A few words about who I am and what I do.

I am, among other things, an author, a lecturer and public speaker.

I have just (October 25th '08) been made a life-long Honorary Fellow of the Association of Professional Hypnotists and psychotherapists

I enjoy mixing and melding different models and theories e.g. the Enneagram, NLP, Hypnotherapy, TA, EFT, Reversal Theory, ACIM, Attachment Theory, Co-counselling, re-presenting them in ways that have meaning and impact and, most importantly, for me, are of practical use in the real world outside the rarefied atmosphere of the training room or supervision session.

Even though I know that we are so much more than a series of geometric shapes, a list of attributes, or the sum total of the answers to a questionnaire, I appreciate and use models or theories, such as those listed above, for what they can contribute toward making sense of the nonsensical things we're all capable of saying and doing.

Working with people at all levels of status and experience; I train and consult for many organisations in the private, public, voluntary and not-for-profit sectors.

For almost 30 years, I've been a management consult, supervisor and business trainer and, for about a dozen years, I've been a clinical supervisor and life-coach for a number counsellors, therapists and hypnotherapists, mostly under the auspices of the UKCP. My clients are either in private practice or working for various agencies e.g. The Westminster Drug Project and the Parent Mentoring section of the Crime Reduction Initiative.  

Much of what I currently believe and think I know about our incredible ability to bounce back from terrible, traumatic experiences, I learnt during the eight years or so that I ran an adolescent therapeutic unit in North London. What I learned from the hundred or so young men who lived with us during the period I was in charge continues to be a source of inspiration and motivation.

My professional involvement with the world of adoption and fostering, in particular with the Post Adoption Centre in London, has continued for over twenty years, as a Counsellor, Consultant, Trainer and Lecturer,
and I continue to work with clients and professionals for various adoption and fostering agencies and for many Social Services.

I write books, articles for magazines, journals, blogs, lyrics and poetry, some of which is available on this and other sites (more on the way).

I was consultant editor on The Nurturing Potential journal, basking in the reflected glory of its wonderful editor and dear friend, Joe Sinclair, with whom I co-wrote Peace of Mind is a Piece of Cake.

Here are some of what I consider either significant, meaningful or important  experiences that brought me to this point in my journey through life..

After hitch-hiking around Europe in my mid and late teens, having spent a few years in a children's home prior to that, in my early 20s, I made enough money from writing lyrics to live a very self indulgent life style for a decade or so. Had I been a little - OK, a LOT wiser - or perhaps a little older, I would have perhaps trusted a little less and invested or saved a little more. However, while I was living 'high on the hog', I was also doing a lot of voluntary work, mostly with kids in care or living rough. I constantly complained about what I saw and heard done in the name of care that was so uncaring.
Eventually, I decided that I would have to go into the world 'properly' and prove that there was another way to work with young people.

My own experience in care, in show business, and on the road, had taught me that there were good and bad people everywhere!

So I determined to get a proper job!

I figured that, if I was not  running 'my own' place in five years, I'd have given it a good go! I started a proper job on the 4th of August and, five years later, on September 10th, I became Head of an adolescent unit in North London.

I left there in 1984 because I wanted to teach others what we'd developed with the volatile and often violent young men, most of whom had been ejected from other institutions for dangerous or destructive behaviour  patterns. For many of them, these rejections were just another abuse in a long series!

Because people had been asking what we were doing with notorious adolescents that was having so many positive effects, in 1980, I had set up Social Effectiveness Training, SET, which is still going strong.

I left the therapeutic unit to start coaching and training other professionals in effective communication with distressed and distressing young people, with a particular emphasis on handling violence and aggression.
It took me quite a while to begin to understand why my teaching was not having the effects I'd hoped for.

It was because the techniques we'd been using in 'my' adolescent unity had not been the reason for the efficacy of our work.

No! Our effectiveness had grown out of the openness of our communication, supported by the various ground rules that we, the staff, said we would, at the very least, aspire to and, ideally, adhere to. Not simply because I said so;  we argued, discussed, made necessary compromises in the face of harsh realities, but stayed focused on the Big Idea; what was best for the youngsters in our care?