I grew up in London, England. I was a product of affirmative action by the then socialist government which paid for me to attend St Pauls, a private school founded in 1509. This prepared me for an open scholarship to Christchurch, Oxford, for which, until recently, all students were aided by government grants. Affirmative action gave me a tremendous education and opportunities, but I could never truly feel like I belonged, since nearly all the other students were from a different socioeconomic background. There are no simple solutions. And, as is typical for healers of all stripes, the home life in marked contrast was disastrous.

Unexpectedly, I achieved the rare First Class Honours, which put me on track to become an academic, with graduate enrollment in Philosophy at both Harvard and Oxford Universities. My reaction against a life in the head, combined with CPTSD, led me elsewhere, into healing, breathwork and other somatic or mind-body modalities (certified in massage therapy and shiatsu in 1982). By that time I had become a permanent resident in the USA.

In 1984, I received my MA in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in hypnotherapy and Gestalt, and obtained my MFT license in 1987 (LMFT 23507). I became committed to developing my skills and have accumulated over two thousand hours of advanced training, in addition to decades of my own therapy. I trained for six years in TA/gestalt therapy and hypnotherapy with John Gladfelter, PhD, ABPP, and five years in Core Energetics with John Pierrakos, MD, and Siegmar Gerken, PhD. In 2011, I became certified in Orgonomic therapy, which included training in character analysis, Mastersonian object relations theory, and classical Reichian somatic therapy.

Although the concepts in Character Analytic Orgone therapy are simple (orgone was Reich's name for the energizing force), therapeutic expertise takes some considerable labor, both in personal therapy (from Richard Blasband, MD, and Richard Schwartzman, DO, among others) and in supervision of cases, from Patricia Frisch, PhD for eight years, and two years with the former president of the Institute for Orgonomic Science, Hugh Brenner, PFNP, CRNP. I had the privilege of going to Philadelphia four times for personal therapy with the last physican Reich trained, Morton Herskowitz, DO, who retired in 2017 aged 100. Since 2021, I have bimonthly consultations with Molyn Leszcz, MD, past president of AGPA.

I have also taken Pelvic-Heart Release and completed Levels I and II of Postural Integration (a method recognized by the European Association of Body Psychotherapy) with the founder Jack Painter, PhD. In addition, I have taken numerous shorter courses in a wide variety of therapeutic techniques including extensive training in Ericksonian hypnosis and therapy, as well as trainings with Salvador Minuchin, Virginia Satir, and Carl Whitaker, some of the founders of family therapy.

Before entering private practice, there were several areas in which I felt I needed to gain expertise. I worked in a therapeutic community for patients suffering from schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses. In this setting, I helped set up the family therapy program and offered in-house training on developmental issues. In the early 90's, I served as director of Humboldt County Alcohol and Other Drug Programs, where I provided clinical and program supervision, direct services to dually diagnosed patients, and facilitated the certification of programs for Medi-Cal. One of my fondest memories was the collaborative establishment, clinical supervision, and Medi-Cal certification of the Healthy Moms program, still in existence today. I also worked as staff psychotherapist for a medical clinic.

In line with a reverence for the deeper vibrations of life, I was introduced to Dicky Movescamp in the early 90's, and was allowed to pilgrimage to Pine Ridge annually for the purposes of a hanblecya, a crying-for-a-vision over four nights with no food or water.

Since 1994, I have been in private practice where I specialize in a form of psychotherapy that recognizes the unity of character and somatic (especially brain) processes, and the primacy of the therapeutic relationship. In this modality, special emphasis is placed on the working through of primitive defenses, the encouragement of activation, and the tolerance for affect, both positive and negative. In 1995, I remodeled a large space in Eureka, CA, to provide a state-of-the-art environment for healing and somatic psychotherapy.

The next stage of my life is to pass on my various lineages and 40+ years of experience, and to move toward generativity versus stagnation (à la Eric Ericson). I am happy to be mentoring and training students both locally and internationally. My teaching experience now includes working with Patricia Estrada’s Institute in CDMX. Previuos teaching experience included courses at Antioch University West and College of the Redwoods, and guest lecturer at the University of Laverne and Humboldt State University. I have been assistant trainer in Core Energetics

in the U.S., Mexico, and England. My combined interests in music, sound, and healing gave rise to a presentation on resonance in psychotherapy delivered at a Core Energetics conference in Switzerland.

I feel blessed to be part of a deeply fulfilling profession. This is reflected in my feelings as a dedicated family man with three children, ages 16, 20, and 23. We live on a micro-homestead near the ocean between Eureka and Arcata, California. As a further effort to enliven, I derive immense satisfaction from playing the piano, backpacking, biking, visiting with friends, striking up conversations wherever I go, jogging in the coastal forest and dunes, learning Dhrupad, and breathing, breathing, breathing. A constant curiosity for all that is around me is a great boon.

I thank you for your time in reading this.

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