About Max
Personal Story:
I spent a decade building something that looked right and felt wrong.
Biotech. Business development. Ten years of performing at a high level in rooms that rewarded confidence and punished hesitation.
I was good at it. And somewhere along the way, I stopped recognizing myself in the life I'd built.
So I changed everything. Not recklessly. Deliberately.
New city. New career. A move toward something that felt aligned with who I actually am, not who I'd been performing as.
I came to Hong Kong, began training as a clinical mental health counselor, and started doing the work I was always meant to do: sitting with people in the hard moments and helping them find their way through.
I didn't come to counselling because I had it figured out. I came because I was honest enough to admit I didn't, and brave enough to act on it.
That's the same thing I ask of the people I work with.
Credentials
I'm nearing completion of a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counselling at the Townsend Institute at Concordia University Irvine.
I'm a Student Member of the Hong Kong Professional Counselling Association (HKPCA) and will apply for Certified Counsellor membership after graduation. My clinical work is supervised by Dr. Katrina Rozga, who holds credentials with the CCPA, HKPS, APCPA, and HKPCA.
I'm trained in Gottman Method Couples Therapy (Level 1 + 2). I currently provide school counselling support to students at The Harbor School and HELP for Domestic Workers here in Hong Kong.
My Approach
Most of the suffering I see has the same shape underneath it. Somewhere along the way a person divided their experience into parts that can't sit together.
I'm either competent or worthless. My partner is either safe or dangerous. My childhood was either fine or it ruined me.
That kind of splitting is normal early on. It gets expensive when it hardens into adulthood, because real life is almost never all one thing.
You can love a parent who also failed you. You can be genuinely hurt and still be responsible for your part. You can carry a history without being defined by it.
A lot of my work is helping people move from that black-and-white into the harder, more livable grey. Not deleting the bad part. Learning to hold the whole thing.
I work the same way with theory. No single model is the whole truth, and treating one as complete would be its own kind of splitting. The relationship heals. Thoughts and behaviour can be changed on purpose. We're wired for connection. Identity is authored, not fixed. Those aren't competing claims. They're partial views of a whole person.
What that means in the room: I'll be warm and I'll be direct, and I don't think those are in tension. I ask real questions. I push back when it matters.
And I think you should be able to feel that something is changing. Being understood matters and it's where we start, but insight that never turns into a different life is interesting and incomplete. We'll set goals specific enough to know whether we're reaching them.
Who I Work With
Men navigating identity, stress, and emotional shutdown.
Couples who feel stuck or disconnected.
Expat teens and young adults caught between cultures.
And anyone going through a transition that's bigger than they expected.
Any individuals who struggle with anxiety and depression. My goal is to have care be preventative before things get too serious.
I'm based in Hong Kong. I offer in-person sessions and online sessions for clients across the region.
What I’m Working On
Completing my MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Engaged in my clinical internship at a private practice, The Harbour School, and HELP for Domestic Workers in Hong Kong.
Writing What Men Say on the Couch.
Building this practice one honest conversation at a time.
Beyond the Office
When I'm not in session, I'm probably on the water or on hiking trails.
I sail, swim, wakesurf, and bask in the abundance of nature that Hong Kong has to offer. I read too much sci-fi.
I'm engaged to my partner Sarah, and we're building a life here that reflects everything I ask my clients to reach for: authenticity, balance, and connection.
