New White Ribbon Ambassador

The White Ribbon Campaign welcomes Martin Sloman as a White Ribbon Ambassador.

Martin Sloman is a counsellor working in Primary Mental Health and in private practice. Originally from Wales, Martin arrived in New Zealand from the UK in 2009. He has a wife and two children and lives on the Kapiti Coast.

In his career history Martin has been a senior IT Manager in the UK, before eventually changing career direction to work as a therapist. He has a particular interest in men’s mental health and together with Kapiti musician Ryan Edwards formed “Whirlwind” (www.whirlwindstories.com), which endeavours to encourage men to tell and share their stories about surviving the tough stuff, and not to rely on negative coping strategies which can often include abuse or violence. The postcards from the project contain stark quotes from famous and ordinary men and have been circulated NZ wide. They have a particular presence in “living without violence” organisations.

There is much synergy between Whirlwind’s story and the role of a White Ribbon Ambassador. Martin regards it as an honour to be in this role, that it brings together his “professional ethos as a therapist, his desire to be a support for men and their whanau and his own personal experience as father, husband, friend and as a man”.