Woodrush Place, Saint Mary's Island, Chatham ME4 3BB, UK
About Me
Hi, I’m Pete, and welcome to Mental Change.
I’m a psychotherapist, counsellor, coach and mentor. My work is shaped by both professional training and lived experience, offering a supportive, non-judgemental space where you can explore your thoughts, understand the challenges you’re facing, and move towards meaningful, lasting change.
My path
Hi, I’m Pete, and welcome to Mental Change.
I’m a psychotherapist, counsellor, coach and mentor. My work is shaped by both professional training and lived experience, offering a supportive, non-judgemental space where you can explore your thoughts, understand the challenges you’re facing, and move towards meaningful, lasting change.
My path into therapy hasn’t been conventional, and I believe that’s one of my greatest strengths. The experiences that have shaped my life have also shaped the therapist I am today.
From the age of five, I trained in martial arts, eventually reaching a high standard. Those years taught me discipline, resilience, respect, emotional control and the importance of the connection between physical and mental wellbeing. The lessons I learned through martial arts have stayed with me throughout my life and continue to influence the way I work with clients today.
Growing up wasn’t always easy. I experienced trauma, violence and addictive behaviours around me, but I was also fortunate to have the unwavering support of my close family. Those experiences gave me an early understanding of how adversity can shape people, while also showing me the incredible difference that compassion, stability and support can make. They sparked a lifelong interest in understanding people, emotions and behaviour.
When I was sixteen, my life changed dramatically. I was involved in a serious hit-and-run accident while riding my motorbike, after being hit head-on by an uninsured drunk driver. Although I walked out of hospital that same night, grateful simply to be alive, the long-term effects of my injuries gradually became apparent.
I had planned to continue studying business and finance, but after losing my main form of transport and struggling both physically and psychologically with the aftermath of the accident, I left college and began working in the City of London, commuting daily by train and bus for the next eighteen months.
At eighteen, I applied to join the Royal Engineers, something I had wanted to do for many years. During the recruitment process, I was advised that because of the injuries from my motorbike accident I would require extensive surgery before I could continue. After carefully considering the risks, I decided against the operation and chose a different direction in life.
Over the following years I built a varied career, working in accounts, dispatch, wholesale markets and eventually becoming self-employed in the building trade as a plumber, builder and commercial carpet fitter. From the age of seven I had helped my father, in the building industry and also my brother on market stalls in Camden Market, meeting people from every walk of life. Those years taught me resilience, adaptability, communication, accountability and the value of hard work. They also gave me a genuine appreciation of the different challenges people face throughout their lives.
Later, my life changed once again following another serious accident that left me paralysed. I wasn’t expected to survive, and the journey that followed required me to rebuild my life physically, emotionally and psychologically. I had to relearn how to speak, learn to wash and dress myself with one hand, adapt to using a wheelchair and rediscover my independence one step at a time. After my initial accident I suffered further setbacks including multiple strokes, resulting in an anoxic brain injury that affects my speech, sepsis, pneumonia, the loss of my mother and best friend.
Those experiences fundamentally changed my perspective on life. It reinforced something I had begun to understand years earlier: while we cannot always control what happens to us, we can choose how we respond.
Through determination, creative problem-solving and the support of others, I gradually rebuilt my independence and challenged many of the limitations that had been placed upon me. Since then, I’ve reached the top of a mountain, swum in the sea, taken part in performance driving experiences, gone sailing, waterskiing and continued pursuing my passion for fishing. Those achievements aren’t about proving anything to anyone else; they’re reminders that resilience, hope and adaptability can often take us much further than we first imagine.
During my recovery, I realised that throughout my life people had naturally turned to me for guidance, support and someone who would genuinely listen. That inspired me to retrain professionally, allowing me to combine my lived experience with evidence-based therapeutic practice.
Since then, I have gained qualifications in psychotherapy, counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), coaching and mentoring, counselling for children and adolescents, psychology, human biology and mental health. I have also completed further training in ADHD awareness, leadership, physical health and wellbeing. Alongside this, I achieved my Level 3 Personal Trainer qualification because I have always believed that our physical and mental health are closely connected.
My approach is integrative and person centred, meaning I tailor therapy to the individual rather than expecting every client to fit one model. While I often draw upon evidence-based approaches such as CBT, I believe that the most important part of therapy is the relationship we build together. I aim to create an environment where you feel safe, respected, understood and accepted without judgement.
Whether you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, low self-esteem, stress, grief, life transitions or simply feeling stuck, I work alongside you at your own pace. Using active listening, reflective communication and practical therapeutic techniques, my role isn’t to tell you what to do, but to help you gain clarity, build resilience and discover your own strengths.
Alongside psychotherapy and counselling, I also offer coaching and mentoring (life coaching) for people looking to create positive change in their personal or professional lives. My background in business, construction, leadership and overcoming adversity allows me to bring practical experience alongside therapeutic knowledge, helping clients not only understand themselves better but also move forward with confidence.
I know that asking for help isn’t always easy. It takes courage to speak openly about the things that matter most, and I never take that trust for granted.
Mental Change was created because I genuinely believe that no matter what someone has experienced, change is possible. We cannot rewrite the past, but we can understand it, learn from it and build a future that feels healthier, more meaningful and more fulfilling.
If you’re ready to take that first step, I’d be honoured to roll alongside you.
Philosophy
At Mental Change I believe that every individual has the capacity for growth and change through mental health therapy and counselling. My goal is to provide a safe and supportive space for clients to explore their inner selves using person centred therapy or counselling and overcome personal challenges.
Expertise
As a licensed psychotherapist with over 5 years of training, I specialise in integrative, person centred therapy, mental health counselling and life coaching, helping people navigate difficult life transitions. I have extensive training in advanced counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, coaching, mentoring and psychology.
Approach
My approach to mental health counselling is holistic and collaborative. I work with clients to identify their goals and develop a personalised treatment plan that incorporates a variety of techniques, including mindfulness, cognitive behavioural therapy, and person centred therapy, as well as solution-focused therapy.