Paul has worked in the Social Work field for nearly 20 years, and focuses on the areas of dispute resolution and coaching with a vision of helping people through challenging times and difficult transitions in their lives. He is a former Child Protection Worker, and has been a private practice mediator since 2009. Paul is considered an industry leader in Child Protection Mediation, and has presented internationally on this topic, as well as written a book on the topic. His book, Guide to Child Protection Mediation has been cited in an effort to implement Child Protection Mediation in Ireland.

Paul’s path to the helping profession was anything but a straight line, and he experienced much adversity and diversity along the way. Paul was raised by hard-working parents in a blue collar home in Scarborough, ON and then Whitby, ON. In the early 1990’s, recession struck and his parents lost their home. In his early 20’s, Paul struggled through a period on Social Assistance, and also worked in various bars and restaurants as a waiter/ bartender, and doing security. As he started to find his footing as a union Ironworker and a personal fitness trainer, adversity struck again in 2002.

Paul was involved in a motorcycle accident that left him unable to work for over two years. He had already started his Psychology degree on a part-time basis, but it was during the time off work that he returned to school fulltime; graduating with an Honours degree in Psychology. It was actually during the accident settlement process in 2004, that Paul was first introduced to mediation.

Now, Paul assists individuals and organizations with Conflict Coaching, and also facilitates Family Mediations, Child Protection Mediations, and Workplace Mediations. He is a Neutral (Family) Coach in the Collaborative Family Law process, holds the designation of Specialist in Openness Adoption Mediation, and is trained in completing Voice of the Children Reports (VCR’s). He is also working towards his Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology.

Paul is a former (volunteer) on-call firefighter, and was also a member of a critical incident stress management team for First Responders. He has been a member of the local minor hockey Executive since 2018, and is also on the roster to conduct investigations on behalf of Hockey Canada. Paul is a separated parent, and has first-hand knowledge of co-parenting with someone in a different home.

All of these experiences combined have served him well in dispute resolution and coaching, as he is able to remain calm and empathetic while dealing with crisis situations. With extensive experience working with individuals and groups engaged in high conflict, Paul uses creative strategies to keep people focused on the needs of everyone involved, including the needs of children. The views of children are very important to him and as a result, he prefers a child-inclusive process when working with families. Paul believes it is important to ensure all cultures and identities are honoured and respected. This is based on the wants and needs of the people with whom he is working, and not prescribed by him. He has facilitated many mediations with Indigenous families, Indigenous Child Well-Being agencies, and works closely with multiple First Nations Territories.

For more information, please contact Paul directly.