ABOUT GARY:​

 

My name is Gary — most people call me Gaz.

 

I'm a counsellor, resilience coach, and speaker, and my particular focus is men's mental health. Not because it's a niche that needed filling, but because I've lived it. I know what it's like to struggle and say nothing. I know what it costs.

 

My understanding of people doesn't come from a textbook. It comes from a difficult childhood, years of my own therapy that in many ways saved my life, and a promise I made to myself: if I ever found a way through, I'd use what I learned to help others do the same. That promise is what Secure Mind Solutions is built on.

 

Before counselling, I worked across some of the toughest environments you can imagine — supporting vulnerable children and young people in schools and care homes, working with adults facing homelessness, addiction, and trauma, and serving in security roles in the UK and overseas, including many times in hostile environments. That experience didn't just build skills. It built perspective.

 

In 2021, I published 'Daddy and the Two Bears' — a personal memoir about the loss of my daughters, and finding a way forward as a father. The foreword was written by Paul Whitehouse. I didn't write it to promote myself. I wrote it because I believed that if one person read it and felt less alone, it was worth doing.

 

Giving back has been part of my life for over 22 years. It started the year after I lost my daughters. I won't dress that up — it was grief that drove it, and a need to do something meaningful with it. Over two decades later it's still driving me. The Camino was just the latest chapter.

 

In 2025, I walked the Camino Francés — 500 miles from the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela — raising over £10,000 for four charities, Berwick Cancer Cars, Andy Mans Club (Berwick), Special Forces Medical Support Association and SOBS Survivors of Bereavement By Suicide. I didn't do it to prove anything. The causes mattered. That was enough.

 

HOW I WORK:

 

I don't do all my best work sitting in my therapy room. A lot of what I do with men happens outdoors — walking, moving, talking when the pressure of eye contact is off. There's something about being out in nature that shifts things. Men who wouldn't open up across a desk will talk for miles.

 

I also integrate practical self-defence into my work where it fits. For a lot of men, feeling physically capable and aware is the first step towards feeling mentally stronger. It's not about aggression — it's about confidence, body awareness, and reclaiming a sense of control. When you combine that with time outdoors and honest conversation, something usually starts to shift.

 

That's what I offer that you won't find many other places — practical, grounded support that meets men where they actually are, not where we think they should be.

 

I work best with men who are struggling but don't quite know how to say it. Men who are holding everything together on the outside and quietly falling apart on the inside. Men who've been told — directly or indirectly — that asking for help is weakness. It isn't. It's the hardest and most important thing you can do.

 

If any of that sounds familiar, get in touch. I'm easy to talk to. No jargon. No judgement.

 

I WORK WITH:

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- Men of all ages struggling with stress, anxiety, low mood, or identity

- Adults rebuilding after trauma, loss, or life transition

- Veterans, emergency services workers, and high-pressure professionals

- Individuals aged 16+ seeking resilience coaching and direction

- Organisations and teams through workshops and talks

 

QUALIFIED QUALIFICATIONS:

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- Qualified Integrative Counsellor — accredited with the National Counselling Society

- NLP Practitioner

- TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) Practitioner

- EFT Practitioner (Emotional Freedom Technique)

- Master Reiki Practitioner

- Qualified Close-Protection Officer

- Qualified Self-Defence Instructor and Black Belt — British Free Fighting

- Experienced Drug & Alcohol Worker

- Experienced in children's residential care and social care settings

-Qualified Private Investigator ​​

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Gary’s talks and workshops are known for their honesty, impact, and clarity. He shares enough of his story to inspire and connect, leaving the most powerful lessons for the room — where real change happens.

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GARY'S BELIEF IS SIMPLE:

No matter how difficult your past, it is always possible to rebuild, redirect, and rise. Sometimes all it takes is one honest conversation to begin.

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Gary’s Qualifications and Experience

• Qualified Integrative Counsellor and practitioner in a range of therapeutic approaches

• Accredited with the National Counselling Society

• Provides counselling services to individuals, companies and organisations

• Qualified Self-Defence Instructor and Black Belt with British Free Fighting

• Qualified Close-Protection Officer (Bodyguard)

• Experienced Drug & Alcohol Worker

• Experienced in social care, including care homes for children

• NLP Practitioner (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)

• TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) Practitioner

• Master Reiki Practitioner

• EFT Practitioner (Emotional Freedom Technique)

• Mental Health Advocate, passionate about supporting men’s mental health

• Qualified Private Investigator

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Contact:

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Email: gary@securemindsolutions.com

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Telephone: 07737394050