Who is this guy?

So, you’ve found your way to this tiny corner of the internet where my counselling page lives — and if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably already got a load of tabs open with other counsellors’ faces staring back at you.

I get it. I’ve been there, trying to work out which of these strangers I might feel comfortable taking a leap of faith with, based on little more than some text and a cheesy photo.

If you’re going to sit across from me and trust me with the things that matter to you, I think you deserve to know something about the person you’re trusting. So let me tell you a little about myself…

I’m nearly 40, a white cis man, born and raised in the UK. I’ve lived in London, Leeds and Ipswich, and have called Norwich home since 2020. I’m not straight but nor would I define myself as queer. I make music, write children’s books, run and hike, and love being out in nature. Professionally, I’ve knocked around in the creative industries and the wild world of music tech.

I’m a dad, a son, a husband and a friend — and those roles haven't always come easily. I’ve been through post-natal depression. I’ve lost a parent. I've lost myself in booze and chemicals. I’ve struggled with my masculinity. I’ll be the first to admit that I haven’t always acted out of kindness or love, and there were a good few years back there when I didn’t really recognise the person I’d become.

But it’s all helped me become the person I am today, and these days I really quite like me. Through my life experiences, I’ve learned something that feels pretty fundamental and I believe to be universal: none of our experiences make any of us less worthy, or less human than anyone else. The depression, the grief, the drugs and alcohol, the mistakes, the shame — none of it defines me.

My experiences don’t make me an expert in the challenges you face in your life, but they do mean I know something about what it is to be human. About getting things ‘wrong’. About carrying things you don’t really want to carry. About not always recognising yourself. And about finding your own way back to yourself.