Psychotherapy & Counselling · Sydney's Inner West
Three decades of working with people. A grounded, integrative approach. A genuine belief that you are not defined by what you carry.
— Lao Tzu
Often, the most difficult step is the first one — particularly if you don't consider happiness possible, or feel you don't deserve it. It's also hard for those who have grown used to their impediments, like a tree that has grown around a garden tap. At some point, the tree prevents the water from flowing. Living with the impediments becomes more difficult day by day. It doesn't have to be this way.
The therapist
I've been engaged in assisting people to free themselves and follow their true values since graduating in 1990. Before training as a psychotherapist, I spent twenty years in senior management — which gave me a grounded, practical understanding of what it means to be human under pressure.
My calm, consistent manner will allow you to attain a level of comfort and reassurance that facilitates the counselling process. You will feel safe and supported. Counselling and Psychotherapy are grounded in serious academic work, but my ability to bridge the gap between the academic and the practical will give you the greatest benefit with the least difficulty.
My practice works primarily with men — men of all ages, cultures, sexualities, and experiences of gender. I have extensive experience working with clients from migrant and diaspora communities navigating the intersections of culture, identity, race, and mental health. I also work with ACON Health, which has deepened my understanding of the pressures facing LGBTQI+ communities.
Qualifications & Memberships
The therapeutic approach
Therapy, at its best, meets the whole person — not just the presenting problem. My approach is integrative and trauma-informed, drawing on Narrative Therapy as its foundation, with self-compassion practices, positive psychology, values-based work, motivational interviewing, inner child work, CBT, ACT, psychodynamic work, IFS, and somatic and neuroscience-informed practice brought in as the work requires.
Crucially, that work never happens in isolation. The systems you are embedded in — family, culture, workplace, society — shape your experience in ways that matter. Understanding the social construct you inhabit, and how it bears on who you are and what you carry, is part of every therapeutic conversation.
Research consistently shows that the quality of the therapeutic relationship itself is one of the strongest predictors of good outcomes. The collaborative team that you and I build together — built on trust, honesty, and genuine engagement — is not a backdrop to the work. It is the work.
Narrative Therapy is a respectful, non-judgemental method that firmly asserts you are not defined by your problem. Together we separate you from your presenting difficulties and explore a new way to be.
Through a collaborative exploration of the patterns in your life, we identify the stories we want to thin out and those we seek to nurture — developing an entirely new way of being. It's like going into the studio for the second album.
Sessions integrate leading trauma neuroscience — Porges' Polyvagal Theory, van der Kolk's somatic understanding of trauma, Siegel's Interpersonal Neurobiology, Ogden's Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, and Fisher's work on trauma and dissociation.
CBT, ACT, IFS, psychodynamic and self-compassion approaches are woven in as needed — shaped by you, not a formula.
Therapy follows the internationally recognised three-stage trauma model: Safety & Stabilisation first, then careful Trauma Processing, and finally Integration & Reconnection — grounded in Blue Knot Foundation standards.
Work is trauma, gender, and sexuality informed throughout. Where neurodivergence or ADHD intersects with a client's experience, this is understood as part of the broader context — not a separate modality, but always part of the conversation.
Background & Experience
A career in senior and General Manager roles provided deep insight into interpersonal relationships, conflict resolution, human systems, and what it means to perform under sustained pressure — experience that informs every therapeutic conversation.
Seven years as a volunteer telephone counsellor significantly enlarged the diversity of problems encountered. A further five years as a trainer for telephone counsellors deepened skills in listening, de-escalation, and working in crisis.
Seven years managing foreign and local staff in Japan developed significant insight into cross-cultural difference — essential grounding for the multicultural, intersectional work at the heart of this practice today.
Currently working with ACON, a leading community health organisation, has deepened understanding of the unique pressures and complexities facing LGBTQI+ communities — informing affirming, knowledgeable therapeutic support.
Continuous study, supervision, and professional development is a non-negotiable part of ethical practice. This includes completing Clinical Supervisory Training, maintaining PACFA Clinical membership, and staying current with the evolving research in trauma, neuroscience, and integrative psychotherapy.
A free 15-minute consultation gives you the chance to ask questions, get a feel for the process, and decide if we're a good fit — with no obligation.
Book Your Free ConsultationIn-person · Marrickville, Sydney's Inner West | Video sessions available