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 and abide by their ethical guidelines in my practice.

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

During my degree couse I also obtained a Certificate in Chemical Dependency from Phillips Graduate Institute and studied Solution Focused Brief Therapy and Narrative Therapy with visiting faculty from Australia.

Since licensure I have taken numerous supplementary training courses, focusing primarily in the domains of healing trauma and the use of a somatic approach in all aspects of my work.  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 completed my own book* about the interweaving of trauma and addiction in 2005 and am presently in the editing and publication process.  Click here for the first chapter.

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.

*Unwinding the Trauma / Addiction Bind: Engaging the body, mind and spirit in healing trauma and addiction