My name is John Wenger. I am a fully qualified and experienced humanistic integrative psychotherapist, supervisor and group worker with 20+ years of experience. I am a Registered Member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (MBACP) and I adhere to their Ethical Framework. I am also an Ordinary Member of the British Psychodrama Association and a Certified Brainspotting Practitioner.

I trained in the psychodrama method at the Auckland Training Centre for Psychodrama from 1998 to 2004. Concurrent with this, I undertook my initial diploma training, which had a person-centred orientation, between 2000 and 2005 at the Human Development and Training Institute in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand. I have continued to develop my practice through the years incorporating psychodynamic, existential and body-based perspectives.

My view of a person as a creative, complex and interconnected whole, expressed in body, mind and spirit, alongside a strong relational orientation, provides an overarching frame to my integrative practice and philosophy. I believe that every person brings their unique ways of relating to themselves and others into the therapy room. I also believe that the work of psychotherapy is to bring these core patterns and ways of being into the light of day, so that you may make the real, tangible and long-lasting changes you wish to make in your life.

The quality of the therapy relationship is directly related to successful outcomes and this philosophy is central to my work. My work is also influenced by existential approaches and I believe that humans strive to live lives of purpose and meaning, however each person defines that.

I have a positive outlook on humanity and the world and believe that we have the potential to learn, develop and change right throughout our lives. I also bring boundless curiosity around how humans learn and change and am interested in how we humans can co-create joyful, life-giving ways of being and inter-being. I take a special interest in the origins and effects of trauma throughout life, and how we might heal from it, individually and collectively.

My initial experiences in this field were as a volunteer on the crisis hotlines at Youthline in Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand, where I was living at the time. Between 2000 and 2006, I worked at a community agency in Auckland, initially on placement and then as a full member of staff. I also began seeing people in private practice from 2002 and blended my work as a psychotherapist with that of trainer/facilitator.  In 2004, I co-founded Quantum Shift which offered bespoke leader and team development workshops and one-to-one coaching.  In 2013, I returned to the UK and now make Brighton my home. I continue to work under the banner of Quantum Shift, offering psychotherapy and supervision in Brighton & Hove, in Southeast London and online. I also continue to consult to organisations in the areas of team and leader development.

I integrate nearly 30 years of training, experience and knowledge from the fields of psychology & psychotherapy, education and consultancy. My influences include Dr. JL Moreno, Carl Rogers, John Bowlby, Caleb Gattegno, Bessel van der Kolk, Wilfred Bion, Gabor Maté and others no less significant but far too numerous to mention.

I have travelled extensively. In my adult life, I have lived and worked in the UK, Italy, Turkey, Spain and Aotearoa/New Zealand. My travels and previous career as an EFL teacher and teacher trainer have given me a deep appreciation of diverse cultures and for the challenges of transitions in life.