Nested.
A story of its conception.
About Nested.
Nested arose after its founder, Ella, had two boys of her own and began to fully understand the transformative nature of becoming a parent. She recognised a lack of accessible information to guide parents in understanding what changes are normal, and noted limited options to support parents who feel unable to function due to significant mental distress. Starting a family can be one of the greatest and hardest things we ever do, yet support is limited due to various systemic shortcomings. As a result, people may feel their mental health deteriorating during any stage of the perinatal period (e.g., conception, pregnancy, birth, post-partum). Whether someone is experiencing anxiety, depression, OCD, psychosis, trauma, or difficulties adjusting to their new normal, they deserve the ability to access support and to heal, so that they can fully feel the joy in life. The more services we have available to help people explore their feelings and heal from their experiences, the better outcomes we can have for families.
Given Ella’s background in mental health, with a passion for working with trauma, she was alarmed - but not overly surprised - to read that close to half of birthing parents consider their births to be traumatic. Let’s face it, birth is intense even in the most positive circumstances. No pre-reading or well-meaning stories from family and friends about their experiences can prepare us for labour or delivery. Very rarely do we get the opportunity to unpack how we feel about our birth experiences in an objective, empathetic and validating environment, and yet we know early intervention and support following a traumatic event can decrease the severity of mental health outcomes. Even when an intense event is perceived as positive, unpacking the experience can help facilitate healthy memory processing and better long-term wellbeing. At Nested we believe everyone who experiences birth - either themselves, as a support, or as a health care provider - should have access to an impartial, empathetic, trauma-informed therapist to debrief their experiences.
Dr Ella Barrett.
Ella is a Registered Clinical Psychologist living in Auckland, New Zealand. She is passionate about creating space for people to feel heard and accepted while providing humanising therapeutic approaches to support people to live fulfilling lives. She believes therapy should be a collaborative process that accounts for the unique cultural and personal backgrounds of every individual.
Ella has worked in Correctional, Community, and Private settings supporting adults living with a wide range of mental health difficulties. Through her career, however, she has developed a special interest in trauma; in particular, how it can impact our livelihoods so deeply and be healed through clear understanding of our nervous system. After giving birth to her first son in 2021, she also developed a passion for supporting parents during the perinatal period - from conception to the years following birth. The more parents and healthcare providers she spoke to regarding perinatal mental health concerns - and in particular, birth trauma - the more she realised greater space is needed for people to heal from intense and/or traumatic experiences that can occur as we endeavor to bring life into this world. Regardless as to whether your journey to starting a family was straight forward or turbulent, everyone deserves access to space to unpack and gain a greater understanding about how they feel about their story. Ella also hopes that by providing trauma-informed education about perinatal mental health to communities and healthcare settings we can begin to prevent/reduce the amount of mental distress parents feel as a result of starting a family.
Ella predominantly uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Schema Therapy, and EMDR approaches in her work while incorporating aspects of other evidence based therapeutic approaches as appropriate (e.g., DBT strategies). She strives to compassionately tailor these therapies to meet the unique needs and goals of each person. Ella is a full member of the NZCCP, is a registered psychologist with ACC, and a member of EMDRNZ.
Qualifications and Professional Affiliations:
Registered Clinical Psychologist (New Zealand Psychologists Board)
Full member of the New Zealand College of Clinical Psychologists (NZCCP)
ACC Registered Psychologist for Sensitive Claims and Psychological Services
Member of Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Aotearoa (PADA)
Member of EMDRNZ
PhD in Psychology - University of Otago
Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology - University of Otago
Bachelor of Science with First Class Honors in Psychology - University of Otago