I have been working as a clinical psychologist in private practice since April 2003. My practice is in Sunset Beach. I work with adult individual clients, couples and groups, on a short or long term basis .

Most of my work entails witnessing, sharing and sometimes enabling people on their life journey. A lot of this work involves mourning losses. It can also involve a discovery or re-discovery of oneself, which is often a positive and deeply meaningful experience. I have found myself becoming more and more in awe of this work as I have become more comfortable with myself as a therapist and as I have journeyed in my own life.

People contact therapists for many reasons. There may be the need to change particular behaviour patterns. There may have been a trauma or life crisis. Perhaps there is a gradual increase in depressive or anxiety-related symptoms, which eventually become too hard to endure. There may be a need for greater self-knowledge or meaning-making, brought on either by disillusionment with life, or perhaps just a longing for a different experience of life.  Similarly, the therapeutic journey is very variable. Some people may need a long time in therapy to achieve a strong, accepting sense of self and so to feel able to manage their particular symptoms. Others may find that a brief experience of being heard and understood is sufficient to continue this journey alone. Often a trauma or life crisis can be successfully addressed in as few as 6 sessions. However, these events may trigger personal experiences which require months or years of therapy.

I mostly practice psychoanalytic therapy. This insight-oriented, depth therapy usually requires months to years of therapy rather than a few weeks to months (see individual and couple therapy for more information). However, I am very flexible regarding the number of sessions we agree to, realizing that many people have time and/or financial constraints, or simply feel the therapeutic journey to be too difficult. Sometimes, whilst respecting your decision to end the therapy, I may suggest that you continue, or resume at a later stage.

I suggest all clients come for an initial assessment period of 3-4 sessions. During this time I can gather enough information to recommend a treatment plan and the client/s can get a sense of what therapy with me is about and if they would like to continue with it. The assessment sessions are also generally very therapeutic.