John-Paul Davies is an experienced therapist running a full-time private practice from his home in Cobham, Surrey. However, he made this change having worked as a solicitor in the City of London for the first half of his career.
While working in the legal profession, John-Paul began experiencing severe anxiety, so decided to seek therapy. Discovering the positive effect it had on him, John-Paul decided to train in psychotherapy and leave his law career behind.
John-Paul explained that there is greater awareness of mental health, and the symptoms associated with it, which means “therapy has less of a stigma and is more in the public consciousness.
Which means more and more men are seeking therapy.
However, the question remains, can you sustain the same lifestyle as a lawyer?
The golden cage is something we have discussed with several of our guests – who have left a well-paying career to find something more spiritually rewarding.
We discussed the injustice that therapy, nursing or most public services jobs are paid poorly compared to other careers, that mean a lot less for the greater human good.
John-Paul said that status, money and acquisition of resources are the primary drivers we’ve had since the development of mankind.
However, these drivers, aren’t as necessary for survival in modern society. This is one of the reasons why an increasing number of middle-aged men are coming to therapy. The constant hustle to be better than others, chasing the next ‘high’.
John-Paul said that rather than reacting to external sources, therapy helps you to understand yourself and find one’s true meaning and purpose in life.
We continued to discuss how men form opinions based on societal pressure and how therapists can help men in their middle age (and anyone) with an objective opinion.
We also discussed the fine line between, banter and bullying and how banter can be damaging to mental health.
Volker mentions a scene from the Tom Hanks film ‘Philadelphia’, where the main character says he changed his decision to come out as gay, after his senior colleagues made homophobic jokes in the sauna.
John Paul has published a self-help book, ‘Finding a Balanced Connection’ and has written about a range of wellbeing and psychological topics for various magazines and websites.
John-Paul also now has a YouTube channel and podcast, where he discusses how he made his career change, what life is like as a therapist and advice on a range of mental health and wellbeing issues.
If you want to find out more about John-Paul, click on the links below:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-paul-davies-30721330/
Website (contains social media links): https://www.thistrustedplace.co.uk/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@JohnPaulDaviesTTP?si=1FJYkKV2hOzQ2IHA
Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2067601
Link to our LIVE EVENT in BRIGHTON on the 28th of November.
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