Focusing on practical reasoning for life and work, my service draws on existential coaching and the philosophies of liberation mapped out by Seneca, Sartre and Wittgenstein. Central to my coaching practice is careful attention to the mainstays of wellbeing – your life purpose, self-acceptance, positive relations with others, personal development, autonomy and environmental mastery.
The future has arrived, its just not evenly distributed yet”
William Gibson
Technology was what the cyberpunk writer had in mind when Gibson said that. By the mid-1990’s news about the privately owned Human Genome Project was filtering in. It seemed like a great technology project, just not one that should be run by a private corporation, or any sort of corporation. Corporate America is about as friendly to it’s host nation as a cuckoo, wherever it sets up. And to my uneducated and far from wise mind at the time, the last thing we wanted driving the geneticisation of human life was corporate America.
So I jumped into Philosophy at Murdoch University to learn how to understand what the ramifications of the human genome project would be for the way we understand our selves . Especially if the commercialised parts of the project were rolled out using the sort of marketing programs Big Pharma used around the world.
The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be”
Paul Valery
In the 2020’s my practice is framed by the unavoidable reality of change – driven by technology and more profoundly climate. I’ve been monitoring climate change since the IPCC’s first report in 1988. At that time I just assumed, given the scope of the problem, action would follow shortly after. A long time fan of Professor Frank Fenner, I was taken aback by his conclusion in the late 1990’s about where humanity was likely to end up as a result of climate change, environmental destruction and over-population.
After attending a conference at the University of Melbourne in 2017 on carbon capture and storage, I know for sure that the people working on techno solutions on the emissions front are way smart. However, I no longer share the governments enthusiasm that technology will save us. Especially after the final report from the South Australian Government’s Royal Commission in to the Murray Darling Basin. In fact, there seem to be very few prospects in 2021 that a range of solutions, if found, will be acted on in time to help the lives of those in the twenties and teens today. The fact is we already have enough know how to rapidly reduce carbon emissions, the obstacle is political and the prospects of resolution on that front isn’t zero but is not promising either. And that can no longer be ignored – especially in a city that plans on deploying four Desal plants to meet its current water needs.
Life coaching
I started life coaching while an Applied Philosophy PhD student in Melbourne. Learning how to create an authentic way of living and philosophical counselling were core topics in that research. That study, combined with decades of engagement with existential philosophy, became the foundation for my service.
When we moved to Adelaide I completed formal qualifications in counselling and career development. Those studies in counselling reinforced my view that the pathology focused medical model of counselling psychology is at base disrespectful to most clients who seek assistance for a vexing issue in their life or career.
An avid learner my education includes:
- a Bachelor of Arts and Honours degree in Philosophy from Murdoch University.
- 5 years of PhD research in Applied Philosophy and Creative Writing at the University of Melbourne.
- a Graduate Certificate in Career Development from the University of Queensland
- a Diploma of Counselling from Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors
You can see more about my experience and qualifications at Linkedin.
