Evan is a sincere spiritual practitioner,
passionate about becoming more embodied and alive who feels called to support others with the same. He feels strongly that any good clinician ought to take their own psychological and spiritual work seriously; and, so, he does. Evan began his spiritual quest in his late teens, which led him to a profound mystical experience that he feels he can best describe as a direct encounter with Eternity and the Divine.
Following this experience, he sought out understanding
to make sense of this ineffable experience through various spiritual traditions such as Buddhism, Yoga, Gnosticism, mystical Christianity, various New Age perspectives, shamanic and plant medicines traditions, depth psychology, and nonduality. Eventually, in his mid twenties, Evan would connect with nondual teacher Jon Bernie with whom he has worked many, many hours. Jon supported Evan’s realization of his own depth of insight into the Nature of Being.
One thing that Evan learned from Bernie is that the spiritual path is a path of healing. After an extensive visit to Bernie’s home city, San Francisco, Evan began to experience what felt like “trauma clearings” through his body, and increasingly became interested in these healing experiences, which seemingly guided him to discover, and then become trained in, Somatic Experiencing (SE). What Evan felt he found in SE, with its emphasis on attending to sensation in the body, allowing the processes in the body to unfold in their own way, as well as its emphasis on curiosity, was a beautiful clinical compliment to the spiritual depth he felt he was opening to.
Committed to the ongoing psychospiritual maturation of others,
as well as his own, Evan went on to complete a Master of Social Work as one of the many stepping stones toward offering his gifts to his community. He worked three and a half years in a university as a counsellor until he saw more clearly the pressures to conform imposed by the institution, and that this is not the place where deep change, transformation, and healing could be supported.
Today, Evan stands more firmly for the connection to the sacred that he feels all beings are longing for, as well as the healing of the wounds that get in the way of a deeper experience of aliveness. In his spare time he can be found indoor rock climbing, with an open book at a cafe, and fantasizing about being a better singer.
Training & Qualifications:
- Master of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University – 2018
- BA.H. in Psychology and Philosophy, University of Guelph – 2011
- Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Training – 2015
- Approved SE Personal Session Provider – Intermediate Level
- Certified Purpose Guide – Purpose Guides Institute – 2022
- Moksha Yoga Teacher Training – 2013
Spiritually Oriented Qualifications:
- Extensive one on one work with nondual teacher Jon Bernie. Retreats, satsangs & daylong intensives with Adyashanti, Gangaji, Sharon Landrith, Rupert Spira.
- Four ten day Vipassana meditation courses (Goenka tradition)
- Retreat w/ Stan Grof & Jack Kornfield – Holotropic Breathwork & Buddhist teachings
- Several years of personal work in Jungian Analysis
- One year in ayahuasca church Santo Daime
- Ongoing nervous system regulation work w/ various SE Practitioners
- Ongoing spiritual mentorship with the venerable Ken Hood (Guelph)