In my work with people, and in human life in general, I feel that there are two significant polarities – our ability to experience mutual connection with others, and our ability to sustain and uphold our inherent human dignity. These polarities operate together to help us fulfill our lives. In our personal development and in therapy and counselling key difficult issues often form around them.

My approach is to pay attention and to help clients pay attention in order to deepen our awareness of the choices and decisions we make. In order to do this we need to challenge ourselves in compassionate ways, to think and experience ourselves in new and perhaps deeper ways. It is my job, in an atmosphere of both kindness and challenge, to facilitate this process.

In order to do this I help direct the client’s attention to expanded awareness of themselves and their situation by attending to body sensations and how those connect to emotions, to choices, and to unexplored thoughts and feelings. The intention is that blockages and outworn assumptions might be released. My belief is that we all by our nature contain the abilities and potentials that we need to deal with our lives and development.

I use techniques derived from Bodynamics (see links page), from guided imagery, from Gestalt therapy and from relationship and family therapy and many other sources. My work tends to be primarily verbal with a lot of emphasis placed on bodily experience and sensation. Sometimes we use breath to create gently enhanced states of awareness to facilitate deeper understandings and release.

I have worked as a counsellor in various venues in BC since 1974 including residential treatment for children and in a social work agency. I have been in my private therapeutic practice since 1982.