Get to know more about me and my services
MA, MSW, RSW, etc.
It was by way of volunteering at the Distress Centre of Toronto in the mid-1990s that I stumbled into social work and ultimately a practice in psychotherapy. At the time, I was working towards a doctorate in English at the University of Toronto. My dissertation (never completed!) was on how the great Canadian literary critic Northrop Frye was influenced by the English visionary poet and painter William Blake. My real interest was in the human imagination and how, from the raw materials of communal, inherited stories, the creative spirit forges new and liberating ways of seeing the world.
The Masters program in Social Work at The University of Toronto provided an excellent foundation for the advanced trainings in the psychotherapeutic modalities that inform my practice (including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Inner Relationship Focussing, and Emotion Focused Therapy). But nothing has superseded what I learned as a volunteer at the Distress Centre: to listen with humility. And to be there, first and foremost, because I want to help.
If they awarded degrees in depression, I’d have earned one of those too. So that’s a whole other kind of education that can prepare someone to be a good therapist, or at least that’s been the case for me. I know what it’s like to struggle, to be discouraged, to try again, to be successful, and to have to repeat the whole process. My first bout of depression came when I was away at McGill University for my undergraduate degree in English and Religious Studies. I didn’t know how to be a very good psychotherapy ‘patient’ then and medication didn’t prove especially helpful. One day, another student in my Religious Studies course gave a presentation comparing Christian meditation using the ‘Jesus prayer’ with a form of Buddhist mindfulness meditation called Vipassana. That summer I travelled down to Massachusetts and attended my first 10 day silent Vipassana retreat. The meditation helped a lot. Soon enough I’d be travelling as far afield as Nepal and India studying this form of meditation that I’ve continued studying ever since. Another in the different kinds of education that inform my work as a psychotherapist.
What else? Being a friend, a son, a brother, a husband and, most of all, a father.
And the experience of listening with humility to so many clients over so many years (almost 20 now). I consider it a double privilege: the privilege of receiving clients in my office, as a host, and the privilege of being permitted access to their inner worlds, as a guest.
Answers to some frequently asked questions
My office is centrally located: 418 Eglinton Ave, just west of Avenue Rd. There is public parking around the corner. My building is accessible.
If after our initial consult meeting(s) we decide to go ahead, we’ll schedule regular weekly meetings, at least to start. I have no weekend availability.
Sessions are 50 minutes and the fee per session is $280. I reserve a limited number of sliding scale spots.
Services aren’t covered by OHIP but are usually covered up to some limit by private and group insurance plans. Otherwise, they can be claimed as a medical expense on income tax.
RSW means Registered Social Worker. I am a member of the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers.
