I originally intended to be a music artiste (rapper *yikes*), but then I ended up in a seminary to become a priest where I fell in love with philosophy. After my seminary education, I started a Master of Philosophy in research exploring the interplay of religion and cross-cultural psychology when I got connected with Ward Davis who introduced me to attachment theory research: a mirror into my own personal struggles with the attachment betrayal and abandonment I experienced as a teen. It was then I realised that I wanted to pursue a career in research as a social psychologist studying adult attachment, religion, and health outcomes.

After I completed my Bachelors and my Master of Philosophy research investigating youth attachment and authenticity in a South African context, I got my Ph.D. in Religion & Society (with focus in the Psychology & Sociology of Religion) at the University of Groningen (2018) studying the interplay of religious and place attachment in a migration context. I got a second Ph.D. in Psychology at Western Sydney University (2019) researching the complex relationships between different types of adult attachment experiences and health/quality of life outcomes in Australia. By training I am a social, health, and positive psychologist, social scientist, and psychologist of religion who uses psychological theories and methods to derive predictions and account for observable phenomena in attachment behaviours, religion/spirituality, human-environment interactions, radicalisation, behaviour change, migration, health-related outcomes, youth mental health, and clinical spiritual care.

I am the Head of Research & Program Development at Counted Solutions Australia Pty Ltd and Fellow of the School of Psychology, Western Sydney University. I am also Research Associate of the Cambridge Institute for Applied Psychology & Religion, where I work with Fraser Watts examining the interplay of place attachment and religion. 

I consider myself an interdisciplinary voice with interests in fusing the fields of psychology and religion studies, though mostly known for my work on Adult Attachment Experiences and The Psychology of Religion and Place.  

When not researching, I enjoy trying new restaurants and movies with my wife Jessie, an Education Services Manager, and we love traveling around the world transforming lives one country at a time.