Nanda Freeman
Student, Volunteer, and Recovery Facilitator in New Plymouth, New Zealand
Nanda is a Brazilian living in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2011. Her willingness to learn and her need for challenges guided her far away from home. Proud of being an immigrant, Nanda adds diversity to wherever she goes.
With a background in speech pathology in Brazil and hospitality in BR and Ao/NZ, she decided to answer to her heart's calling and finally study psychology.
Having earned a Bacherlor of Arts (Psychology) through Massey University in 2021, Nanda has been working alongside her studies in the Taranaki Mental Health community since 2017. Nanda's passion for people, community work and mental health are her drivers at this job. Working collaboratively with clinical professionals around the region, Nanda delivers a strengths-based relational model of care rooted on the Te Whare Tapa Whā framework.
In 2022, Nanda has been nominated for the Good Award @ HealthCare NZ: for the employee who gives back to their work-whānau. They support and look out for their team and help them grow both professionally and personally. Nanda is passionate about collaborating with different professionals/individuals and believes in a holistic model of care inside and out of her team.
Nanda is also a volunteer Seasons for Growth companion since 2017, delivering high quality evidence based educational intervention to children and their parents affected by grief and loss.
After three papers at the Postgraduate Diploma in Arts (Psychology) @ Massey, Nanda decided to change her career path once again and pursue her gift of connecting with people easily, interest in therapeutic conversations and need for intellectual challenges. She applied and got accepted to the Masters of Counselling at Waikato University - expected completion in 2026.
As an obsessive reader, Nanda is a passionate bookaholic and #readwomen advocate. Currently library: 700 books. Member of the Puke Ariki Book Club since June 2022. She is always reading multiple books at once.
Nanda is driven, resilient, focused. Strives to do her best at all occasions. Always available for those in need of a keen ear.
She became a mother to Nina in April 2021 and has been together with her husband Stefan since 2014. The three of them and Lucy (their golden retriever) live in New Plymouth.