John Dodwell is a counsellor. He is a member of the Australian Counselling Association. John’s background is nursing. Since 2015, John has been working in the not for profit sector as a support worker, case manager and counsellor. John’s client base has included people with a disability, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds including our First Nations People and refugees and asylum seekers, youth aged 12 to 25 and families. John is motivated by compassion and a desire to support other human beings in their suffering. John is empathetic and understanding. He is a good listener, clarifying and validating his clients’ experiences. John wants clients to identify and draw from their strengths within. He encourages clients to, based on their resilience to overcome in the past, have hope for their futures. John sees Life as a school where challenges are an opportunity for us to learn more about our selves and learn new skills. He believes our intrinsic value as human beings is not in what we do, but who we are. For clients wanting to overcome unwanted or non-preferred behaviour, John works with his clients in focusing not on the form of that behaviour but the function, not on the “what?”, but on the “why?” John believes deep anxiety is at the root of most unwanted behaviour. For John, the effectiveness of counselling is based on having a good therapeutic relationship with his clients. John uses aspects of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Narrative Exposure Therapy.