Services
Individual Counselling
Are you feeling stuck? Hopeless? Anxious? Unsure how to move forward? Everyday life can be manic and chaotic. Individual counselling with Calum involves more than a manualised, one-size-fits-all approach. Calum begin his career, offering ‘traditional’ evidence-based therapies, such as CBT, DBT, and ACT, but in time, realised that these standardised approaches didn’t account for rich individual differences of his clients. As an experienced therapist, Calum skillfully integrates aspects of various therapies together based on the unique human being in front of him. Whilst he appreciates the importance of evidence-based therapy, over a decade of clinical experience has demonstrated to him the effectiveness of an integrative approach, tailored to suit the needs of the client and their presenting difficulties.
'Most people don't lead their life, they accept their life'.
Many people come to therapy feeling stuck. They aren’t happy with their career, or their relationship, or the way they feel, and they can’t see what they can do about it. Calum believes in a human capacity to grow, evolve, and adapt; to find their own answers and take control of their lives. His approach aims to create a safe and supportive space to begin the process of slowing things down, reflecting, and noticing the things that are keeping us stuck in patterns we are not happy with, whether that be emotionally, in our important relationships, or our career for example. Without knowing what is holding us back, we cannot overcome it.
Couples Counselling
Are you feeling disconnected from your partner? Struggling to communicate effectively? Tired of the endless arguments? Unsure how to navigate some of the challenges that are coming up in your relationship?
Everyday stressors can contribute to rifts and misunderstandings. Couples therapy with Calum offers you the opportunity to step back, reflect, and look at your relationship from a calmer place. Relationships are hard. Those closest to us tend to bring out the biggest reactions emotionally. For couples who want to improve things in their relationship, or individuals who are finding aspects of their relationship challenging, Couples counselling offers the opportunity to step back and gain some clarity on a way a forward.
Calum’s approach can work with couples together, or with one partner, to make changes on an individual level, which can have a ripple effect into the relationship.
“The quality of your life ultimately, depends on the quality of your relationships” – Esther Perrel
Many couples come to therapy feeling disconnected and frustrated. They aren’t happy with their communication, intimacy, or the way they handle conflicts, and they don’t know how to change things. Many couples come into therapy wanting to change the other. This is natural as a human being, however, if you are in pain, you cannot wait for others to change to feel relief, you must make changes too; often, these are not painless, nor are they ‘fair’. You may not have caused your problems, but you are the only one who can change them.
Calum believes in the human capacity to grow, adapt, and strengthen connections. His approach aims to create a safe and supportive environment where couples can slow down, reflect, and identify the patterns that keep them stuck in unfulfilling cycles. By understanding what holds them back, couples can begin to rebuild their relationship on a foundation of mutual understanding, respect, and love.
Family Therapy
Calum has spent over a decade working in a variety of mental health settings. During this time, Calum has been exposed to a variety of therapeutic approaches, but nothing was more striking to him than the impact of people’s family on their emotional wellbeing. There are many narratives out there which suggest if people are ‘toxic’, you should cut them off and move on with your life, but what about when these people are your family? And does cutting them off really solve the emotional reactivity you have to them. It may lessen the intensity of it initially, but it doesn’t resolve it. For instance, if I have a fear of meeting new people, so I ignore social invitations and try to avoid situations where I’ll have to engage with new people, I may feel less anxious, however, the anxiety is not resolved, it’s just ignored. With all families, there are challenges, no human being is immune to this. Families challenge us in ways that other humans cannot, therein lies the work. If we do not work on the challenges within our families, we risk the issues popping up in other relationships, with our friends, partners, or our children.
'What's more important, the flower, or the soil in which it grows?'
Calum’s therapeutic approach with families is mostly based on Bowen Family System Theory, which stresses our interconnectedness to those around us, and the emotional reactivity we have with those we care about the most. When families are not getting along, Calum can work with individuals within that family to understand each person’s perspective and challenges, and to help families find a way forward out of patterns of conflict, distance, or interdependence. Calum is able to provide parent-only coaching
Nature Based Therapy
Big cities offer many benefits, an immeasurable array of restaurants, bars, entertainment, and opportunities on our doorstep every day. It also offers some challenges, for our brain and nervous system. Research shows that people living in cities have an increased prevalence of Anxiety and Mood disorders. Our brains and nervous system have not quite adapted to the noise, chaos, and busyness of modern life; and some of us (Calum included) feel this more than others. Growing up in rural England, Calum has an appreciation for nature, and the positive impact that nature can have on our mental wellbeing. Calum can offer therapy sessions in pre-determined locations in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney as part of the course of normal treatment.
