Des Casey

Des has worked in Auckland as a counsellor and family therapist for 33 years. Through this time his work has included one-to-one counselling, extensive relationship counselling, family therapy and mediation. He has had 30 years experience as a registered Family Court Counsellor.

Des has held clinical and managerial positions in a variety of agencies and settings – for example, family therapy centres and alcohol and drug agencies.   He has tutored in counselling certificates and diplomas in three tertiary institutions.   He has organised and facilitated numerous workshops throughout New Zealand – counselling, family therapy, narrative therapy.   He has provided supervision over many years to students, counsellors and other professionals.

Des has been active for many years in the restoration and conservation of the natural environment.   He spent four years working for the Department of Conservation on Great Barrier Island. He has facilitated workshops in sustainability and in the relationship between ecology and psychology.

Contact Des
des@resolved.net.nz
LinkedIn profile
027 325 9894

Barbara McCulloch

Barbara has been a practising mediator since 1986. She was originally qualified as a teacher, then a social worker and family therapist but then became primarily interested in conflict resolution. Her previous roles have included Probation Officer (8 years), Disputes Tribunal Referee (11 years), and Principal Mediator at the University of Auckland (8 years). She is currently self -employed within her company “Around the Table Solutionz Ltd”.

Barbara has undertaken extensive training in facilitative and narrative mediation and restorative practice, and uses these techniques in her work. She practises her narrative-facilitative style of mediation with families, in workplaces and in communities. She works with families to make decisions about elder care, care of children when parents separate, the division of family assets and resolving disputes about wills and inheritances. In workplace disputes Barbara works in both coaching and mediating roles. She has experience in working with conflict between senior managers and company directors, as well as disputes between staff members and between staff and management. Barbara has worked as a management-leadership coach with a variety of people at different levels of organisations. Because she has a great deal of experience in working with emotionally complex matters and because of her restorative practice experience, she also works in situations where there are allegations of family violence or workplace harassment and bullying.  In community settings, Barbara has worked with schools, neighbours, community groups and with NGO’s and local and national government groups.

Barbara is accredited as a senior Mediator (AMINZ and Resolution Institute), an FDR Provider and Supervisor and a Conflict Management Coach. She has experience in working individually or as a co-mediator and is associated with a number of other professionals who work collaboratively to provide “wrap around services” when needed.  In 2014 Barbara was nominated by NBR as one of their “top ten family mediators”. Barbara has participated in Master Classes with John Haynes, Bernie Mayer, Robert Benjamin, Nina Meierding and John Wade.

Barbara designs and delivers highly evaluated training programmes including follow-up coaching and mentoring of participants. In 2012 she designed and delivered a Peer Mediation Training programme which was awarded a staff excellence prize at the University of Auckland. Barbara is a current member of the Citizens Advice Bureau NZ where she provides coaching and training and project management. In 2015 she designed and delivered a skills based programme for students who wished to volunteer for charitable agencies which was very well evaluated.

Contact Barbara
barbara@aroundthetable-solutionz.co.nz
LinkedIn profile
021 506 768

Blair O'Brien

Blair was a practising lawyer for over 40 years with experience across a very broad range of personal, family, employment, resource management, commercial, trust and deceased estate issues. He qualified as a mediator in 2003 and in the years since then has become increasingly active in mediation work covering personal, relationship, family, commercial, business and trust issues. He has retired from legal practice to focus on his mediation practice. He is accredited as a mediator with AMINZ and Resolution Institute.

Contact Blair
blair@mediate.kiwi.nz
www.mediate.kiwi.nz
LinkedIn profile

022 353 2706