About Matt — My Philosophy

Psychology is part science, part art—at least that’s my take. The science is in proven skills and tools; the art’s in how they’re delivered. So my job is to have a selection of skills and tools that have been rigorously tested, and the experience and ability to communicate them in a way that makes sense to you. It also means that the type of therapy we decide on (the type of skills and tools we use) will depend on who you are and what the issue might be.

It's a crude analogy that might lack a little heart, but you could almost think of my job as being a "mind mechanic". If you dropped a car off at the mechanic and said, "Something's wrong. Fix it, please," the mechanic is undoubtedly going to have a few questions for you. How well you can answer them is going to depend on how well you know the car. Some people are pretty aware of how their engine's running and some people aren't. That's why therapy usually starts with a bit of an investigation into the problem. You can just imagine your mechanic asking, "so, how long has this been going on?", or, "is it all the time, or just when you put your foot down?" Through these questions, your mechanic can start to dial in on what the problem might be, talk through some scenarios and potential fixes, and then together decide on a plan of action. So you can see through this analogy that a psychologist needs to be able to determine what's at the heart of the matter, explain the possible strategies that can help, and then together with the client start building the skills and tools we think will be most effective.

Personally, I came to psychology later in life, which has been a real blessing in terms of understanding my clients. I had many years just "bloking it" through life. Sometimes things were going great guns, sometimes life felt like a dog's breakfast. But changing careers later in life has been a defining strength. Younger me had very limited "tools" or "skills" to get through tough times, and it showed from time to time. But those years gave me lived experience and a passion to work with men who may benefit from what I've learnt professionally, and personally - a gap in the market that needed someone to loudly and proudly step into - and do so in a way that makes sense to the average bloke who might have traditionally been turned off from psychology or not really understood what it was all about.

Aside from psychology, I have a background in music and education. It was actually a rare injury that made playing professionally gradually become more difficult and forced me to reconsider my direction and pursue a career in psychology. In fact, I see psychology like music, in that it is high-level problem solving through communication. In addition to that I like to spend time with friends and family, have the odd roll on the jiu-jitsu mats, and play with the dog.

Reckon that's enough for you to get a sense of who I am and what I'm about. Hit me up and let's get after it. Life's easier when you Know Yourself.