Real Time Coaching Packages
Our Between-Session Coaching service is designed to provide professional, objective support when you need it most, without having to wait until your next therapy session. Please see below for the variety of ways that our real time coaching packages can help you.
As a Complement to Therapy
Clients often report finding sessions useful, but having difficulty putting strategies into practice out in the real world! Between-Session Coaching can enhance your the effectiveness of therapy by reinforcing strategies in real-world situations. We can offer guidance and support to help you practice what you’ve learned, ensuring a smoother transition from theory to application. This ongoing connection helps you feel supported and confident in navigating challenges between sessions.
As a Standalone Option
Some clients who contact us, do not feel ready or able to engage in formal therapy, our coaching packages provides a flexible and focused way to address specific issues, such as managing relationship conflicts or reducing anxiety. It’s ideal for individuals who are short on time but still want access to professional insights and practical solutions.
As Part of Discharge Planning
Some clients use this service as a “soft exit” when reducing the frequency of their therapy sessions or preparing to transition out of counselling altogether. It can be particularly beneficial for those moving overseas, out of the area, or seeking to maintain progress after completing therapy. Between-Session Coaching ensures continuity of care while encouraging independence.
We offer different levels of coaching to match your unique situation and goals. Whether you need occasional check-ins or more intensive, ongoing support, you can select a plan that works best for you.
Mind and Body connection
Mind and body are interconnected. Calum has undertaken training in the field of Psychoneuroimmunology and appreciates that health is and should be holistic. We all have times where we are feeling low in energy, life isn’t flowing right, and we have gotten into bad habits. Our physical health might be poor and this can impact on our emotional health. Perhaps we are drinking or partying too much, we stop taking care of ourselves, we are busy with work, so we are eating takeout and not sleeping enough. For these times, Calum offers comprehensive packages of care in conjunction with trusted and qualified colleagues (such as dieticians, personal trainers, psychiatrists and other experienced health professionals) to provide a total reset. This package includes an initial assessment with Calum to determine your needs, 6 sessions of individual, goal-directed coaching with Calum, and referrals to relevant and trusted colleagues for other aspects of your wellbeing (for example, exercise plans from qualified personal trainers, meal plans for experienced and knowledgeable dieticians). Please contact Calum to find enquire if this is something you are interested in.
Supervision
Calum is an experienced supervisor and provides supervision to a range of professionals including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counsellors, Teachers and Mental Health Support Workers (often in the NDIS space). Calum takes a reflective approach to supervision and tailors his supervision to the needs of the client.
He has extensive experience across the public mental health sector and in private practice and has provided supervision and consultation across both. Calum welcomes the opportunity to touch base to see whether his supervisory approach would work for you and he will offer a sliding scale for fees for those who can demonstrate financial hardship.
Workshops and Training
Calum feels that the Benjamin Franklin quote, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” rings true, particularly when attempting to understand topics as complex as mental health and wellbeing. He feels it is vital that people understand information in a way that is relatable to them and the setting in which they operate. For this reason, he tailors every workshop he provides with practical examples and takes a relaxed, conversational, and collaborative approach to training and workshops.
He has a range of experience offering workshops and consultation to schools and other organisations who are interested in improving their approach to mental health. Over the past decade, Calum has provided group supervision, individual supervision, workshops and consultation to a variety of organisations. These have often been centred around specific topics that specific topics relating to Mental Health and wellbeing, or on specific cases relating to individuals to increase the confidence of teachers, wellbeing teams, school counsellors, NGO’s, and other organisations who might be encountering or supporting people with their mental health (whether that be students, staff, or clients).
Calum provides customised packages based on the needs of the organisation and he occasionally utilises hand-picked expert presenters where topics are not within his areas of interest to ensure that the quality of training or supervision provided is of the highest possible standard. Calum has recently provided workshops on Trauma, Self-Harm, Anxiety, and Youth Mental Health to a variety of organisations.
Please contact Calum to discuss this in more detail if it’s something that you’d be interested in finding out more about.