I wasn't always a therapist |
In 2011, I left the financial services industry after working in it since 1990. That transition was difficult, and for the first time in my life I sought counselling myself. After about a year of reflection and soul-searching, I decided to retrain and begin a different kind of working life.
I then spent three years working with young people with complex needs at a residential facility west of Brisbane. It was there that my reskilling began, starting with a Cert IV in Youth Work and a Diploma of Counselling, along with further training in crisis response, trauma-informed care, and the effects of complex trauma on the nervous system.
During that period, I also spent time in Nauru as a residential worker with Save the Children, supporting unaccompanied minors in immigration detention. Those experiences deepened my understanding of trauma, distress, adaptation, and the importance of steady, grounded human support in very difficult circumstances.
In 2016, my wife and I moved to Mission Beach in Far North Queensland. Soon after, I established Cassowary Coast Counselling while undertaking a Master of Gestalt Therapy, which I completed in November 2020.
Today, I work with adults in one-to-one psychotherapy from my practice in Mission Beach and online across Australia. My approach is grounded in Gestalt therapy and informed by existential psychotherapy - with an emphasis on awareness, choice, and meaningful change over time.
I then spent three years working with young people with complex needs at a residential facility west of Brisbane. It was there that my reskilling began, starting with a Cert IV in Youth Work and a Diploma of Counselling, along with further training in crisis response, trauma-informed care, and the effects of complex trauma on the nervous system.
During that period, I also spent time in Nauru as a residential worker with Save the Children, supporting unaccompanied minors in immigration detention. Those experiences deepened my understanding of trauma, distress, adaptation, and the importance of steady, grounded human support in very difficult circumstances.
In 2016, my wife and I moved to Mission Beach in Far North Queensland. Soon after, I established Cassowary Coast Counselling while undertaking a Master of Gestalt Therapy, which I completed in November 2020.
Today, I work with adults in one-to-one psychotherapy from my practice in Mission Beach and online across Australia. My approach is grounded in Gestalt therapy and informed by existential psychotherapy - with an emphasis on awareness, choice, and meaningful change over time.
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2008; presenting at a national conference near the end of my career in financial services.
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2014; working in Nauru with Save the Children.
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2020; beginning my final year at Gestalt Therapy Brisbane.
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Qualifications and professional memberships
Qualifications
Professional membership
Registration and provider status
- Master of Gestalt Therapy
- Diploma of Counselling
Professional membership
- PACFA Registered Clinical Psychotherapist (Reg. 32689)
- ACA Level 3 Counsellor (Member 1182)
Registration and provider status
- Approved WorkCover Queensland provider
- Provider status with selected private health funds; rebate availability depends on your level of cover.
