The Long View

I've been working as a CBT therapist for 18 years. In that time, I've noticed something that changed how I understand my work: almost everyone who comes to me is struggling with the same core patterns — whether it's ADHD, anxiety, OCD, emotional regulation or self-esteem difficulties.

Intolerance of uncertainty. Overestimation of responsibility. Misinterpretation of the meaning of thoughts and feelings. And the patterns we develop to find relief from suffering often end up causing the very problems we're trying to escape.

Understanding these patterns — and how they show up differently in different people — is what makes it possible to effect lasting change.

Where This Started

I grew up in a tumultuous family environment. That experience shaped the central question of my life: Why do people do the things they do? How do we get caught in patterns that don't serve us?

I watched people I loved caught in cycles they couldn't break. I saw how early experiences create patterns that repeat and repeat, even when they're causing pain. And I began a mission to understanding why — and what could change that.

Later, I discovered that my own fascination with these patterns wasn't random. I'd spent my childhood trying to navigate unpredictability and chaos, which wired my brain to be hyperaware of threat and uncertainty. I travelled a path that many of my clients do: overestimating my responsibility for things outside my control, misinterpreting social cues, and developing strategies for survival that later became obstacles.

At university, I was formally diagnosed with low working memory — not ADHD, but in the same neighbourhood of the neurodiversity many people are talking about now. Over many years, I began to see how understanding how your brain works is the gateway to actually working with it instead of against it. Whether it be problems with working memory, emotional regulation, or anything else — the moment you understand how it's happening, you gain agency. You stop fighting the current and start navigating it.

Buddhist Wisdom & Modern Neurology

Alongside my professional development in CBT, I was also drawn to explore spiritual views on suffering, which led me to Buddhist perspectives on living well and the relief of suffering. What struck me was how much these ancient insights overlap with modern neurology and the therapeutic skills taught in contemporary CBT.

It's the same truth, told in different languages:

From Buddhism: our suffering comes from resisting reality and clinging to control.
From neurology: our brains are wired for threat-detection and certainty-seeking.
From CBT: the strategies we develop to escape discomfort often amplify it.

These three perspectives describing the same pattern gave me hope — because if ancient wisdom and modern science point to the same mechanisms, and are increasingly coming to the same answers, there must be something to it.

Why I Keep Doing This Work

I continue because of what I learned growing up: patterns are real, powerful, and often invisible to the person stuck in them.

But I also learned this: we are all in the same boat. We all suffer. That is the bond we all have.

And here's the part that changed my life: there is a solution to suffering. There are techniques to relieve it. They don't come naturally — especially not in today's climate, where we're constantly told to push harder, suppress more, achieve faster, clean up your thinking. But they can be learned.

What I've learned through 18 years of practice, and what my own journey taught me, is that relief isn't found in trying harder or positive thinking. It's found in understanding and accepting how the mind works — which, just like life itself, is messy and not always fair. The relief people are looking for comes when they stop fighting that reality and start working with it. That means developing practical skills that fit your brain as it actually is, and building systems that function in the world as it actually exists.

How I Can Help

Because I've navigated complex patterns myself, internal and external struggles and I know recovery is possible — from lived experience, through years of learning and applying what actually works and seeing excellent results in recovery statistics for my clients across the board.

I'm direct and conversational. You know your life better than anyone. My job is to bring frameworks and tools, then help you figure out which ones serve your specific situation rather than a textbook approach. Every strategy we work with is grounded in evidence-based research (ACT, CBT, MCT) but also in ancient wisdom about how to live well. Science and meaning together — we need both.

I aim to help you build systems that fit your brain, your life, your pace — tailored specifically to you.

My work focuses on building genuine resilience. Through noticing and accepting the reality we have, developing skills that work with how we're wired, and creating sustainable systems that hold up over time. I offer understanding and skills that create real, lasting change — the kind that stays with you after we're done working together, continuing to support you long term.

I'm currently based between New Zealand and the UK. Sessions are offered online in GBP (£) and NZD ($). I currently have late evening availability for UK clients.