Our Team
Jannine Verner
Comprehensive Registered Nurse/Therapist
Coromandel/Whitianga/Tairua and Online
Hello, my name is Jannine,
I’m The Director of Pacifico Services and am honored to be able to support you and your needs. I am a proud parent of a teenage boy, wife to my hubby, and a loving Dogo mum. I have worked as a Mental Health Nurse/Therapist for over 30 years and have a range of experience including working with Children and Adolescents, Adults and people experiencing all forms of Mental Distress from mild to acute / severe.
I love living on the Coromandel Peninsular and I’m driven by a commitment to this community, to do whatever I can to support anyone struggling with mental distress, to achieve mental well-being.
I am working hard to ensure this business grows into a fully trauma-informed service, that is filled with like-minded people, who share my business life values and attitudes. I am passionate about understanding trauma and will continue to expand my professional development in this area.
I’ve been specialising in the field of mental health as a comprehensive registered nurse since graduating in 1993 and have worked across different mental health specialty areas. More recently I’ve held leadership positions which has included mentoring others to grow their understanding, practice and knowledge of mental health and wellbeing.
I am passionate about my career and I genuinely love working with people. I am also the clinical lead for Pacifico so you will likely speak to me if you phone with your enquiries. I will do my best to ensure you get everything you need from Pacifico to help you take further steps in achieving peace of mind.
Contracts which I Service include: Brief Intervention via Hauraki PHO (Te Korowai Hauora o Hauraki) and Pinnacles PHO (Mercury Bay Medical Centre), EAP and wellbeing checks via Skills/Instep, Oranga Tamariki and Manaaki AMHS. I also hold a private caseload of those who are not eligible for funded services.
Please feel free to browse this website and I am happy to receive any feedback for improvements.
You can email me directly on:
admin@pacifico.nz or 0225006775 during working hours.
Maureen Lorimer
Specialist Child and Adolescent Counsellor
Private Therapy and POC by negotiation
Kia ora, my name is Maureen.
I am a trained Play Therapist and have worked in the field of Child & Adolescent Wellbeing for over 30 years. Following training and travel, including a stint in a residential home in London, I spent 9 years working with the Community Mental Health Team covering the northern section of the Coromandel Peninsula. Then I moved to Christchurch to join the STOP team where I spent the next 26 years working across the entire South Island, growing the team working with children, adolescents and their families/whanau.
Across this time, I was very privileged to bring out to NZ many specialists in the field of Play therapy and concerning & harmful sexual behaviour.
My clinical experience is extensive in the areas of developmental trauma and attachment, self-regulation, parent/child relational difficulties, self-esteem, problem solving, anxiety, grief and loss, low mood, bullying, suicidal ideation in children and young people and concerning and harmful sexual behaviour.
The modalities I use are predominantly creative therapies such as sand tray, small figures, interactive drawing therapy, mindfulness, storytelling, nature-based play therapy, being guided by assessment to engage in what works well for the client. I am well versed in other therapies such as Narrative Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP), Synergetic Play Therapy.
What I like to offer is kindness, compassion and hope that things can be different through engagement and action.
I have a Post Graduate Diploma in Social Services Supervision from Massey University & offer this service to Counsellors, Therapists, Psychologists, Team Leaders and Social workers.
Outside of work I love to read, walk and be in, on or under the ocean. Being back living on the peninsula is wonderful!
Carol McKinnon
Psychologist – Family Therapy under Packages of Care or Privately
Coromandel or those able to travel to Whitianga
Hello, my name is Carol, and I would like to introduce myself to you and give a little information about my experiences and skills in my capacity as a psychologist.
My husband and I have recently semi-retired to a small block at Kuaotunu West overlooking Ahuahu, and Repanga Islands, and the Kuaotunu boat ramp. We are privileged to have located to a property that provides us with our two great joys: working and caring for the land and swimming in the ocean.
I am a registered Psychologist with 17 years of experience working with offenders, youth offenders, conduct disordered youth, and children and youth with diverse and complex behavioural needs. I have worked with the Department of Corrections; Youth Horizons Trust (Functional Family Therapy, FFT), and for the previous nine years, the Ministry of Education Te Kahu Tōī Intensive Wraparound Service (IWS). Prior to registration as a psychologist, I was heavily involved with the Play Centre Association holding multiple regional roles, primarily in education.
These roles have allowed me to develop a range of eclectic assessment and therapeutic intervention approaches to support the referred child/youth and their whanau. I would characterise my work approach as facilitating change within the home domain through strength based ecological assessment, family-lead planning and intervention, and evidence-based intervention approaches. All roles have utilised multi liaison and team approaches with key service providers including Oranga Tamariki, ICAMHS, Police and Youth services, local services, and Iwi services.
My work is grounded in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approaches to intervention, motivational Interviewing, cycle of change and theory of change, narrative in assessment and intervention, Participatory Decision Making, and trauma informed approaches.
I am looking forward to working in my new home region of Coromandel Peninsula.
Packages of care may be available under specific arrangements, ie via Oranga Tamariki, Child and Adolescent Secondary Services – Manaaki Mental Health Services. Police Psychology / Wellbeing packages or through the ACC mental health injury pathway.
Dianne Taylor
Social Worker – Private work by negotiation
Thames/Coromandel/Tairua/Whitianga
My name is Di – I’m a Registered Social Worker and a St Johns First Responder. I am also currently studying to become a St Johns Emergency Medical Technician.
I have a Diploma in Mental Health Support Work and prior to studying to become a social worker, I worked in a Respite house for those experiencing acute mental distress. I qualified as a Social Worker in 2014 and worked at Burwood Hospital as a medical Social Worker, across all the rehabilitation wards there, including an older persons’ inpatient mental health ward.
In 2018 I spent a year studying Te Reo Māori by immersion. This greatly enhanced my bicultural practice. From March – June 2019, I had the great privilege of working with the Christchurch Muslim community who had been affected by the mosque shootings. As a community outreach social worker, I was able to support this community toward decreasing the impact of trauma on their lives.
My husband and I moved to the Coromandel Peninsula permanently in 2019, after having spent plenty of time holidaying in Whitianga over the years. We have two adult sons who still live in Ōtautahi Christchurch. We moved to Whitianga for the lifestyle opportunities and we both love being part of this special community.
I am a great believer that wellbeing is enhanced from a holistic approach and I’m a big fan of positive psychology and Martin Seligman’s theories around wellbeing. To relax I love being in my garden with my garden helpers – my two cats. I also love reading. I took up winter swimming this year for my health and try to be active every day.
Some funding may be available dependent on services required.