About Me
The Overview
I've had red-herring jobs, career cul-de-sacs and un-realised dreams. My first real work was as a design draftsman in an engineering company before I followed my truer vocation as a musician. Music led me to my wife and we've lived in America and the UK playing in bands and doing music for films and video. We've done music for weddings, funerals, festivals, parties and even catholic mass.
I came across mens work in 2011 and became a fan of the mythopoetic founders such as Robert Bly and James Hillman. This in turn opened my eyes to the analytic psychology of CG Jung which exposed me to the great vista of mythology and mind.
I found poetry as a way to navigate and explain and express my experiences and continue to frame my life from this unbounded and divergent dialect.
I re-trained as a Counsellor and opened my private practice in 2021.
Mens Work
I worked closely with Male Journey UK, setting up a mens circle in London and running my own retreats as well as being on team for large 5 day mens rites of passage programs. I've spoken on panels and been invited to speak in a few countries about these rites of passage experiences.
On returning to Australia in 2017, I continued this work with Centre for Men Australia and developed a specifically Australian rites of passage program aimed at young men in their first decade of adulthood. I speak at mens conferences and run retreats and workshops.
Suicide Prevention in Local Communities
In 2021 I was employed as a Community Development worker at Caloundra Community Centre to run their suicide prevention program. I work alongside people in local communities who are passionate and courageously speaking up about suicide and bringing awareness of its impact on so many of us. In this role I support and encourage community to hose events, programs and offer training that seeks to reduce the stigma of suicide and bring it out of the shadows. I am drawn to this work from a particularly personal angle, having lost my good mate JP to suicide in 2019. I personally know the shock and impact of suicide and the ripple effect it has on those around.
That's my story, whats yours?
Carl Jung believed we need to write our own personal myth - by which he meant; by telling our story, we can begin to see and write what comes next, rather than the story writing itself. We can become the author of our lives, rather than simply an actor, pushed and pulled by fate. I'd love to hear your story and uncover what your next chapter is.