MY PATH TO PSYCHOTHERAPY
There have been times in my life when I had the choice to go one way or another. Each decision that I ended up making brought me closer to counselling as a professional practice and way of life. I consider counselling my calling and everything I do, from raising a family to teaching at university, is tied up with it.
When I was 19, I came upon a collection of books by the psychoanalyst Carl Jung. The writing was too difficult for me to fully grasp at the time but I was drawn in by the images and the sheer size of the thirty books that filled the library shelf. This was a person who devoted his life to understanding himself and helping others do the same. I was inspired to spend my life examining the conscious and unconscious human mind.
A few years after college I left my hometown of Montreal and started a family in Victoria. I soon returned to school to study Child and Youth Care at UVic. It was during this period that I began my own personal analysis, taking one of the first important steps in becoming a psychotherapist. After completing a masters degree and a number of internships, I began working in high schools, universities, and First Nations contexts.
Throughout my years of clinical practice and personal analysis, I have come to the conclusion that it is not the products of my life that matter most to me, but the intensity, creativity, curiosity, and compassion through which I accomplish them. I work as a counsellor to share my passion for reflection and self-exploration. I regard every person's life as unique and worthwhile. I live to share in life's many expressions and enjoy doing so most in the company of others.