MEET DAVID

The way I work comes from more than what I learned in a classroom.

I am David Chittenden, founder of Shifting Lives. I was born congenitally blind, and my own journey through life, change and challenge has shaped both who I am and the way I work with people. My professional experience has taken me through counselling, mental health, rehabilitation, family support and disability services across Australia, New Zealand and the United States. But experience and qualifications are only part of the story. For me, meaningful change begins with understanding what is happening beneath the surface — and being willing to question what we believe, explore different possibilities and decide for ourselves what comes next.

I'm David Chittenden, founder of Shifting Lives. I was born congenitally blind, and my own journey through life, change and challenge has shaped both who I am and the way I work with people. My professional experience has taken me through counselling, mental health, rehabilitation, family support and disability services across Australia, New Zealand and the United States. But experience and qualifications are only part of the story. For me, meaningful change begins with understanding what's happening beneath the surface — and being willing to question what we believe, explore different possibilities and decide for ourselves what comes next.

I am David Chittenden, founder of Shifting Lives. I was born congenitally blind, and my own journey through life, change and challenge has shaped both who I am and the way I work with people.

David Chittenden seated with his guide dog.

My professional experience has taken me through counselling, mental health, rehabilitation, family support and disability services across Australia, New Zealand and the United States. But experience and qualifications are only part of the story. For me, meaningful change begins with understanding what is happening beneath the surface — and being willing to question what we believe, explore different possibilities and decide for ourselves what comes next.

My Story

How I Work

MY STORY

Being born blind shaped how I learned to understand the world.

I was born congenitally blind, so from the beginning, my experience of the world was shaped by more than what I could see. Living with blindness has meant learning to listen closely, question assumptions and understand that the way something first appears — or the way we have been taught to understand it — is not necessarily the only way to see it. Those experiences have influenced the person I have become and, eventually, the way I learned to work with others.

I was born congenitally blind, so from the beginning, my experience of the world was shaped by more than what I could see. Living with blindness has meant learning to listen closely, question assumptions and understand that the way something first appears — or the way we’ve been taught to understand it — isn’t necessarily the only way to see it. Those experiences have influenced the person I’ve become and, eventually, the way I learned to work with others.

WATCH: MY STORY

Blindness is part of my story. But it is not the whole story.

Like anyone, my life has been shaped by change, relationships, challenges, work and the choices I have made along the way. Those experiences matter because they influence how I understand people — not because they provide me with someone else’s answers.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Experience shaped through working with people in very different circumstances.

David’s professional background spans counselling, mental health, family support, rehabilitation and disability services across Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Over the years, he has worked with individuals, couples, families and groups — supporting people through personal difficulty, relationship challenges, trauma, grief, rehabilitation, disability and periods of significant change.

Counselling & Therapy

Individual, couples and family counselling across a range of personal, relationship and life challenges.

Mental Health & Crisis Support

Experience supporting people experiencing emotional distress, mental health difficulties and periods of crisis.

Rehabilitation & Disability

Rehabilitation counselling, disability support, adjustment, advocacy, accessibility and helping people navigate significant changes in their lives.

Groups, Family & Facilitation

Group facilitation, parenting and family support, communication, conflict management and working with people to explore different perspectives.

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Across health, community and university settings.

David’s career has included professional roles across Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

Australian Unity

UnitingCare Community

Portland State University

Relationship Services, New Zealand

Karanga Health Centre, New Zealand

QUALIFICATIONS & EDUCATION

Professional training grounded in counselling.

Alongside his lived and professional experience, David’s approach is supported by formal study in counselling and related fields.

MASTER OF SCIENCE

Counselor Education

Portland State University

Dual Major in Rehabilitation Counselling and Marriage & Family Therapy

BACHELOR’S DEGREE

Business Administration & Management

American InterContinental University

Summa Cum Laude

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP

Australian Counselling Association (ACA)

Level 4 Member — Experienced Professional

HOW I WORK

I am not here to tell you what to think. I am here to help you look at what is really going on.

Working with me is active and collaborative. I will listen carefully to what you are saying — but I will also ask questions, explore different perspectives and sometimes challenge the assumptions or patterns that may be keeping you stuck. The aim is not for me to decide what your life should look like. It is to help you understand what is happening more clearly, consider what might need to shift and decide what makes sense for you.

Listen beyond the first answer

Listening is more than hearing words. It means paying attention, checking understanding and recognising that our own assumptions can influence what we think another person means.

Question what we think we know

Sometimes the beliefs, interpretations and patterns we have developed through our experiences no longer serve the life we want to live. That can mean asking difficult questions, looking beneath the obvious answer and being willing to consider another perspective.

The direction remains yours

David will not prescribe the answer or decide what your life should look like. His role is to help you look at what is happening, weigh up different possibilities, and land on a direction that is genuinely yours.

My role is not to give you the answers. It is to help you explore what makes sense for you.

My role isn’t to give you the answers. It’s to help you explore what makes sense for you.

THE THINKING BEHIND THE APPROACH

This way of working is at the heart of what David calls Evolutionary Therapy.

Evolutionary Therapy explores the beliefs and patterns we develop through our experiences — and asks whether they still serve the life we want to live today.

Explore Evolutionary Therapy

BEYOND THE THERAPY ROOM

Curiosity has always taken me in different directions.

I have never been particularly interested in staying inside one box. Long before counselling, I was interested in computers and technology. That interest later became part of my work with assistive technology for blind people — where accessibility, independence and practical problem-solving were part of everyday life. That same curiosity still shapes the things I enjoy today.

I’ve never been particularly interested in staying inside one box. Long before counselling, I was interested in computers and technology. That interest later became part of my work with assistive technology for blind people — where accessibility, independence and practical problem-solving were part of everyday life. That same curiosity still shapes the things I enjoy today.

Books & Ideas

David reads extensively, particularly science fiction and fantasy, and enjoys exploring ideas about people, society and the future.

Technology & the Brain

Technology remains a long-standing interest, alongside neuroscience, brain science and neuroplasticity — particularly the ways people adapt.

Movement & Martial Arts

David enjoys walking and has spent many years practising martial arts, including Aikido, Judo and Karate.

A Little Adventure

Despite generally preferring quieter places and smaller groups of people, David also describes himself as a thrill-seeker and has a particular enthusiasm for serious roller coasters.

A VALUE THAT HAS STAYED WITH ME

Independence has always mattered to me.

David independently moved from the United States to New Zealand, later becoming a New Zealand citizen before eventually making Australia home. Experiences throughout his life have reinforced the importance of agency, responsibility and being able to make your own choices — even when support is needed along the way.

People should be supported without having their independence taken away from them.

READY WHEN YOU ARE

If the way I work feels right for you, we can start with a conversation.

You do not need to have everything figured out before reaching out. If something in your life is not working the way you want it to, we can begin by looking at what is happening and where you would like to go from here.

Whatever you decide, that choice stays yours. I am just here to help you get clearer on it.

Whatever you decide, that choice stays yours. I'm just here to help you get clearer on it.

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