“He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!”

Guided by this whakataukī, Ruby’s work centres on honouring the dignity, mana, and lived experiences of each person and whānau she walks alongside.

Ruby Sadat is a Christchurch-based Registered Counsellor with over eight years of clinical experience delivering trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and whānau-centred counselling. She has provided more than 8,500 hours of clinical practice, working across community, NGO, education, and ACC-related services.

Ruby holds a Master of Counselling and a Bachelor of Social Work, and is currently undertaking a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology at the University of Canterbury. She is committed to ongoing professional development and continually upskills her clinical practice to ensure ethical, evidence-informed, and responsive care.

As a former refugee, Ruby brings lived understanding of displacement, loss, identity disruption, and systemic barriers to care. This perspective deeply informs her work with survivors of sexual abuse and violence, refugees and former refugees, migrants, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

A key area of Ruby’s practice involves supporting survivors of sexual abuse and sexual assault, including clients with complex and long-term trauma histories, childhood sexual abuse, family violence, and institutional abuse. She provides safe, non-judgemental, survivor-centred counselling that prioritises emotional safety, empowerment, and recovery.

Ruby specialises in Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), trauma-informed therapy, and grief therapy, tailoring her approach to each client’s needs and cultural context. She has also worked extensively with individuals and whānau affected by the 15 March Christchurch mosque attacks, delivering faith-sensitive, trauma-informed counselling and collaborating with multidisciplinary professionals to ensure holistic care.

Ruby is a Registered Member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC) and an ACC Registered Provider. She is fluent in English, Farsi, and Dari, supporting accessible and culturally safe therapeutic engagement.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology (In Progress)

Master of Counselling (M.Couns)

Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)

Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Completed 1.5 years)

Member of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (NZAC)