Tini Visser

Counselling Psychologist / Voorligtingsielkundige

I believe exploration into values, personality and interests can make adolescent transitions and adult adjustments much easier. My aim as Counselling Psychologist is to assist clients through psychometric assessment and counselling to achieve a greater sense of self and to make informed decisions about challenges.

I worked as a Counselling Psychologist at a senior school for 9 years. This gave me valuable experience to understand and support adolescents. I am passionate about assisting teenagers navigate this emotionally turbulent, yet exciting developmental phase. It is a time where teenagers experience significant pressure. They are under pressure to perform academically to ensure entry into a tertiary institution. Often they are under pressure to make career decisions without adequate resources. They are consolidating their identity, yet need to navigate social pressures that is even more intrusive than before due to social media.
In assisting adolescents to flourish and consolidate healthy identities, I focus on:

Psychometric assessments

Scholastic assessments can identify areas that needs remediation. So often students are assessed as primary school children, and often the general consensus are that remedial interventions cannot be effective after age 12 years. With my psychometric assessment, I can identify areas for development and recommend age appropriate interventions.

Scholastic Accommodation assessments

Some students may benefit from accommodations such as spelling dispensation or additional time. I assess and inform parents about the application process, whether it is at the Western Cape Education Department or with the IEB.

Subject choice

Often students experience substantial emotional turmoil when they have to make subject decision so early in their life- especially when they are constantly reminded that subjects can “open” or “close” doors. My subject assessment includes a psychometric component, but the narrative approach ensures that every student that undertakes my assessment can make informed decisions regarding subject selection.

Career assessment

I assist Grade 11 and 12 students in this important part of their career journey. Not only to they develop self-knowledge through the personality assessment, but we also explore actual subjects and grade or diploma options at various tertiary institutions.

Therapy

Adolescent years are tumultuous and emotional due to brain development and peer pressure. Through therapy we explore healthy decision making and I assist students to navigate through this developmental phase with positivity, good decisions and aiming at making the most of these very special times in their lives.

Differently abled students

I have vast experience in supporting differently abled students. Whether they have learning barriers of physical barriers – it can have a lifelong impact on their sense of self. Through therapy, a new sense of self evolves that allows a student to enter adulthood with a healthy self-esteem.

Study skills and guidance

Using personality assessments, preferred learning styles are uncovered and students are guided to use this new framework for test and exam preparation. Individual sessions allow me to uncover and explore each student’s learning style. We also focus on executive functioning such as organisation and time management, the use of academic language and concrete skills such as essay writing.

I also offer career guidance to adults who may be looking for a career change or opportunity to grow in their occupational field. I utilise personality assessments and counselling to uncover strengths and areas of development.

Practice number: 0156434
HPCSA Number: PS 0084697