What led you to choose psychotherapy or counselling as a profession?

When my dad was diagnosed with cancer (parietal lobe tumour) I watched his struggle with the diagnosis and then the need for him to face his mortality. I also watched as an older teen how the will to fight waxed and waned depending on how his treatment went. He unfortunately did not have a good prognosis and died shortly after. I realised that the human spirit can endure so much and that our emotions and attitude says so much about us as individuals. I left my unfulfilled Science degree and never looked back after starting psychology.

Which philosophical approaches have influenced your professional/personal development?

Mainly that our environment and our family can make us or break us, I was fascinated with attachment theories as a student. I understand now that we are authors of our own destiny.

Which particular aspects of health or the human journey are you interested in?

Generally the human spirit and how we can endure so much and learn so much about ourselves. We should never underestimate our own strengths but unfortunately the development of our frontal lobe which has made us ‘higher order animals’ impairs us in so many ways.

What method/s do you use?

Combination of Emotion Focussed Therapy for couples/individuals, Schema Therapy and the trusty CBT.

When do you think the client will start to feel that progress is being made?

When they start challenging their own thoughts and seeing that doing things differently can really make a difference.

How has therapy made you a better person?

I am humbled on a daily basis at the strength, courage and endurance of the wonderful clients who actively choose to make the massive decision to seek out a total stranger to help them start a new life.

What do you like most about being a therapist?

The opportunity and privilege of being included and invited to help people help themselves.

Do you ever have ‘bad hair’ days?

Oh you know I do! I pick myself up and brush myself off, push through and try desperately not to catch my own reflection.

What do you think is the most significant problem we face, in the world today?

I sound like a broken record but truly it is all about that we just get in our own way. Sometimes we forget our strengths and highlight our weakness and become tunnelled in our vision of ourselves.

Can you share the name of a book, film, song, event or work of art that inspires you?

When I read the story of Anne Frank for personal reasons as a child I began to understand the strength of the human mind.