topic-based workshops addressing common developmental concerns or specific behaviours such as managing fighting and aggression, sleeping problems and dealing with disobedience
• Full-length parenting courses covering general parenting skills and positive child/parent relationship building for parents of children aged 2-10 years and for parents of teens. 
• Parenting programmes brochure

One-on-One Family Consultations

Sessions can cover concerns such as:

• Worries about development 
• Persistent crying, temper tantrums, not following instructions, aggression, hitting, biting
• Getting kids co-operating or difficulty with routines (e.g mealtime, bedtime, bath time)
• Trouble expressing feelings, withdrawal, social isolation, low self-esteem
• Common childhood fears, problems with separating and anxiety

Preschool Intervention Service

This service provides assessment and early intervention for children aged under 5 years, addressing sleep, feeding, toileting, anxiety, difficult behaviour and developmental concerns.

Group Triple P (Parenting 2-10 year olds)

Starts June– July

Sometimes parenting can feel like the toughest job in the world. Maybe you just want your child to listen and do as you’ve asked, or it may feel like a battle from breakfast to bedtime. You may simply want to find out how to set up better routines for mealtimes or bedtimes or it may be that nothing you do seems to make a difference. Whatever it is, you feel keen to learn more about positive parenting and how you can apply it to your family. Group Triple P is made up of five group sessions and three individual follow-up sessions by telephone. Right from the start you will learn effective tips and strategies to try at home.

Group Teen Triple P (ages 10 years and over)

Starts October - November

Are you struggling with a teen talking back, being rude or not helping around the house? Are you worried about your teen and their computer usage, parties and peer pressure?

If you’re ready for a more in-depth look at the parenting strategies that really work, this 8 week Group Teen Triple P is ideal for you.

Fear-less Triple P Parenting Programme

Courses and workshops for parents and caregivers of kids and teens aged 6 – 14 years who are often anxious. Covering skills to help parents and caregivers positively support children and teens to reduce anxiety and cope with life’s challenges.

Triple P Discussion Groups (2-10 years/ teens)

These groups run when there are enough parents to make a group viable. Please email to register your interest in our Discussion Groups.

Triple P Discussion Groups provide practical advice for tackling specific common problem behaviours. Groups run in relaxed, short (2-hour) small group sessions with other parents experiencing the same issues. You can go to as many or as few sessions as you wish. There are four topics to choose from for two different age groups:

If your child is under 10 years of age:

• What to do when kids say ‘no’
• Getting kids to bed and keeping them there
• Managing fighting and aggression
• Hassle free shopping with children

For parents of teens:

• Getting teenagers to cooperate
• Coping with teenager emotions
• Reducing family conflict
• Building teenagers survival skills

For more information on Triple P, please visit the Triple P website.

The Pukemanu Centre is now open for referrals:

• Triple P: Groups run for 8 weeks, and have 5 sessions at the Centre with 3 sessions by phone at parents’ convenience.
  • A group for parents of 2 to 10 year olds will run in June/July each year, Wednesdays 7-9pm.
  • A group for parents of Teens will run in October each year, Wednesdays 7-9pm. 
• One-on-One Family Consultations: Runs throughout the year. Acceptance for consultations is individually determined based on the suitability of our service to the needs of your family/whānau.
• Preschool Intervention Service (for children under 5 years): Runs throughout the year. Acceptance for this service is individually determined based on the suitability of our service to the needs of your family/whānau.

Associate Professor Karyn France

Clinical Psychologist and Coordinator of the Child and Family Psychology Programme

Karyn is a qualified clinical psychologist and has spent many years working in the child and family area. After finishing her PhD she held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Christchurch School of Medicine. In 2000 Karyn set up the Child and Family Psychology programme. Her specialities include the development of infant sleep, child and family interventions, emotional and behavioural regulation in children and parent behaviour and education.

Suzi Hall

Centre Director and Registered Psychologist

Suzi is a registered psychologist who has 30 years' experience working with children and families. She spent a significant amount of her working life providing psychological assessments and interventions for families where care and protection issues were identified. A strong focus in her work was interviewing children in the joint Police and Child Youth and Family Services Evidential Unit assessing possible abuse and working with children who had experienced trauma as the result of abuse.
Assessment of parenting, delivery of parenting and child interventions, high and complex needs cases and supervision for a range of professionals in the child and family area are part of her private practice work. She is an accredited trainer for Triple P International, delivering training to professionals in New Zealand, the UK and Canada.

Suzi has a strong commitment to supporting the development of clinical skill and practice of those working within the Centre.