About
Finding Your Centre of Gravity
In aviation, the centre of gravity matters.
An aircraft has to stay within a specific envelope of weight and balance. If it doesn’t, performance and safety are affected. It’s something pilots check before every flight.
There’s a parallel there for people.
Not in a literal sense, but in how things can start to feel off:
carrying more than you’re used to
working harder just to maintain the same level
feeling like something isn’t quite aligned
If you’re considering counselling, you’re likely trying to figure out one thing: Is this someone I can actually talk to? Not just in theory, but in a way that feels practical, grounded, and relevant to your life.
My name is Chris Graham. I’m a Professional Counsellor (MPCC-Provisional) and former professional pilot. I work primarily with men and aviation professionals, including pilots and air traffic controllers, through Centre of Gravity Counselling.
Much of my work is with people who are carrying more than they tend to talk about.
You’ll sometimes see the words therapy and therapist used when people are looking for this kind of support. I use counselling and counsellor because those terms more accurately reflect my professional designation.
My Approach to Counselling
My approach to counselling is straightforward, respectful, and practical.
This isn’t about overanalysing you or forcing you into a particular way of talking about things. It’s about:
understanding what’s actually going on beneath the surface
making sense of it in a clear, manageable way
working through it at a pace that fits you
Many of the men I work with are used to handling things on their own. They’re capable and responsible, and they’re not necessarily looking for something that feels overly clinical or abstract.
The work we do reflects that.
I’m interested not only in what you’re thinking, but also in what’s happening emotionally and physically. Stress, anxiety, anger, grief and difficult experiences don’t exist only in our thoughts. They can also show up in the nervous system and in how we respond to the people and situations around us.
My role isn’t to tell you how you should feel or who you should be. It’s to help you understand what’s happening, work through what needs attention, and find a way forward that makes sense for you.
What Counselling With Me Looks Like
Sessions are:
conversational and grounded
focused without being rigid
paced so that you don’t feel overwhelmed
You don’t need to come in with a clear explanation of what’s wrong or a specific goal already worked out.
Some people know exactly what they want help with. Others know only that something isn’t working the way it used to.
We start wherever you are and work from there.
From Professional Pilot to Professional Counsellor
Before becoming a counsellor, I spent more than 21 years working as a professional pilot.
My aviation career included flight instruction, corporate and airline flying, air ambulance work, and operations in Canada’s North. I spent a significant part of my working life in an environment where competence, responsibility, decision-making and the ability to function under pressure were simply part of the job.
That experience continues to shape how I understand:
responsibility and pressure
the expectation to remain capable when things are difficult
environments where vulnerability can feel risky
the tendency to manage problems privately rather than draw attention to them
what can happen when a role or identity that has defined you begins to change
It gives me a particular understanding of aviation professionals because I know the culture from the inside.
But those experiences also inform my work with men more broadly. You don’t have to be a pilot to know what it’s like to be relied upon, to feel responsible for keeping things together, or to have become very good at functioning while something underneath isn’t working.
Why I Work With Men
Men often arrive in counselling after spending a long time trying to manage things themselves.
Sometimes something specific has happened: a relationship is struggling, work has become overwhelming, anxiety is getting harder to manage, or life has changed in a way they weren’t prepared for.
Other times, there isn’t one obvious event. They may simply know that they’re more irritable, disconnected, exhausted or unhappy than they used to be.
I understand why counselling can feel unfamiliar or even uncomfortable.
My own experience of personal counselling and men’s work has influenced the kind of counsellor I want to be. I don’t believe that being capable and being affected by things are opposites. I also don’t believe men need to become someone fundamentally different in order to benefit from counselling.
Sometimes the work is about understanding yourself better. Sometimes it’s about relationships. Sometimes it’s about learning how to respond differently to stress, anger, anxiety or pressure. And sometimes it’s about having somewhere you don’t have to be the person who has everything under control.
Training and Professional Credentials
I am a Professional Counsellor registered with the Canadian Professional Counsellors Association (CPCA) and hold the designation Master Practitioner in Clinical Counselling – Provisional (MPCC-Provisional).
That’s a mouthful. In everyday conversation, I simply say that I’m a Professional Counsellor registered with the CPCA.
I completed a Diploma in Professional Counselling from Rhodes Wellness College.
My training includes approaches commonly used to support people experiencing:
stress and burnout
anxiety and difficulties with emotional regulation
relationship and communication challenges
difficult life transitions
the effects of challenging or traumatic experiences
My work is trauma-informed and informed by an understanding of the nervous system and the relationship between emotional and physical experience.
The therapeutic approaches I draw from include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), parts work informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS), Narrative Therapy, and aspects of Somatic Experiencing.
I use these approaches as tools rather than as formulas. The goal is to find ways of working that make sense for the person sitting in front of me, rather than trying to make the person fit the approach.
If you’re looking for something specific in terms of training or therapeutic approach, that’s something we can discuss directly.
Who I Work With
I work primarily with:
men seeking counselling
pilots and other aviation professionals, including air traffic controllers
Counselling is available virtually, allowing me to work with clients in the jurisdictions where I am able to practise.
You can learn more about these areas of my practice here:
Counselling for Pilots and Aviation Professionals
A Simple Place to Start
If you’re considering counselling but aren’t sure whether it’s right for you—or whether I’m the right counsellor for you—a free consultation is a simple place to start.
It gives you a chance to:
ask questions
get a sense of how I work
tell me a little about what’s bringing you to counselling
decide whether this feels like a good fit
You don’t need to have everything figured out before reaching out.
You just need a place to start.