About
Background
I come to psychological therapy and counselling from a diverse and varied background. I have experience working in the criminal justice system, as well as having worked in the transport and engineering sectors. I have taught philosophy at the University of Louvain (metaphysics, ethics and modern philosophy) and lectured in psychology at West Highland College of the University of Highlands and Islands. I am a fully registered secondary teacher in Scotland (philosophy, religious education, sociology, psychology and modern studies), occasionally teaching at schools in Perthshire. I also currently work part-time as an associate lecturer in forensic psychology and counselling and in mental health and counselling with the Open University, and I provide counselling and psychological therapy to university students through the Disability and Wellbeing Service of the University of Strathclyde.
Originally from Southern California, where I worked in criminal justice, I moved to Louvain, Belgium to study philosophy. After living in Belgium for 10 year, I moved with my family to rural Perthshire in 2000, where I enjoy kayaking, hill-walking, fitness training and spending time with my family.
I have a wide interest in psychology, philosophy and religion - with particular interests in identity and senses of self, phenomenology and existentialism. I am currently developing my skills further in existential and phenomenological therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, and psychoanalysis. Previous masters dissertations focused on 'Change Processes in Person-Centred Experiential Therapies for Social Anxiety: A content analysis of client post-session Helpful Aspects of Therapy (HAT) data' (psychotherapy and counselling); 'Morality in Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplay Games (MMORPGs): The Moral Self in World of Warcraft' (psychology); and 'Hegelian Dialectic, Its Criticism and Beyond: Rethinking Sameness and Otherness' (philosophy). Doctoral work in philosophy focused primarily on the works of G. W. F. Hegel, with additional close readings of T. Aquinas, I. Kant, M. Heidegger, F. Nietzsche, S. Freud, and J. Lacan. I have also published articles and presented at international conferences on philosophy, education, religion, psychology and psychotherapy.
Education
Master of Science (Distinction) in Psychotherapy and Counselling
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
Master of Science in Applied Psychology
Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen
Postgraduate Certificate of Education in Secondary Education
University of Glasgow, Glasgow
Certificate of Doctoral Education and Training in Philosophy
Higher Institute of Philosophy, University of Louvain, Belgium
Master of Arts (Distinction) and Ecclisiastical Licentiate in Philosophy
Higher Institute of Philosophy, University of Louvain, Belgium
Ecclisiastical Licentiate in Divinity
École Cathédrale Faculté Notre-Dame, Paris / Maryvale Institute, Birmingham
Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Sciences
San Diego State University, USA
Continuing Professional Development
Emotion-Focused Therapy
Professional Training in Theory and Practice (Levels 1, 2 & 3)
University of Strathclyde / Robert Elliott
Counselling for Children and Young People
Professional Training in Theory and Practice
University of Strathclyde (in progress)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Postgraduate Study in Theory and Practice (180 hours)
New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling / Middlesex University
Counselling Psychology
Postgraduate Study in Theory and Practice (180 hours)
New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling / Middlesex University