After 18 years working in the fields of addictions, mental health, and counselling, I bring a wide variety of experience that allows me to understand a variety of people, situations, and what contributes to mental/emotional distress.  My experience has allowed me to integrate different ideologies, be challenged by others, and form an integrative approach to psychotherapy.  That experience has also strengthened my belief and experience in the power and necessity for a deeper and more appreciative approach to human suffering.  I've learned a great deal from the different systems and services I have worked within as well as led as a manager.  But I have learned the most from all of my clients who've taught me more than anyone about the uniqueness of each individual and the nuances of the human experience.  There is more going on in the psyche of each person than meets the eye and in order to bring about the change we all seek, psychotherapy requires a great deal of listening, care, and paying attention to the unconscious dynamics driving a person. This is the kind of growth work I have done personally for 20 years that helps me find my way and is also what I have found works best for my clients -- at least so far; I'm always learning.

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Bio

I am a Certified Canadian Counselor (CCC) with the Canadian Counseling and Psychotherapy Association (#2587) (http://www.ccpa-accp.ca). I graduated from Saybrook University, located in San Francisco, CA, obtaining a Master of Arts degree in Psychology with a Marriage and Family Therapy Specialization. My training prepared me to work with individuals, couples and families in a way that honors the whole person and what it means to be human.  It also helped me to observe larger systems issues, from intimate relationships to organizational dynamics, and how those issues impact individuals.

 

I spent my early career in the field of addictions where I worked as both a counsellor and a manager within a residential treatment program in Kelowna, BC that focused on the holistic treatment of addictions. In treatment, I had a variety of clinical roles that included supporting detox patients, teaching workshops, and providing individual and group counselling to both men and women. I eventually took the role of Program Coordinator where I managed both men's and women's treatment programs, taking a special interest in program philosophy and design.

 

After 4 years in residential treatment, I moved into private practice where I worked with a wide variety of people, specializing in anxiety/depression, addictions, couples therapy, young adults, life transitions, and finding meaning. While in private practice during that time I also facilitated various counselling and educational groups, taught in the social work department of the University of British Columbia, Okanagan, and maintained a weekly column for Castanet Media (those articles are all on my site).

 

Eventually I left full time private practice after 3 years to work with Interior Health as a Manager of Mental Health and Substance Use where I was able to bring meaningful change to programs, lead high profile initiatives, advocate for better client care, develop community relationships, and help foster a better work environment.  

 

After 4 years with Interior Health, I worked for a year with the Canadian Mental Health Association as their Program and Practice Manager, leading the clinical support and development of staff, implementing new services for the homeless population, and assisting in the leadership of youth mental health services. 

 

Eventually I returned to private practice. While I continued to operate my practice part time through my other employment, I decided it was time to return to full time work, focusing on a deeper approach to change.  I value a practice that provides both myself and my clients meaningful engagement into what it means to live this life we live and how to get unstuck from that which keeps us from living in better alignment with who we are.

 

I grew up outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities with a Philosophy Concentration. After graduation I was the assistant men’s soccer coach of a university in Michigan, and then a high school coach in Pennsylvania before moving to British Columbia in 2004 with my wife.  There I returned to school for my Masters degree.  I currently live in Kelowna, BC with my wife and our 4 children.