Studying with Capable NZ allowed Ingrid Campbell to bring her learning directly into the heart of her mahi in mental health and community work.

Ingrid has more than 16 years of experience in youth work, mental health, and creative arts-based support roles. She has worked in trauma recovery, community development, and grief counselling.  

Ingrid was looking for a flexible, practice-based learning model that would recognise the years of work she had already done in youth development and trauma-informed care.

“Capable NZ stood out for its unique approach to valuing lived experience and real-world learning,” she says.

Ingrid completed a Bachelor of Social Services (Counselling) with Capable in 2021 and a Master of Professional Practice in 2025.

“Capable NZ offered a pathway that honoured the wisdom and insight I had gained through both lived experience and professional mahi,” says Ingrid.

“I brought with me a deep well of lived experience, particularly in navigating complex trauma and spiritual abuse, and was seeking an education pathway that could hold both my professional and personal story with care.”

Ingrid describes studying at Capable NZ as “life-changing”. During her Bachelor’s, she felt affirmed and recognised for the years she had already contributed to the helping professions.

In her Master’s, she was able to dive deeper into her identity, culture, and story. She crafted a thesis titled Akapapa – The Journey Home that explored professional sustainability, spiritual abuse, Indigenous health models, and creative arts as healing practice.

“The flexibility, cultural sensitivity, and relational approach of Capable NZ meant I was never reduced to a student number. I was seen, heard, and supported,” says Ingrid.

Capable NZ’s work-based learning model allowed Ingrid to bring learning directly into the heart of her mahi. 

“Everything I studied informed the development of Re:Woven Therapy Charitable Trust.”

Re:Woven Therapy Charitable Trust provides trauma-informed workshops, creative arts-based healing, and practitioner development spaces. Ingrid is its founder and director, and she plans to continue leading and expanding its work.

“I’m exploring doctoral pathways that will allow me to deepen the research into sustainable, culturally rooted therapeutic practice. I will continue publishing, speaking, and creating spaces for others to heal, grieve, and rise through story,” says Ingrid.

She recommends Capable NZ to others who want to see their lived experience formally recognised.

“Capable NZ is a place where real life matters. It honours the wisdom of community, lived experience, and creative expression, and it enables learners to show up as their full selves,” she says.

“For those who have walked unconventional paths, who carry deep experience but haven’t always fit into traditional academic settings, Capable NZ is a door opener, a safe space, and a catalyst for growth.”

Ingrid has a message for learners keen to pursue a qualification like hers: “Your story is worthy. Your work has value. You don’t have to compartmentalise your past to qualify for your future. Capable NZ will walk alongside you as you find language, frameworks, and confidence to integrate your life’s work into something powerful and recognised. Lean into it. Back yourself. Begin.”