The EMDR Therapy Clinic · About Dr JC Coetzee
Dr JC
Coetzee
Clinical Psychologist
Dr JC has over 23 years of clinical experience working with clients from diverse cultural backgrounds and nationalities. He specialises in EMDR therapy for trauma, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and addiction, as well as EMDR therapy for performance enhancement.
No referral required — book directly online.
Meet Dr JC
Coetzee
Dr JC Coetzee is a Clinical Psychologist with over 23 years of experience and specialist training in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. At the EMDR Therapy Clinic, he focuses on trauma recovery, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and addiction, applying EMDR therapy as a leading evidence-based treatment for lasting psychological change.
Dr JC provides in-person EMDR therapy at Auckland clinics in Milford, Ponsonby, and Parnell, as well as secure online EMDR therapy sessions available to clients throughout New Zealand. His specialist interests include complex and developmental trauma, neurodivergence, and the application of EMDR therapy to performance enhancement through the EMDR SPORT framework.
Dr JC’s approach is grounded in empathic understanding and compassion, met with evidence-based interventions. He strives to create a therapeutic environment that can support lasting change.
What clients say about
EMDR Therapy with Dr JC
“Working with Dr JC Coetzee has been one of the most grounding and healing experiences I have had. He brings a rare combination of deep compassion, patience, and professionalism. From the very first session, he created a space where I felt safe, understood, and supported without judgement.”
A.C. · EMDR Therapy Client
“JC is a compassionate and patient therapist. My EMDR therapy has brought into my life a sense of calmness and feeling of happiness after years of trauma. JC provides a safe, non-judgemental space for healing to occur. I am truly grateful to him.”
J.D. · EMDR Therapy Client
A career built on
depth of expertise
Dr JC Coetzee’s clinical career began in South Africa, where he trained at the University of Pretoria, completing a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Psychology before going on to a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Psychology, and then a Master of Arts with specialisation in Clinical Psychology. He subsequently earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Psychiatry, with doctoral research focused on the subjective experience of loneliness in psychiatric patients, a strand of deep clinical curiosity about inner experience that continues to inform his therapeutic approach.
For more than a decade, Dr JC held senior clinical and academic positions at Weskoppies Hospital’s Forensic Psychiatric Unit and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pretoria, eventually serving as Head Psychologist of the forensic unit. Alongside direct patient care, he lectured at postgraduate level in psychiatry and clinical psychology, and presented at international conferences in South Africa, Spain, Portugal, and Croatia on topics spanning forensic assessment, trauma, and the philosophy of psychiatric experience. His academic work has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Current Opinion in Psychiatry and the South African Journal of Psychiatry.
Dr JC subsequently relocated to New Zealand, bringing that depth of forensic and trauma expertise into a new clinical context. He joined the Auckland Regional Forensic Psychiatry Service at the Mason Clinic before transitioning to full-time private practice, a deliberate move to focus his clinical work entirely on what he finds most meaningful: specialist EMDR therapy for trauma and psychological healing, and the application of EMDR methodology to performance psychology through EMDR SPORT.
The most significant progress in psychotherapy happens not through analysis or insight alone, but through the resolution of the experiences held in the body and in memory.
Dr JC Coetzee, PhD · Clinical PsychologistHis EMDR therapy training was completed at the University of Otago, where he holds a Certificate in Special Topic: Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (Level I), and he is currently completing the Level II Special Topic in EMDR therapy.
Advanced training in Schema Therapy (Level I and II), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, trauma-focused CBT, and existential counselling informs a formulation approach that can draw on a wide clinical repertoire while remaining anchored in the EMDR therapy framework. Dr JC holds registration as a Clinical Psychologist with the New Zealand Psychologists Board (Registration No. 90-07323) and is a member of the College of Clinical Psychologists. He works in English and Afrikaans and brings extensive experience with clients from Māori, Pasifika, and diverse cultural backgrounds.
- PhD in Psychiatry, University of Pretoria
- MA Clinical Psychology, University of Pretoria
- BA Hons Psychology, University of Pretoria
- BA Theology & Psychology, University of Pretoria
- Diploma in Existential Counselling, Open College UK
- Special Topic: EMDR I, University of Otago
- Special Topic: EMDR II, University of Otago, in progress
- EMDR 2.0 methodology, advanced postgraduate study
- Schema Therapy Level I & II, Schema Therapy Sydney
- Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Skills
- Trauma-Focused CBT & Trauma Debriefing
- CBT for Substance Use Disorders
- Clinical Supervision Training, University of Auckland
- New Zealand Psychologists Board, Clinical Psychologist
- College of Clinical Psychologists
Publications &
conference presentations
In-person in Auckland.
Online across New Zealand.
Three convenient Auckland locations, with secure online EMDR therapy available to all New Zealanders.
Ready to take
the first step?
No referral required. Book directly, in-person or online sessions available now.
Milford · Ponsonby · Parnell, Auckland | Online Across New Zealand