Previous to a career in Counselling I worked for 15 years as a secondary school teacher both in Sydney and the U.K.   My background as a teacher involved working at St Paul's College, Manly, PLC Sydney and most recently at North Sydney Boys' High in Crows Nest.  Counselling can help to reduce anxiety, improve concentration and provide support in the lead up to exams.  Experience as a HSC English teacher provides me with a clear understanding of the pressures placed upon students and parents during Year 12.

I have found my teaching experience invaluable when working with younger clients and their families. As part of my counselling training at Jansen Newman I worked voluntarily in the St Leonards clinic and at the Wayside Chapel in King's Cross providing counselling and psychotherapy to a range of clients.

My main interest lies in using emotion focused therapy as this allows clients to get in touch with their feelings and emotions. Developing self-awareness around feelings and re-experiencing them in the safety of the counselling session can help to facilitate change as the client can feel the difference in their body as well as intellectually. I believe at the very core we are emotional beings who experience feelings to  inform us of our needs and wants.  By connecting to our feelings, both secondary or surface feelings like anger as well as deeper primary feelings such as hurt, shame or guilt, can allow us to discover our true needs and wants and change the way we relate to ourselves and others.