James is a family man, married for 33 years with four adult children and four grandchildren, and a large growing extended family, oh and a dog and 2-cats.  He likes gardening, reading and is a bit of a movie buff.  He has a military background having served in the Army reserves and the RAAF.  He left the RAAF to commence formal studies which led to a career in youth work. 

     Over the next 25 years James' roles included two youth pastor positions, school chaplaincy, school counselling & mentoring, and as a youth support worker with abused and neglected children/teens. 

     James' desire to assist others in more formal role led him to study for and obtain his Diploma in Counselling with 3-major subjects - Grief & Loss, Sexual Abuse & Relationships.  He subsequently commenced his private counselling practice "Healing Hearts Counselling" in Jan 2020.
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     James has always had a passion for helping people.  He is a great listener and a very down-to-earth kind of guy, he doesn't use fancy technical terms or psychobabble, no judgemental rhetoric or cliches, just simple honest straight talk and asking just the right questions.  He utilizes down to earth wisdom and clinically proven tools & strategies in assisting people to make positive changes in their life and in their relationships with others.  To this end James has also written and published a number of books, four of which  are listed below, click book cover links below to see more

Qualifications....

Certificate in Biblical Studies - Burleigh Baptist College - Graduated 1996
Bachelor of Ministries - BCSA (Bible College of SA) - Graduated 2000
Cert IV in Youth Work - TAFE - Graduated 2011
​Diploma of Counselling - AIPC (Australian Institute for Professional Counsellors) - Graduated 2019

As a registered counsellor James undertakes ongoing anual professional counselling training,

James has also written and published a number of books including a book on marriage. See below...