Compass Seminars NZ

08/06/2026

DDP Opportunity - Online Community of Learning Proposal

Compass Seminars remains the only certified provider of Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) training in New Zealand, and we are strongly committed to supporting the growth and development of DDP-informed practice across Aotearoa.

We recognise that learning DDP is a journey that continues outside of the training. In this spirit, we are exploring the introduction of an online DDP learning community for those who have undertaken DDP training.

The sessions will be facilitated by Veronica George. Veronica is a Northland based registered Psychologist and DDP practitioner; she is also New Zealand’s first certified Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP) consultant.

Details as follows:

Proposed Format
Day & time to be confirmed from two options - Tuesdays at 4:00pm OR Wednesdays at 12:00pm, for one hour

Delivery - online (link to be provided)

Structure & Commitment
The Community of Learning will be offered in a block of five sessions in the second half of 2026 (once per month)
It is requested that participants commit to the full block

Dates (TBA once Tuesdays/Wednesdays confirmed)
21 or 22 July
25 or 26 Aug
22 or 23 Sep
13 or 14 Oct
17 or 18 Nov

Cost
$300 for 5 one-hour sessions (payment installments welcome).

This offering requires a minimum of four participants to proceed.

At this stage, we are seeking expressions of interest based on the details above. Please email [email protected] directly to register or if you have any questions.

04/06/2026

Mindkiwi rated 4.8/5 for overall satisfaction by our Christchurch participants. Don't miss Mindkiwi in Rotorua - June 22 &23

This event qualifies as cultural competency training.

"Awesome - fantastic presenters - valuable tool and great to have this structure to do our work. Thank you, thank you, thank you." - Nurse

"This was great. Very practical." - Manager, Ministry of Education

"Course content was great, very applicable to many contexts" - Counsellor

"Soooo fantastic 😍 loved it and loved the course being so practical" - Social Worker

29/05/2026

Dr Mairin Rose Taylor and Melany Tainui have been involved with Mindkiwi since 2019. This 6-week programme is a culturally responsive, evidence-based mindfulness intervention supporting children with ADHD, emotion dysregulation, and neurodivergent learning needs.

This week marked a significant milestone - the first time Mindkiwi practitioner training has been available to the public. And it was through Compass Seminars NZ! Its a privilege to be part of the Mindkiwi story.

25/05/2026

Working with children or adults who have experienced trauma? Theory, research, and treatments have advanced considerably in recent years. Dr Galia Schechter (USA) visits NZ to present new emerging knowledge with effective mindfulness-based therapeutic techniques.

22/05/2026

Join us to learn about the Relational Learning Framework, working with different attachment styles and more effective emotional communication.
Details and registration links in the comments.

17/05/2026

📣 New event alert!🎤
We are delighted to welcome Dr Matt Slavin to the Compass family with a brand new seminar offering - Working with Traumatised Teens: Power, Identity and Connection in the Hardest Years

This emotionally grounded, strategy-rich workshop explores how trauma disrupts the core developmental tasks of adolescence: identity formation, emotional regulation, safety, boundaries, and connection.

Professionals will gain tools to work directly with teens to help them make sense of their reactions, regulate their nervous systems, and build trust, while also learning how to guide the parents, carers, and systems around them to stay steady and supportive.

Details and registration link in the comments.

14/05/2026

Dr Lori Desautels is a renowned expert on relational neuroscience - dont miss this live webinar opportunity!

More details and booking link here:
https://compass.ac.nz/seminar/seminar-under-the-influence-of-our-nervous-systems-live-webinar-with-dr-lori-desautels-usa

12/05/2026

Thinking of coming - but haven't received approval yet? Call us and we can reserve your place!
Thinking of coming - but need a payment plan for your registration fee? Call us to discuss!
This is a unique opportunity, don't miss out!

Further details in the comments.

12/05/2026

Important reminder from Karen Young - Hey Sigmund 🙌
We are delighted to be hosting Karen in July 2026 for Big Feelings, Behaviour, Regulation - secure your seats today so you can hear more of her experience and wisdom!

Even the most resourced, self-aware adults can struggle to stay regulated sometimes, especially when something brushes an old wound.

So when a child’s feelings surge and spill - that’s not a lack of discipline. That’s a brain doing exactly what it’s wired to do: protect.

In the same way reading, writing, and walking will develop along different time lines, so too will regulation.

We don’t punish a child for not reading before they can read. Or for not walking before they can walk. We don’t accuse them of being manipulative, or attention seeking, or bad.

But regulation? We expect it on demand. And we judge children when they don’t deliver.

The thing is, regulation just doesn’t work like that.

Regulation develops like any other skill - on its own timeline, shaped by experience, history, and physiology.

And like any skill, it needs practice.

We can’t just teach kids the skills to walk, talk, read, and expect them to do it. The teaching is useless if they don’t have the opportunity to practice.

It’s the same for regulation.

We can teach the skills, but the teaching won’t do anything if they don’t have the opportunity to practice. The opportunity they need is co-regulation. And lots of it. Years of it.

Self-regulation isn’t something children can switch on because we ask them to. It’s something they build - slowly, through repeated experiences of being soothed a calm loving adult beside them. Over and over.

Regulation isn’t something we demand. It’s something we develop.