Matty Devenish

Many people express feeling stuck with the issue or problem they are facing. In fact, many people's lives are completely consumed by the issue they are facing. Having worked in the counselling field since 2006, I have witnessed countless individuals find the space necessary from their problems to find freedom from them.

Throughout my work I have had the opportunity to assist people working through:

• Depression
• -Anxiety
• fear, guilt, or shame,
• negative thoughts about oneself

• Addiction/problematic substance use,
• Dis-ordered eating practices
• 
-Self-harm, suicidal thinking, and ‘obsessive’ thinking

• -Struggles with parenting, challenging behaviors with children and family/couples conflicts
• 
-Sexuality, gender identity, sexual orientation,

• -Issues related to racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia
• -Chronic homelessness, poverty, systemic barriers, trauma, and mental health issues

• -Grief and loss

• -Men's issues, anger and frustration

I encourage you to contact me if you are experiencing any of these struggles.  Exploration with another person can help us to re-author our relationship to problems and begin to move towards our prefered ways of being in the world.

I have been involved in the counselling field since 2006.  Beginning my work in residential youth addiction services,  I have worked with hundreds of individuals renegotiating their relationship to various problems in their lives.  I have a strong belief that people come to therapy, often having been preoccupied by problems which are telling a troubling story of who they are, what their values are and what the future holds. In a sense, I believe that problems steal the editorial rights to the story being told about people.  Through collaborative work with many individuals in counselling, I have had the opportunity to learn about how many problems work in people’s lives and witnessed the change possible.



Finding a counsellor that fits your style is never easy. 

I would encourage you to shop around and find both the individual therapist and model from which they practice that fits your personality and style.  Although my practice is influenced by many therapeutic models, I primarily offer an approach called Narrative Therapy.  The important thing to know about this therapeutic approach is that I will work from the perspective that you are not the problem, the problem is the problem (White, M).  We all have relationships to various problems, and through a journey of exploration with another person we get the chance to re-author that relationship and choose our preferred identities/ways of being in the world.  Often people consult me at the point in which problems are consuming their life and identity. I can assure you that this is quite normal and that there is hope; I have witnessed countless individuals find the space necessary from their problems to find freedom from them.