About Miriam Wood

Miriam has a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Psychology from the University of Canterbury, and a Master of Science (hons) in Health Psychology from the University of Auckland.

Before completing her clinical training in Health Psychology, Miriam worked for several years in health policy, both in New Zealand and overseas. A desire to work with patients as well as organisations led Miriam to complete the clinical aspects of her health psychology training (PGDip Health Psych) in 2010 from the University of Auckland.

Since then, Miriam has worked in health services at Auckland, Counties Manukau and Waikato District Health Boards. Miriam has extensive experience working with people with a broad range of health conditions as well as people trying to cope with life stressors; be that work, family, relationships, grief, depression and anxiety.

Miriam enjoys teaching and supporting other health professionals. She is an honorary academic within the Department of Psychological Medicine at the University of Auckland. She provides supervision to a number of psychologists and other health professionals, including medical doctors, nurses, allied health and support workers.

Several years ago, Miriam recognised how burnt out colleagues and friends were - and that the cause of this was often both work and life stressors.

“There’s a lot of psychology research that gives us answers on how to reduce burnout and improve wellbeing - but often this information is kept in academic journals or textbooks or only shared when people are in a crisis. These psychology secrets should be shared!”

Miriam believes in translating the science into practical strategies - and sharing these. At Middlemore Hospital, Miriam gave regular staff talks offering psychology tips and tricks to improve wellbeing. Miriam has continued to share psychology concepts through wellbeing presentations to organisations, and through her writing.

Miriam lives in Cambridge, New Zealand.