I grew up in the West Midlands but received my psychotherapy training in California, gaining a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at Phillips Graduate Institute in Encino (Los Angeles area) in 1989.  After completing three thousand hours of supervised experience as an intern I passed both the written and oral exams required by California's licensing authority (the Board of Behavioral Sciences) in 1995 and opened my private practice soon thereafter.  Now established in the UK I am a member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (a member of both their Psychotherapy and Coaching divisions) and abide by their ethical guidelines. I am also a member of the Association for Coaching.

During internships in California I specialised in addiction recovery, gaining hours of experience in both out-patient and in-patient settings, for a residential recovery home and also the local authority's Child Protective Services and Drug & Alcohol Departments. 

During my degree couse at Phillips Graduate Institute I also obtained Certificates in Chemical Dependency and Brief Therapy - I had the good fortune to study with expert visiting faculty: Insoo Kim Berg, Ph.D. for Solution Focused Brief Therapy and Narrative Therapy with its originators Michael White and David Epston.

Since licensure I have taken numerous supplementary training courses, focusing primarily in the domains of healing trauma and somatics.  I became certified as a Master Somatic Coach by Strozzi Institute in 2001 and was one of their first Associates. 

The founder of Strozzi Institute, Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Ph.D., invited me to contribute a chapter to his 2005 anthology Being Human at Work which is entitled "The Power of Somatics in Sobriety."  I have completed my own book about the interweaving of trauma and addiction and am presently in the editing and publication process of Unwinding the Trauma / Addiction Bind: Engaging the body, mind and spirit in healing trauma and addiction.

In private practice in California until July 2006, I have worked with a wide variety of clients and concerns over the last decade.  Most recently located in the San Francisco Bay Area, I worked extensively with Silicon Valley executives using either a counselling or coaching modality determined by the type of concerns presented.  Some had career and family concerns; some were impacted by the "dot-com bust" and needed support due to depression, anxiety and the desire to relocate.  Some of my coaching clients have given permission for their testimonials to appear elsewhere on this website.

Having lived in California for nearly twenty years, I returned in 2006 to be married to my childhood sweetheart.