Addiction. Disordered eating. Anxiety. Depression. Chronic insomnia.
From the outside, I functioned well. From the inside, my nervous system operated in survival.
Sleep became unpredictable. Anxiety became constant. In time, I became dependent on sleeping medication to manage the cycle. It gave me four to five hours of sleep, yet I lived with significant side effects — grogginess, cognitive dulling, and memory loss — while the underlying dysregulation remained unchanged.
I searched for answers in discipline, performance, and conventional approaches. Some provided temporary relief. None addressed the root.
Through study, therapy, and years of embodied practice, I came to understand that anxiety and insomnia are adaptive responses from a system that has learned to stay alert.
When stress patterns become embedded, sometimes unknowingly, symptoms persist.
My professional path followed that discovery.
I had completed a Master of Psychology and trained further in psycho-somatic therapy, integrating trauma-informed nervous system work with deep therapeutic inquiry.
My work focuses on restoring the foundations of regulation — safety, secure attachment, emotional expression, social identity, agency, and biological rhythm.
Chronic anxiety and insomnia require a nervous system approach to achieve lasting change. This work focuses on restoring the foundations of regulation so the body can return to calm, natural functioning.
Private appointments are
available in Sumner, Christchurch.
Annelies Basten, MPsych
Email: annelies@project-pure.com
Website: www.project-pure.com
Text: 021 652 530
GP and practitioner referrals are welcome.
