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Phillip

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Sex Therapy Canberra

  • David
    David

    Registered Psychologist Canberra

    B.A.(Hons)Psych; MAPS

    Hart Centre Certified

    LOCATIONS
    • 44-52 Townshend St, Phillip
    Specialised Training
    • Secrets, Cybersex & Infidelity, Addiction, Trauma & Forgiveness by Janis Abrahms Spring
    • Relational Life Counselling Level 1 by Terry Real
    • Men in Therapy by David Wexler
    • Integrating Sexual Issues into Couples Therapy by Barry McCarthy
    • Relationship Therapy Methodologies Program by The Hart Centre
    • Couples and Asperger’s Syndrome Counselling Skills and Strategies, Tony Attwood

    David is a Psychologist that specialises in individual and Relationship Counselling, with 30 years experience.   He has worked in private practice as well as in Community Mental Health, Organisational/Corporate settings with EAP providers, and at the Vietnam Veterans Counselling Service.

    David’s primary focus and professional interest has been in stress and anxiety management (including PTSD), Anger Management and on Relationships (including Sex Therapy).  He has had specialised training in Couples counselling, Mediation/Conflict Resolution and in Life Coaching.  David’s counselling approach is client-centred and based on Solution-oriented Brief Therapy framework, and his therapeutic modalities include CBT, EMDR, NLP, Hypnotherapy  (and others).

    David’s philosophy is to facilitate personal growth by eliminating emotional obstacles (e.g. childhood traumas), identifying inner strengths and resources, and building on these to encourage, empower and enable the person to be all they can be.  In relationship counselling, David’s aim is for a couple to build together the most fulfilling and satisfying relationship possible, one that lasts and is able to adjust to and withstand changing situations and stages of life.  David will often work with partners individually (to help them address and resolve their personal issues that adversely impact on their relationship) before proceeding with joint Relationship Counselling.  David values his work with couples because he appreciates the significant impact (both positive and negative) that couples can have on people around them (children, families, social networks, work places and communities).

    As well as relationship counselling and sexual counselling, David is available for Pre-marriage counselling, porn addiction and narcissism.

    How many years counselling experience do you have?

    38 years

    What are three strengths you have as a Psychologist/Counsellor?

    I’m interested in people. Curious about them and their individual stories and experiences. I have a sense of compassion. I also have a broad range of interests generally eg politics, spirituality, so I can relate on those levels. I have a broad range of skills and techniques that I use in therapy eg EMDR, hypnotherapy and solution oriented therapy. I also have a broad range of experience and related skills through work in community health, corporate, Vietnam Veterans counselling service, EAP. Plus I have a good sense of humour and look at the funny side of things when appropriate.

    What is the most satisfying and fulfilling part of the work you do?

    Being able to help people that are suffering distress and achieve some sort of positive result (though not every situation is seen as positive). When talking to others I learn from them and that often puts my own issues and problems into perspective. I like helping clients to ease their suffering. It is sharing a special and intimate environment when talking about personal issues. I see positive changes and some major transformations. People that have carried trauma for years and we have used EMDR technique to change that eg, fear of flying. It is a creative process, not a production line and I need to be on the ball and focus and listen and come up with different ways of doing things to help the clients. There is a fair degree of creativity and interest involved. I like to help people feel good about themselves again eg self-esteem, strength and abilities and to be able to utilise those. Often it is a problem-solving exercise in helping to find solutions for issues and that is a challenge. I engage with people in a deep and meaningful way and it’s a broad range of people that I see from teenagers through to senior citizens. All from different walks of life, levels of society and I can learn about life and the world through their eyes. It is a mindfulness experience when talking to clients as you can’t think about anything else. I feel privileged that people come and talk to me about personal, private and sensitive things. There is a level of trust involved with that.

    What’s an example of a couple you have helped the most?

    A couple in their 40’s who’d been together 20 years were trying to deal with the repercussions of infidelity. I saw them individually and together. They were trying to forgive and move forwards. Through counselling they learnt to be more open and express their feelings, as well as drawing boundaries. They are keen to stay together and are opening up more. Their relationship is a work in progress.

    Parking & Accessibility

    There is plenty of off-street parking in the general vicinity.

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