Over the last 15 years, my life has had its challenges, but because of it my trajectory had been permanently changed.  My daughter was diagnosed with Autism and intellectual disability, and since the age of 2 years old, each and every day has involved using behavioural therapies to varying degrees.  I went through a divorce and a separation, and I had to start all over from scratch twice.  In between these relationships, my child had emotional struggles, and an ensuing custody battle in court.  My personal life was effecting my work life, so I was on performance management.  I was overweight and out of shape. The cherry on top was that I started a business that failed dramatically, and put me in major debt.  You couldn’t make this shit up if you wanted to.

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But it’s not what happened that is important, it’s what happened during this time that led me here.  My child attended therapy of her own with a Social Worker, but as a Social Worker myself, I was amazed that not only the treatment approach being used was not really in line with the needs of the child, but also by the fact it really did not work to any degree.  During this time, I was also attending counselling myself, for obvious reasons.  That’s right, a Social Worker was getting counselling.  But I found that no matter what therapist I saw, there was really nothing new or different they could offer me that I already didn’t know.  Honestly, I felt like the profession had failed me and my child.  I could only image how other people felt.  What came next led to two and half years of research, implementation, and evaluation that culminated in me deciding to open my own practice.  

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I focus on helping men overcome break-ups and major life challenges, as well as parents of children with special needs.  This is mainly for two reasons:  this is an area I have the expertise, lived experience, and passion in.  The other reason is that I fundamentally believe the counselling profession has underserved these groups. That may cause some ruffles in my circles, but I said what I said - and counsellors need to do better.  

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The other area I specialize in is fitness training for men, as well as people with special needs.  Now this may seem odd that I do personal training and counselling, but let me assure you that they are not unrelated in any way.  In fact, they overlap tremendously.  What if I told you that your mental health, your self-image, and your day to day interactions could be altered through fitness.  You probably wouldn’t believe me, but it’s true.  For people with special needs, not only are they under-represented in fitness centres, but almost every domain of their life could improve to some degree through fitness.  I personally believe that fitness is one of the best treatments for psychological health, social health, and people with special needs.  And indeed, even when I provide counselling, I will almost always prescribe exercise - I know it sounds weird, but trust me, it works.  

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If you’ve read other counsellors bio’s, you will have noticed that they provide a laundry list of different conditions they treat, and groups they work with, as well as treatment styles they use.  I prefer to not be a jack of all trades, but rather a specialist in certain areas that I do have the education, experience and interest in.  It’s like, you can take your car to any garage, but If you take it to the dealership, you know the mechanics will know your car inside and out - they only work on your brand of car, day in and day out.  This is how I think counselling should be as well - specialists, instead of generalists, and I think you will get a better results as a client from this approach.  As you may tell from reading this far, I am not a conventional counsellor, but a bit of a maverick.  But sometimes you need to look at things and approach things differently to get results.  And, I believe that at the end of the day, the results or impact on your life is the bottom line. 

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I also believe that the best path between two points is a straight line.  Counselling should be brief, highly focused on specific objectives, and effective. The maximum impact, in the shortest amount of time, with the lowest cost.  I love analogies, so I view my style of practice as more of that like karate than tai chi.  Get in, get out, and not mess about.  Hence my slogan : Results. Not Bullshit.  I don’t want you leaving a session with me how I felt with other counsellors - spending a small fortune for no new insight, techniques, or results.

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The 11 herbs and spices of my unique counselling style are the following:

• Biology and neuroscience

• Behaviourism and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

• Person-centred and solution-focused therapy

• Strengths based perspective

• Motivational interviewing

• Sociology

• Logic and reason

• Stoicism

 

I also want to have maximum impact on the lives of men and people with special needs, so I also give out free content and information on my social media accounts and blogs.  I think you shouldn’t have to be rich or have an insurance plan to get mental health or fitness help.  But if you’re ready for a fresh approach at counselling or personal training, and want a more in-depth and tailored method for you, get in touch with me.  I’m not like your usual counselling or training experience, but sometimes you need different to get where you want to go. My own unique circumstances and experiences led me to this point, and fundamentally, I want to use what I have learned to to help other men and people with special needs.