Dr John Bingley
Provisional Counsellor
- MBBS
- Dip Obst
- MMedSci
- PhD
- FRACS (Vasc)
From this photo, taken on the Old Way pilgrimage, leaning against an old oak outside Elham in Kent, UK, you may not be able to tell that John spent 20 years as a vascular surgeon before he retired at the end of 2023 to pursue his interest in counselling. But he did. He saw the stresses and the suffering, the losses, and the griefs within health care and within health carers.
This left John with a deep interest and experience in people, their sense of place, their relationships, their suffering, and how they make meaning out of their lives. He searches for the stories that capture these aspects of a person, stories that manifest in the fundamentals of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Compassion-based Therapy and Narrative Therapy, all of which seek the depths and richness of a lived life.
His 20 years as a vascular surgeon included work in public and private practice, a few years as Director of Surgery at Mater, many years teaching UQ medical students, and research work including supervising higher degree students.
John is currently undergoing his Master of Counselling at UQ. As a student on placement, John is offering counselling services at MINDCHECK HP. He is expected to be complete his Masters at the end of 2024.
Away from work, John spends time with family and friends. He plays piano (not so well) most days and swims most weeks. He enjoys long (like hundreds of kilometres!) walks. He reads fiction for its artistry and its insight into the minds of others. John writes for the joy of writing and remains a member of Queensland Writers Centre, with no expectation of being read.
