I have a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology, and I am a Registered Clinical Counselor in good standing with the British Columbia Association of Clinical Counselors (www.bc-counselors.org).
Although I began counseling individuals and couples back in 1994, I have taken extended sabbaticals in the intervening years to deepen my own personal journey of healing and wholeness through numerous personal retreats, focusing on meditation and contemplation; and have journeyed to India several times, undertaking a deep exploration and personal application of Eastern psychology, philosophy, and spirituality.
As a result of my extensive formal training in Western psychology and psychotherapy, years of counseling individuals and couples, and a lifetime of study and practice of Eastern psychology, philosophy, and spirituality, I have arrived at a unique approach to counseling and psychotherapy that is both integral and holistic; which simply means that the best of East and West are integrated into an approach that considers the "whole person".
The major influences on my therapeutic philosophy and practice from the perspective of Western psychology are: Rogerian Therapy, Humanistic Psychology, Collaborative Therapy, Existential Therapy, and Brief Solution Focused Therapy. From the Eastern perspective, I have years of direct experience and training in the following modalities: meditation and contemplation (Zen Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism, Vipassana, Advaita Vedanta, and mystical Christianity); martial arts (karate, kung fu, Tai Chi, and Qigong); and the healing arts (Qigong, Therapeutic Touch, and Reiki – Level II).
My approach to psychotherapy is also transpersonal in that it “goes beyond” the personal and limited sense of a separate ego existence. Based on my own experience, however, I have come to realize that “going beyond” the personal must also include a clear sense of embodiment, and what I call a “here and now” presence. This, in turn, leads to a way of being that brings us to a place of ease and contentment.
