Welcome to Willow Corner!

My name is Sharyn Gousmett, I am the founder and Director of Willow Corner. I am a registered Educational Psychologist. I completed all training in New Zealand through Canterbury University and Massey University. I worked at the Ministry of Education from 2007 - 2016, before leaving on maternity leave. I now have two young children and my work hours revolve around their busy lives!

Willow Corner was started in 2017 (named Willow Psychology until October 2022) as I sought to better support children, young people, their families and schools when there are questions about how to best support the child to learn or develop new skills.

My aim is to provide knowledge and awareness. I seek to support families and schools to understand each child. While much of my work involves the diagnosis of underlying challenges, this is done in a strengths-based way. It is vital to explore what each child is good at, as well as what is tricky for them.

I strongly believe in listening to a family’s story.  Many families arrive for an assessment having had experiences of being ignored or brushed aside.  I hope that all families who work with me will feel empowered with knowledge to understand their child’s developmental pathway, and have a plan for the next steps – whether this is for further assessment, or implementing strategies and supports.

My name is Shelley Parkin, I am a Speech Language Therapist and Director of Willow Corner. I grew up in Canterbury and originally studied Linguistics at the University of Canterbury.

After moving to the UK and having two children, I decided to re-train as a Speech Language Therapist at City University in London. I worked in schools in and around London for a number of years supporting children’s speech, language and communication needs. I later specialised in multidisciplinary assessments for children and young people with neurodevelopmental differences, predominantly Autism.

My experience with Autism began many years ago however, with my own daughter, who is autistic, artistic and awesome! My family and I have now settled back in Canterbury, where I am continuing to support families on their journey to understanding their child’s strengths and challenges in a positive way. I want young people and their families to feel empowered in knowing themselves/their child, how to advocate for their needs, and to celebrate their amazing qualities.

The Willow Corner team has been growing during 2022! Families may have the privilege of meeting some of our team:

Emma McKenzie (Psychologist) who works with us on Tuesday.

Jo Finch and Anna Harvey (Psychology Assistants) who work alongside the team to support with information gathering for assessments.

Parenting Unique Children co-facilitator: Rob Newlove, a parent of two neurodivergent children.