About Me

My Journey 

It was on a windswept October morning back in 1992 that I had my first therapy session. I can remember feeling very apprehensive as I stood outside the front door of the man who was to become my personal therapist, but I need not have worried. Jonathan (not his real name) couldn’t have been more welcoming, and I felt an almost immediate connection with him. 

And thus began my journey into the world of psychotherapy and counselling. One which was shaped from the off by my own personal experience as a client. The sense of being heard and understood by another person when at the time I felt nobody really got me was a life changer and the bond we formed gave me a powerful feeling that anything is possible. 

Why I Do This Work

I decided to seek out therapy after getting struck down with an illness shortly after returning from a lengthy period of travelling around Asia and I felt I needed to speak about the impact this was having on me and about my uncertainty regarding what I was going to do with my life now that my travels were over. 

I had a really positive experience in my own personal therapy so much so that as my illness began to resolve, I decided to enrol on a foundation course in psychotherapy and counselling. I felt really fortunate that out of my own personal difficulties I’d found a way forward in my life. 

What I got from working with Jonathan, perhaps more than anything else, was the understanding that good therapy doesn’t end when you stop working with your therapist. On the contrary, the therapy itself can serve to function rather like a springboard that propels you into your own ongoing process of personal development which can last a lifetime so long as you are able to acquire the necessary tools required during the therapy itself.

My Approach

I first learnt about psychotherapy and counselling when I was studying for my undergraduate degree, during a module on psychology in which I was introduced to the work of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, a couple of the founding fathers of the profession. 

The approach Jonathan was trained in was not one I’d previously heard of but was, in my opinion, not just personally very effective but also seemed to be very much in tune with my own outlook on life. 

What I particularly liked about his approach was his willingness to leave theory as much as possible out of the picture.  He would always listen carefully to what I said and would describe what he was hearing rather than explain it using grand theories and this was something I really appreciated. Jonathan’s style of therapy was known as the existential approach, and it would become the approach that I would eventually specialise in. 

One thing I really liked about the existential approach was the belief that we are not biological machines programmed to respond passively to events outside our control, but do have free will. This means that we have the potential to decide how we respond to events and this can play a huge part in shaping our lives. 

Embracing our freedom, even though it can feel frightening at times, brings with it a feeling of being in control once again, and this can be very empowering. This, of course, suggests that we have a capacity to take responsibility over our destiny, to pursue a path in life which feels meaningful and if we are able to begin to do this, then we can become far better aligned with our core values, and beliefs. All things I thoroughly believe in!

Training, Experience and Credentials

I began training as a therapist shortly after beginning personal therapy in 1993 and graduated in 1998 with a Masters in Psychotherapy and Counselling as well as an Advanced Diploma in Existential Psychotherapy from Regent’s University in London. 

I went on to qualify as a supervisor, which enabled me to supervise the work of other therapists and then shortly after Covid, I returned to training once again to train in Viktor Frankl’s Logotherapy which is an existential approach framed around the belief that one of the most significant driving forces in human beings is our search for meaning. I am an accredited member of the International Association of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis at the Viktor Frankl Institute in Vienna and you can read more about logotherapy and how I integrate it into my work here. 

Throughout the past thirty years I have maintained a private practice as well as having taught therapy at Regent’s University and the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling. I have also worked in the public sector and managed therapy services in the Drug and Alcohol sector for both Westminster Drug Project and Turning Point. I have been a registered member of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) since 1998.

Outside the Consulting Room

Travel is my great passion, and I take a good six weeks off from my therapy work over the New Year period to visit countries around the world. I have a keen interest in health and wellness and enjoy walking, swimming and resistance training.   

Additionally, I really enjoy reading as well as socialising with friends and family on a regular basis. The socialising, I must confess, more often than not involves eating very delicious food at a variety of wonderful restaurants in various locations around London! 

Where to Go Next?

If you’d like to learn more about how I work, then please click on the link below and you will be able to learn not just about my approach to therapy but about the options of  working with me on either a brief, time-limited or a longer-term basis and what the difference is.  

Alternatively, if you’d like to reach out and book an appointment with me, then do feel free to hit the get in touch button below and you will be able to fill out my contact form.