Mariaan Van der Merwe

I am a New Zealand Registered Clinical Psychologist with over 24 years of experience working across public mental health, specialist services, and private practice. The majority of my clinical work is undertaken within Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora, Hawke's Bay, where I work in the Child, Adolescent and Family Service (CAFS) Neurodevelopmental Assessment Clinic. My role involves comprehensive psychological and neurodevelopmental assessments for children and adolescents presenting with complex diagnostic and developmental needs, alongside multidisciplinary formulation and treatment planning. Alongside my public health role, I am the Director of Resonance Clinical Psychology, where I provide psychotherapy, psychological assessment, and clinical supervision for adolescents and adults. My practice is founded on the belief that every person deserves to be deeply understood before they are asked to change. I place considerable emphasis on comprehensive assessment, collaborative case formulation, and developing a therapeutic relationship that provides both safety and meaningful challenge. I believe effective therapy is not simply about reducing symptoms, but about understanding the developmental, relational, and psychological factors that shape a person's experience and supporting lasting change. My therapeutic approach is integrative and evidence-informed, drawing from psychodynamic and object relations theory, attachment theory, Jungian analytical psychology, humanistic psychology, cognitive behavioural approaches, and contemporary trauma-informed practice. This allows treatment to be individually tailored while remaining grounded in established psychological research and best practice. Alongside psychotherapy, I have extensive experience in psychological assessment, including psychodiagnostic and neurodevelopmental assessments, personality assessment, and ACC psychological services. I also provide clinical supervision for psychologists, psychiatry registrars and other mental health professionals, supporting reflective practice, ethical decision-making, and professional development. I am committed to providing thoughtful, compassionate, and clinically rigorous psychological services that honour each person's unique history, strengths, and capacity for growth.