For the past 10 years, Nicholas has been dedicated to both his academic and professional journey in becoming a Psychologist with one goal in mind, “to help people.” He is passionate about seeing others heal and recover from various life circumstances and mental illnesses. His therapeutic approach emphasises the importance of safety, warmth, compassion, and empowerment in building client personal growth, development, and recovering. In dedicating his passion and focus in this field, he believes he will be able to make a difference for people and the wider community.
Over the course of Nicholas’s professional development, he worked as an ABA therapist treating children aged between 3-8 with Autism and/ or ADHD. This role involved teaching and developing academic skills, gross motor skills, social skills, and independent living skills. He then moved into the NDIS space as a Behavioural Support Practitioner supporting people from all age groups with Autism, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Intellectual Disability. This role involved collaborating, training, and educating support teams and family members on treating problem behaviours of concern. This also involved writing up Behavioural Support Plans and administering behavioural interventions within a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy framework. Nicholas felt empowered in his ability to make a difference helping people in these roles.
However, his true calling was transitioning into the mental health space as a counsellor where he currently works in treating clients with various mental health issues. In doing so, he believes he will be able to make a difference in providing awareness, positive health, and recovery for others.
Personal Interests
There are several hobbies I enjoy doing but none come close to my passion for martial arts. Over the course of my life, my father exposed me to his background in Taekwondo and general fitness. However, my martial arts journey took me down a different path during my 20s when I was taken to a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school. I became obsessed with this art form and nearly 8 years later, I have become a brown belt and assistant coach at our school. Jiu Jitsu has taught me so much about life and the values of respect, relentless persistence, problem solving under stress, discipline, and dedicating yourself to a community therefore helping and supporting others on their journey. Martial arts has become a mirror image of my psychology path teaching me so much about human potential and resilience. The relentless persistence to strive for hope and developing change reflects my approach in running therapy with my clients. In helping others on their mental health journey, I hope to arm them with the tools to become their own therapist. In psychology, and martial arts, my goal is to serve others to the best of my ability to see them grown and develop into self sufficient and adaptable people. All the better for themselves and for others in their lives.
Qualifications
Masters of Professional Psychology
Areas of interest
Working with everyone across the lifespan of all ages and those of diverse cultural backgrounds·
- Anxiety
- Depressive symptoms and clinical depression
- Trauma related disorders (e.g., Adjustment disorder, Acute stress disorder and Post traumatic stress disorder)
- Grief and loss
- Addiction (e.g., alcohol and illicit substances)
- Relationship, Family, Parenting, and School-related issues
- Neurodevelopmental disorders (Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder)
- Intellectual Disability
- Disruptive, Impulsive-Control, and Conduct Disorders
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Intermittent Explosive Disorder
- Conduct Disorder
Therapeutic approaches
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT
- Grounding/ Mindfulness
- Solution Focused Therapy (SFT)
- Motivational Interviewing (MI)
