Hello, I am Stephen Blood (he/him).  I am a counsellor and have been seeing clients in my private practice since 2016.  As a counsellor I work with people on a wide range of personal issues that we face in our day to day lives, including the challenges our sexual, gender or relational diversity might present, issues that arise in our relationships and the impact our work can have on us.

 

Prior to embarking on a big career change into counselling I worked in wealth management, including roles at Macquarie, Mercer, Westpac, AMP and CBA.  I am familiar with the unrelenting stress that work can place you under.  I am familiar with the many work-place culture issues that arise in day-to-day work life that can be frustrating, challenging and distracting. In my experience it was critical to be able to talk and work through these experiences.  I continue to work part time in the industry as a contractor and consultant.  

 

I identify as gay and have spent a life time navigating the complexity of what it is to be gay in what is a predominately straight world. I have seen much positive change since the early forming of my gay identity as a teenager in the 1980s , however in the present day it feels like things are going backward and at times it can feel like the community is under attack.  For me, I have had to grapple with the impact of the oppression of my gay identity when I was younger, in particular I spent my youth in a very conservative evangelical church and my formative gay years were in the midst of the AIDS crisis. I still grapple with the impact and consequences of those difficult times in my present life.

 

Through my own counselling I have come to accept and love myself, I have learnt how to come into awareness of what is going on within me in different situations, when I am “activated”, and I now feel more empowered and have choices over how I respond. I don’t claim to get it right all the time, but I have hope, and I see and experience the change in me through my ongoing journey in life.

 

And that is my hope for you, whatever way you might choose to help and support yourself, that moving into love and kindness for yourself, moving into awareness helps you move into better ways of being you. 

 

I have a Bachelor in counselling from Jansen Newman Institute (part of Torrens University Australia) a Sydney based college that specialises in providing training and education for counsellors.  

 

I am a Level 2 Member of the Australian Counselling Association (ACA).  As a member of the ACA I participate in professional supervision as part of my ongoing commitment to ethical practice.  I am committed to my own ongoing personal growth and participate regularly in professional development activities.