About Adam
Dr Adam McLean – Existential Psychotherapist, Clinical Supervisor, Group Therapist.
As a registered clinical psychotherapist, with training in existential psychotherapy which holds the view that while everyone is unique, we all experience concerns that are common to everyone. Being a Director of the Centre for Existential Practice, which offers workshops and training in existential concerns to professionals, allows me to engage with existential themes and concerns in ongoing professional and personal growth. For more information see our website.
Also, I am a registered clinical supervisor to individuals, teams, and groups in organisations. My practice in Sydney CBD is focused on working predominantly with men from all walks of life. One of my passions is group where the topic of my Doctorate research awarded in 2023 was on the presence of the group leader.
My professional life has progressed since I began nursing in psychiatry, oncology, and bone marrow transplant in the 1980’s and 90’s. Currently I have been in practice for 25 years and bring over 35 years’ experience in working with people from a diverse range of issues and backgrounds.
My approach is collaborative, in that together, we will come to understand your life situation in a non-judgemental attitude of curiosity and openness. The therapy approach is humanistic in nature, meaning that we discover and unravel together the complex and inner world of your life to assist you to find a healthy and meaningful resolution.
Philosophy for Therapy
Embracing difference is an integral part of the existential approach. Life is messy, unpredictable, and at time, overwhelming. In therapy there is the opportunity to examine how we are living our lives, what is fulfilling, meaningful. and missing.
I believe it is in the in-between spaces of what we are experiencing, how we approach our life situations, that new potential possibilities arrive.
So many factors play in the complex symphony of change, competing and conflicting demands requiring us to choose a way that will shape how we live in the world.
By paying careful attention to what is possible and to embrace and challenge those limitations that potentially block and reduce our ability to move beyond the stuck-ness of life, therefore asks us to be brave and to embrace them in a meaningful way.
Our assumptions, taken for granted beliefs and values along with our expectations, those unspoken ideals and dreams requires us to pay careful attention to how those deeply held beliefs influence our freedom to choose how we approach, and make decisions for living a worthy life.
To view those situations from different lenses and to be open to new possibilities helps us to open to the new horizons in front of us that otherwise are closed off in our awareness. Life is full of complexities, paradoxes, contradictions, and uncertainties. Working through the layers becomes the focus of therapy pointing us towards hope and a meaningful life.
Working with Men and Gay Men (LGBTQ+ / GSRD)
The clients I see are men with varied concerns and needs and experiences. I see men who struggle with relationships, intimacy, work life balance, communication, sexual identity and more.
Men who identify as ‘gay, queer, straight, bisexual and non-binary’, have sex with other men, are newly coming to terms with their sexual orientation and identity known as Gender, Sexual or Relationship Diverse (GSRD), come along to sessions seeking help towards a meaningful relationship with themselves and with others.
So many men are seeking a more satisfying life. Some have experienced traumatic events, poor parenting, or a lack of loving nurture from a primary carer. The impact on their sense of self and ability to be present in the world can be confusion and agonising. More men come along today to therapy as a positive approach to addressing painful past times. You will find relief, connection, and acceptance when you choose to come along to therapy.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Professional Studies in Psychotherapy and Counselling (Middlesex University, London)
- Master of Counselling (Western Sydney University)
- Graduate Diploma Individual Psychotherapy and Relationship Therapy (Jansen Newman Institute, Sydney)
- Bachelor of Counselling and Human Change (Jansen Newman Institute, Sydney)
- Bachelor of Nursing (Sydney University)
Professional Memberships
I am bound by the code of ethics and professional conduct procedures of my registering bodies.
- I am a Clinical Member and Accredited Supervisor of Psychotherapists and Counsellors Federation of Australia (PACFA) Reg No 20627
- Clinical member with the Australasian Association of Supervision (AAOS).
