About David
I work with people experiencing difficult problems. Such problems go by many names, and may be new or old, but all share the common trait of stubbornly obstructing our happiness. You might feel depressed, anxious, or stuck, unable to steer toward a more hopeful future. You might struggle with the overwhelming complexity of your life, or feel paralyzed by the choices it presents. You might find yourself caught in recurring patterns, unable to break free despite the hardship they cause. Other problems I commonly work with include:
- Ongoing unease, sense of dread, despair, or lack of fulfillment in one’s pursuits and in life
- Reliving the past, feeling trapped by the past, or struggling with fear, guilt, shame or anger about the past
- Preoccupying negative thoughts, intrusive thoughts, or repetitive thoughts
- Intense or persistent inner critics or outer judges
- Disconnection from other people, such as feeling alone or lonely, detached, unloved or unlovable
- Disconnection from oneself, low self-regard or self-worth, feeling ‘lost’ or aimless in life
- Reliance on food, work, shopping, sex or substances for comfort or contentment
- Difficulty asserting oneself, or having one’s needs, preferences or desires met or respected.
Whatever they do, however they operate, these problems make life needlessly hard.
Yet despite the hardship they cause, I believe our problems also carry essential insight about what is needed for their resolution. I work with you to reveal these insights, to gather their wisdom, and to transform them into opportunities for greater well-being and engagement with life. Ultimately, I believe that true well-being involves more than just quieting problems: it involves restoring the parts of ourselves that enable us to be full participants in this world we share.
You can visit my website to easily book a free, unhurried conversation about the problems you’re experiencing, and the life you’d like to live. We’ll talk about ways to help you move toward that life, using approaches that feel natural, intuitive, and possibly even exciting.
Credentials
Education
Master of Social Work
University of British Columbia
Post-Degree Studies, Social Work and Social Development
University of Waterloo
Baccalaureate of Arts
University of Guelph
Registrations
Registered Social Worker
BC College of Social Workers
BC Association of Social Workers
Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
Mental Health First Aid Instructor
Mental Health Commission of Canada
Therapeutic training
Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy
AEDP Institute
Cognitive Processing Therapy
Vancouver Coastal Health
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy Skills
Behavioral Tech x Psychwire
Dynamic Attachment Repatterning Experience
Dr Diane Poole Heller
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Sue Genest MSc RCC CCC
Narrative Therapy
Vancouver School for Narrative Therapy
Neuroscience and the Satir Model in the Sand Tray
Dr Madeleine De Little
Additional training
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
Canadian Mental Health Association
Emerging Respiratory Viruses, Including Covid-19: Methods for Detection, Prevention, Response and Control
World Health Organization
Indigenous Awareness Certification
Indigenous Awareness Canada
Integrated Trauma Therapy: Incorporating IFS with EMDR, SP, CPT, AEDP, DBT, and Psychedelic Medicines for Treating Complex Trauma and PTSD
Internal Family Systems Institute
Medication Management for Healthcare Workers
Vancouver Community College
Mental Health First Aid Instructor Training
Mental Health Commission of Canada
Psychotherapy and the Highly Sensitive Person
Dr Elaine Aron
San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training
BC Provincial Health Services Authority
Trauma-Informed Support Skills
Canadian Mental Health Association
Understanding Emergency Worker Trauma
First Responder Health
Understanding Firefighter Culture and Trauma
First Responder Health