I was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in the UK in a predominately white, working class community. As a young man I experienced events within my family which made me feel anxious, depressed and despairing. I struggled first of all to admit I needed help and then when I did admit it to myself, I struggled to find the right help. There was no script for me to talk about how I felt, no network of friends to support me emotionally, no role models to give me any idea as to how to cope.
Out of these challenges was born a passion to help others cope with the struggles of their inner life. In particular it taught me to look out for other men who might be having difficulties speaking up or might have had negative responses when they have tried. I ended up writing my Doctoral thesis on the topic of predictors of male help seeking behaviour and I presented my research at a Conference for Men’s Mental Health in 2014. You can see my research findings here: https://youtu.be/FhyTdSQBH3w.
The research supported the hypothesis that being able to identify emotions is the most important skill in relation to getting help and that expecting to control emotions and be self-reliant were the most likely components getting in the way. These findings confirmed my deep wish to help people to find the courage to speak about their emotional experiences in a safe and supportive alliance with me.
If my story speaks to you in any way, please get in touch and we can begin a discussion about your wishes and how we might collaborate on increasing your quality of life and helping you grow out of your current struggles. I will give you honest feedback about our potential to work well together.
I am registered with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC, http://www.hcpc-uk.org), which regulates psychological practice of UK trained psychologists and am also a chartered member of the British Psychological Society (BPS, https://www.bps.org.uk). I also hold the EuroPsy Certificate in Psychology which is a European standard of education, professional training and competence in psychology set by the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations (EFPA). Here in Germany, I qualify for treating clients as a „Heilpraktiker beschränkt auf Psychotherapie“.
I lived in South West London before moving to Munich in 2018. I am married and have a young son, so have to balance work and home life carefully and understand the pressures of doing both. When I am not working, I enjoy running and being out in nature.
A collaboration on your life themes is never something I do to you but instead is something that we engage in together. We aim to combine your expertise about your life and experiences with my professional expertise to lead us to finding alternative ways of thinking and feeling that help you achieve your developmental goals. My aim in working together with you is to create a shared understanding of your life story and from this an understanding of where your difficulties may have begun. We will work together to set goals and agree how and when we will review these goals.
I work with an integrative approach, having gained experience in and trained in several different models of thinking and working while I was in the UK. These include cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), psychodynamic therapy, narrative therapy and mindfulness techniques amongst others. We may use one approach only, should this suit you best, or we may combine several approaches to tailor the counselling to your particular needs. I will be open and honest about what we can do and also about what I don’t think will help.
During the lengthy and intense process of becoming a Doctor in Clinical Psychology I have been fortunate to work with many people who have sought professional help for a range of problems. I am always enriched by the experiences of people I work with and am privileged to walk their path with them however short a time that may be.
I therefore look forward to our first meeting.
- Observing thoughts and feelings and where appropriate challenging unhelpful thoughts with evidence
- Brain – body connections (using my knowledge of neuroanatomy and neuropsychology to explain how this impacts your body when you feel anxious, angry, scared etc)
- Looking at your values, how your choices day to day fit with your values and if there are differences, exploring why
- Understanding and validating your experiences and helping you think about ways you might need to reprocess them in the present day
- Mindfulness – finding ways to detach from thinking, and be more aware of the present
- Working with trauma – because of brain architecture, once we experience highly traumatic events (whatever they are), there are long lasting effects physically, emotionally and neurologically. Although this work can be hard, it is ultimately very rewarding for you as the client, but also for me in my role supporting you.
- Depression
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Burnout
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Stress
- Anxiety/Panic attacks
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Sleeping problems
- Relationship problems
- Adjustment to significant life events
- Adjustment difficulties to recently diagnosed health problems including dementia, multiple sclerosis (MS), motor neurone disease (MND), stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), Parkinsons disease (PD)
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Neuropsychology assessment (standardised assessment and report)
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Neurorehabilitation for a range of neurological conditions and cognitive problems (e.g. memory. attention etc)
| 2000 – 2006 | BSc (Hons) Psychology, The Open University, UK. |
| 2007 – 2008 | Volunteer befriender NHS challenging behaviours service, Newcastle, UK. |
| 2008 – 2009 | Master of Research Psychology with Commendation, Northumbria University, UK. |
| 2010 – 2013 | Degree of Doctor of Clinical Psychology, University of Surrey, UK. |
| 2010 – 2013 | Training placements undertaken in adult mental health, child mental health, learning disability service, older adult mental health and neurorehabilitation and assessment. |
| 2013 – 2015 | Clinical Psychologist in Bracknell Older Adult CMHT and Bracknell Memory Service, Berkshire, UK. |
| 2014 | Presented Doctoral thesis on male help seeking behaviour at inaugural Male Psychology Conference, UCL, London, UK. |
| 2015 | Clinical Psychologist, St George’s Hospital, London, UK. |
| 2017 – 2019 | Post Graduate Diploma with Merit in Clinical Neuropsychology, Bristol University, UK. |
| 2017 | Second author on published paper investigating recovery from a basal encephalocele. |
| 2017 | Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) workshop with Dr Joe Oliver. |
| 2018 – 2020 | Relocated to Munich. Continue to provide consultancy and occasional sessional work to St George’s Neuropsychology department. |
| 2021 | Training and competency certificate in CBT-i (CBT for Insomnia), from Sleep Unlimited. |
| 2022 | Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT) training in management of grief. |
| 2023 | 2 day PTSD Master Class in CBT treatment of Trauma with Dr Heather Sequiera. |
