My name is Damien and I am a proud member of the gay community. I am an Honorary Psychosexual and Relationship Therapist working with Controlling Chemsex as part of my diploma with the Contemporary Institute of Clinical Sexology. Having read books like Straight Jacket by Matthew Todd, The Velvet Rage by Alan Downs, and The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, and having experienced some of the pitfalls of the gay community I have a good understanding of the hurdles LGBT+ people and gay men can experience, and this is why I am willing to give back to my community.

Being gay but also a foreigner from a working-class background, and mildly neurodivergent, I can relate to people marginalised on different levels and feel comfortable working on intersectionality and within spectrums like gender, sexuality, neurodiversity, race, disability, stigma, faiths, etc. I am also well-travelled, have lived in various parts of the world, and speak 3 languages fluently. Such versatility has given me a great understanding of our modern world and its struggles. I have also worked in different fields, from hospitality to retail, farm work, education, design, theatre, and care. I have worked for architecture firms, and a trend consulting agency, I taught languages and led theatre workshops, but I was the most passionate when volunteering in a psychiatric hospital and helping people in their recovery. Being part of a team of 15 therapists was an extremely validating experience, it gave me the opportunity to conduct many psychological assessments, facilitate and co-facilitate low-level groups, and observed a plethora of therapeutic modalities.

This experience also allowed me to grow the skills I need two work as your therapist: active listening, unconditional positive regard, empathy (cognitive and emotional) and the use of open and Socratic questions to develop a good therapeutic relationship and support your autonomy, clarity and understanding of self. However, my training and my own experience of therapy also equipped me with an integrative modality where sometimes therapists can showcase intentionality using experiential tools (like 2-chair work, trauma work, and parts work) whilst putting the client in charge of their own therapeutic journey. We will be working with what is brought up when exploring the root cause of your behaviours and psyche, but you are the one in the driving seat!