Your care team

Elaine Atkinson founded Ocean Hills in 2019. Now 19 years into her recovery from alcoholism, the former Aucklander decided it was time to follow her mission of helping people out of addiction and set up her dream business.

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She left behind a highly successful corporate career and went on to open the doors of Ocean Hills, a private rehab facility in seaside Napier.

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Elaine is hands-on in all aspects of the business and is heavily involved pre-admissions, working in close partnership with the clinical team. 

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She is the heart of Ocean Hills and deeply committed to every client's recovery. An intimate understanding of the disease of addiction has shaped her empathy and compassion for all people suffering from substance use disorder, including their families. Read more about Elaine here.

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“It's always been my desire to help people struggling with addiction to get the help and support that was given to me. ​I feel very strongly that addiction can be overcome and you can live a healthy and happy life – I'm living proof of that and I've seen it over and over again in my circles of recovery and through my work at Ocean Hills."

Andrew McGarrol is the Consulting Clinical Director at Ocean Hills. He is a highly qualified and experienced addictions clinician with extensive experience as a clinical manager of several mental health and addiction services for DHBs and major addiction facilities in Hawke’s Bay.

 

Andrew oversees the pre-admission assessment service at Ocean Hills and ensures the highest clinical standards are met for our clients. He joined Ocean Hills because he was attracted to the professionalism, positivity and anonymity of the facility. Read more about Andrew here.

 

“I really love Elaine’s energy and I feel connected to that. She’s such a kind-hearted person. It’s her passion and you can really tell that. She’s got a really good service that I feel like I can endorse and be part of."

Stephanie comes to Ocean Hills with extensive experience in the addiction and mental health sector. She is the first medical professional Ocean Hills clients will interact with as she supports assessments, initial medical checks and performs nursing consults while planning admissions. 
 
Stephanie has worked as a comprehensive registered nurse for many years, later specialising in mental health and addictions. She worked at CADS Auckland with the inpatient medical detox unit and the community assessment and treatment team. She has also spent time working in residential programmes with the Salvation Army and Odyssey.
 
She also has counselling and group facilitation skills and has developed programmes for people with acute mental health and addiction challenges. Stephanie also worked at Hastings Hospital as a clinical nurse educator, mental health and addictions, delivering training for the general hospital clinical teams and working closely with the mental health and addictions inpatient and community teams.  Read more about Stephanie here.

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“I like the possibility of change and being part of that hope and that journey. It’s wonderful to work with people across the spectrum who have made change and gotten more involved in life again.​ Recovery is not a destination – it’s something that’s ongoing.”

Jan is a therapist delivering the recovery programme to the guests at Ocean Hills. She is qualified in mental health and addictions, RTT (rapid transformational therapy), NLP (neurolinguistic therapy), hypnotherapy, solution-focused brief therapy, reiki, and education with group reaching and facilitation.​ Read more about Jan here.

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"I have seen the destruction of alcohol and drugs in my loved ones' lives and I am dedicated to providing a nurturing and supportive approach to allow our guests to navigate their recovery in the best way possible for them. I love seeing all the learning moments on our guest's faces, which reflect their newfound hope for a life free of addiction."

Liz helps deliver the Ocean Hills programme, which introduces clients to healthier ways to enjoy life clean and sober. A qualified addiction and mental health professional with a diploma in addiction studies, she is a recovering alcoholic herself and has been sober since 2013.

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Having been a hairdresser for over 40 years, Liz always had a good rapport with people and after experiencing her own personal journey with mental health issues and addiction, had a huge desire to give back. Liz is also in recovery from codependency, which she says has helped her reach a whole new level of emotional healing.

 

Liz is a qualified somatic- and trauma-informed yoga therapist and a certified embodied processing therapist.  Read more about Liz here.

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"I like pay it forward to show people there is light when they are feeling lost.
I love seeing the results of this programme – it’s the most rewarding position to be in."

Paulette is a qualified mental health coach who specialises in sober coaching. Her road to coaching came from living sober for nine years after a life-long struggle with alcohol.

 

After working with many people to get sober in her personal life, she decided to train in coaching to make it her job. She is also a longtime award-winning journalist and has written extensively on health topics for years. Being aware of the latest lifestyle and health research puts her in a great position to help people live a healthy, sober life.

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"I have walked the walk from addiction to living sober, with 10 years of  being free from alcohol.​  know how precious sobriety is and helping people to build a sober life lights me up.  love seeing people reach their sober goals, reclaiming their health and unleashing their potential."

​The Peer Support team at Ocean Hills works alongside our guests as they begin their journey of recovery and sobriety. Some of our team hold mental health and addiction qualifications and some draw on their own lived experience of mental health and addictions from their own journey, or with loved ones.

 

The power of lived experience provides a wonderfully empathetic connection with our guests  to help them restore their personal power and move them forward into better health and wellbeing. Our team includes Lee Tempest, Don Mardle, Caleb Fussell, Eden Pearse and Lisa Te Maro.

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"People don't always need advice. Sometimes all they really need is
a hand to hold, an ear to listen and a heart to understand them."