About Kyle
Why did I go from Kinesiology, to Physiotherapy, to Firefighting, to a Psychologist?
I'm often asked this question and therefore I'll share a bit about myself and my journey.
My professional journey has taken me from the body-exercise sciences as a Kinesiologist, to the body-rehabilitation sciences as a Physical Therapist, over to a 10-year career as a Firefighter, and lastly into the mind-body healing sciences as a Psychologist for the past 10 years.
The main catalyst for my journey into studying psychology occured in 2003 through to 2004, when I experienced the effects of cumulative stress while building a family cafe and working as a Physical Therapist. My inability to deal with significant life stress (family, financial, and more) eventually led me to a very dark period of my life where I found myself spinning into a world of darkness trying to understand the complexity of the situation I was in. Hopelessness consuming my thoughts and anxiety about the future lurked around every corner. I began to journal to understand the state of my mind, and the thoughts that appeared on paper were so dark and hopeless that at my first visit with a Psychiatrist (I couldn't afford a Psychologist) resulted in a quick diagnosis of a major depressive disorder (MDD), a generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and severe panic attacks.
Although I had much training in the body sciences through my degrees in Kinesiology and Physical Therapy, I had very little training in the area of mental health and this was before my critical incident stress management training (CISM) training on the Calgary Fire Department. The Physician who diagnosed me had impressive degrees hanging on his wall, which I believed at the time gave him credibility, but I soon understood that he only conceptualized a drug-therapy approach. This led me to feel completely numb, cognitively impaired, and essentially a complete shadow of myself. After a month of this "treatment" from the Psychiatrist I clearly expressed my disapointment in his approach, stopped taking my cocktail of medications, and emabarked on a journey of self-discovery in areas of mind, body, and spirit.
During this humbling time I learned how to go within and understand how these life events/catalysts were a time for personal growth to see the bigger picture and grow in areas such as acceptance and forgiveness. Realizing that others were simply on their own clumsy journeys of life and were often lost in their own worlds. This led me to seek a career where I could help people at their dark moments, so I embarked on becoming a Firefighter in Calgary. This further opened my eyes to see how so many people suffer from cumulative stress that often results in depression, anxiety, and many other stress-related disorders.
Photo: stock picture
Photo: Kyle at his off-grid homestead
During my 10-year career with CFD I spent most of my time on the trucks in the downtown core, with part of that time on the High Angle Rescue Team. During a period of health challenges, I left the trucks and trained in Fire Inspections and Fire Investigations. Although my plan at that point was to become a Fire Investigator, I chose to work as a Fire Inspector instead because of the prolonged exposures to "off-gassing" toxins during the fire investigation process. I eventually rehabilitated myself enough to spend the last two years of my career back on the trucks as an Acting Senior Firefighter with training and experience as a Fire Safety Codes Officer (FSCO-level II).
My personal interest in mental health and rehabilitation let me to train with CFD's Critical Incident Stress Management team (CISM) to support my peers with job stress. As my injuries continued, I returned to academia and embarked on becoming a Psychologist.
My Career as a Calgary Firefighter
My Counselling Approach
Consider my approach similar to how a person trains the body: though exercise. In our work together you will learn to exercise the mind to harmonize with the body and connect metaphysically to obtain that deeper wisdom to guide you on your journey.
The way I counsel clients and use "psychological interventions" has changed over the years and is unique when compared to other psychologists and counsellors. My approach is to teach people how to reduce psychological stress in order to optimise the mind, body, and spiritual systems. Let me explain with some history for context.
In my first five years of practice I became trained in advanced areas of psychotherapy for PTSD, anxiety, depression, phobias, and more. I was trained in, and commonly used, therapies including EMDR, Hypnotherapy, Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), ACT, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy, Mindfulness & Meditation, and more.
Over the years I have found the most effective and efficient approach is to help my clients create their own "toolbox of skills" that are used practically each day during. My approach teaches you fundamental techniques to calibrate and balance the Mind, Body, and Spiritual systems. This is done through individual sessions and with strategic group courses that are all "skill-based" and not "talk-therapy".
Some of my clients already have a counsellor, psychologist, or psychiatrist and work with me as an adjunct, a complimentary addition, to the therapy sessions they already have established.
Time for your Evolution... are You Ready?
