Our services

British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy accredited counselling.

Helping people of all walks of life with mental health challenges from anxiety to overcoming trauma and abuse.

A listening ear, an empathetic space and a place to explore who you are, your story, and what you want to be.

Learn more about counselling

Meet us

Hi there! We are Matthew and Paul. We both use the pronouns he/him. We met through a dating app while we  were both on holiday in Gran Canaria. Initially, our relationship was a long distance Dom/sub one, with Matthew living in Thailand and Paul in the UK. During the COVID pandemic, we locked down together and our relationship blossomed. We married in October 2024.

Over the years, we have supported each other's growth as people and as kinksters. While Matthew built his coaching and content businesses, Paul has always been in the background, helping Matthew to plan and with marketing and other activities.

Matthew meanwhile has supported Paul to gain his counselling qualifications and helped Paul navigate the world of accreditation.

We've appeared on a number of podcasts and regularly give talks together and separately. We coordinate the Masterclasses at Darklands in Belgium and are passionate about offering LGBTQ+ and kinky people a safe space to learn, grow and be themselves. Learn more about us below.

Matthew

Hi, I'm Matthew (sometimes known as English Leather Master or ELM). I'm an ICF (International Coach Federation) PCC accredited life- and executive- coach and a BSCH (British Society of Clinical Hypnosis) registered hypnotherapist. I also train people in coaching and hypnosis and use EMDR to help people overcome trauma.

I work extensively with LGBTQ+ and kinky people the world over to help them have better lives. I'm passionate about helping people use the skills they have within themselves to improve their chance of success and happiness in all aspects of their lives. 

I use my education background to run a wide variety of workshops and classes. I've taught at the Recon Masterclasses (London, UK), CLAW (Cleveland, OH, USA), Darklands (Antwerp, Belgium), KinkFest (Birmingham, UK), DatingKinky (Online) and many more. Subjects have included hypnosis, shame and pain play.

As well as my coaching and hypnotherapy business, I make explicit content, so Googling my name with safe search off can lead to some "interesting" results. But I'm proud of what I do and the business I've built from scratch. 

My career started with teaching kids science and led to me working across Asia and Europe training, selling and developing products for the international educational assessment market. In total, I've worked in 13 countries and had a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people through the work I did.

Paul

Hi I'm Paul, otherwise known as ELM's Sub.

I'm a BACP registered Counsellor offering help to people in the LGBTQ+ and kink world to overcome issues that are stopping them live the lives they want to live.

While Matthew is the extrovert and quick to act, I'm the shy introvert who is cautious and risk-averse. I know what it's like to be bullied, to be put down. My inner critic is NOISY. I'm undergoing assessment to see if I've got ADHD, so I know what it's like to feel like you've got 15 tabs open in your brain and you can't remember why you walked into a room.

My story includes the corporate world, online social media marketing, and finally finding my home in offering therapy. Mental health struggles are close to my heart, in ways that would be inappropriate to explain here. But suffice to say, I know how much some people hurt and what can happen if people aren't given the help they need.

My clients have included people with anxiety, recovering from trauma, stuck in toxic relationships, domestic abuse and more.

Outside the therapy room, as well as BDSM, I'm also an avid gym goer and Kylie Minogue's biggest fan. Finally, I'm addicted to booking holidays and Matthew tells me I spend far too much time obsessing over which flights to get for our next trip!