My Story...
After a successful career as a professional hang gliding instructor and competition pilot in my youth, I made the long but rewarding transition to a career as a psychologist. Many people ask me, what inspired you to transition between two completely unrelated fields? Actually, I find them surprisingly similar in many ways . . .
As a hang gliding instructor, my primary role was to encourage people to overcome their fear and take a leap of faith from the secure ground into the unknown. Now, I find that my primary role is still encouraging people to take a leap of faith into the unknown. The difference is that, in psychotherapy, the “ground” is the security of our old habit patterns, and “overcoming our fear” is the courage it takes to leap into the possibility of a whole new way of being in the world, with all the unknowns and even risks that this entails. It seems that in order to live more fully and explore the bounds of our freedom, we have to let go of many of our secure but limiting habits and belief systems.
As a hang gliding instructor, my primary role was to encourage people to overcome their fear and take a leap of faith from the secure ground into the unknown. Now, I find that my primary role is still encouraging people to take a leap of faith into the unknown. The difference is that, in psychotherapy, the “ground” is the security of our old habit patterns, and “overcoming our fear” is the courage it takes to leap into the possibility of a whole new way of being in the world, with all the unknowns and even risks that this entails. It seems that in order to live more fully and explore the bounds of our freedom, we have to let go of many of our secure but limiting habits and belief systems.
I began this transition about 25 years ago, when I took my own leap of faith with the aid of intensive mindfulness meditation and other contemplative practices and embarked upon my own personal journey of self discovery.
I combined this with intensive academic studying and conducting a series of pioneering research studies as I worked through my B.A. degree, my Masters degree, and finally my Ph.D. degree, all of them in psychology with an emphasis on somatic, humanistic, existential, and transpersonal perspectives. I translated my doctoral research on links between developmental trauma, psychosis and other extreme states of mind, into the widely acclaimed book, Rethinking Madness.
I began this transition about 25 years ago, when I took my own leap of faith with the aid of intensive mindfulness meditation and other contemplative practices and embarked upon my own personal journey of self discovery.
I combined this with intensive academic studying and conducting a series of pioneering research studies as I worked through my B.A. degree, my Masters degree, and finally my Ph.D. degree, all of them in psychology with an emphasis on somatic, humanistic, existential, and transpersonal perspectives. I translated my doctoral research on the recovery from psychosis and extreme states into the widely acclaimed book, Rethinking Madness.
I combined this with intensive academic studying and conducting a series of pioneering research studies as I worked through my B.A. degree, my Masters degree, and finally my Ph.D. degree, all of them in psychology with an emphasis on somatic, humanistic, existential, and transpersonal perspectives. I translated my doctoral research on the links between developmental trauma, psychosis and other extreme states of mind, into the widely acclaimed book, Rethinking Madness.
In 2012, In became licensed as a Psychologist in California. In 2013, I shifted to New Zealand, where I also registered as a Clinical Psychologist and continued to provide various services within the health professions there for about 10 years. In 2023, I returned to the U.S., where I continue to work as a psychologist in this private practice setting in both California and Utah.
During my career, I have been highly dedicated to continuing to increase my diversity of experience and competence in clinical psychology and psychotherapy/counselling, having worked at:
- A residential facility for those challenged by psychosis and other extreme states of consciousness
- A major medical hospital providing support for people challenged by serious physical and mental ailments, many of whom were preparing for the great unknown of death
- A community mental health clinic supporting individuals, couples, and families with a wide variety of issues;
- A treatment center for those challenged with substance dependence
- The New Zealand ACC system, providing one-on-one and multi-disciplinary team support for survivors of accidents and injuries (including concussion/TBI, PTSD, chronic pain, survivors of sexual abuse/assault and physical assault, and other associated conditions)
- Several private practice settings, where I continue to provide therapy for a wide range of challenges and supervision to other health professionals (see My Services for more details).
I’ve facilitated dozens of workshops and trainings over the past 15+ years. These include teaching other health professionals therapy modalities that incorporate mindful and somatic (mind/body) approaches to various forms of acute and developmental trauma, and teaching other methods of psychological healing and wellness more generally.
I have extensive experience providing supervision to other health professionals, including psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, psychotherapists and other health professionals, individually and in group settings.
I have trained in many therapeutic modalities, appreciating that “one size does not fit all.” In line with this, my approaches to therapy, teaching and supervision are highly integrative and individualized: See more about my philosophy here and see the many modalities I incorporate into my practice here.
Professional Memberships:
Licensed Psychologist – California, USA – #25338 (California Board of Psychology)
Licensed Psychologist – Utah, USA – #13759876-2501 (Utah DOPL)
Utah Psychological Association (UPA) – Utah,USA (UPA)
My Services
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My Workshops
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My Philosophy
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