I am a husband, a father, a brother, a son, an uncle and a friend who is passionate about helping and equipping my fellow South Africans to work through, and better manage, their various issues or problems. I am an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys trail running, kayak fishing, rock climbing, hiking and camping. After matriculating I worked as a youth specialist, teaching life skills to adolescents and counselling at Options Pregnancy Centre. I got married and worked for several years in the rope access industry offshore, during which time I lost my first wife to cancer. I returned to Cape Town, remarried and began to study a degree in theology through North West University at the Bible Institute of South Africa in Kalk Bay. Once completed, I then studied a diploma in counselling and communication at the South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP).
My counselling approach is integrative. This means that I not only practice the core principles of person-centred counselling, such as being non-judgemental, empathetic and genuine towards my clients, but I also use a blend of other counselling approaches such as the cognitive behavioural and solution focused counselling models.
Counselling, essentially, is a collaboration between two or more people, working towards specific goals or outcomes. Sessions are typically 50 minutes to 1 hour in length, and the number of sessions needed are openly discussed between the counsellor and the client.
My counselling approach is generally short term, but very dependent on how tentatively a client wants to work through their issues. Having said that, however, in the same way that most of our problems or issues do not develop overnight, working through issues, trying to understand, resolve and manage them, is also a process that takes time.
All counsellors and psychologists must be accountable, and I am no different. I am supervised by a clinical psychologist and am registered with the Council for Pastoral and Spiritual Counsellors (CPSC).
While available for general counselling from ages 13 and older, I specialise in the areas of anxiety, anger, crisis, grief, pornographic addiction and couple/marriage counselling.
In counselling, only psychologists are recognised by the Health Professional Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as eligible for clients to claim from medical aid.
I am a trained professional counsellor, not a psychologist, and therefore clients cannot claim from medical aid. My fees, however, reflect my qualifications and are very affordable. Potential clients are more than welcome to contact me regarding my fees.
