Stepping Into the LIGHT

My path to becoming a psychotherapist didn’t begin in a clinic or classroom—it began in the wild.

My name is Gary Caganoff and in my early adult years I spent long stretches of time exploring some of the world’s most remote, rugged and breathtaking landscapes - particularly in Tasmania and South America. The journey outwards into landscapes, I soon realised, refelcted my inner journey.

I often say, “The soul of the landscape mirrors the landscapes of the soul.” Nature is both refuge and revelation. It’s a place where nothing is asked of me and at the same time, everything. Where life is uncomplicated yet deeply wrapped in complex reciprocity - as it has always been. Immersed in wild nature I learned that healing doesn’t always look like fixing. Sometimes it looks like allowing, softening, being vulnerable, becoming real, to what lies just beneath the surface.

Suffering great loneliness in my twenties I went searching for some kind of truth. Totally ironic that I would take that loneliness out into such remote, isolated places, but I was driven to answering the big questions of life; Who am I and what’s my purpose here? Questions I couldn’t answer at home.

For two decades, I worked as an independent documentary filmmaker, creating films that explored environmental and social justice issues. It was meaningful work—work that received recognition and awards—but more than that, it helped document my pursuit for truth. Not only societal truth, but a deeper, spiritual truth. The kind of truth that lives in the body, in the silence, in the space between things. In the soul.

In 2003, after a trip to Afghanistan to film in war-affected communities, I returned home and experienced what I can only describe as a psychological breakdown and a spiritual breakthrough. It was the culmination of years of inner work that had prepared me to let go, break open, and be remade. What emerged was a sense of wholeness, of deep relationship with self, soul, and life itself. Over time, the ego slowly re-formed—but this time, infused with love.

Since then I’ve become a husband and father of two amazing kids, now teenagers. And I’ve continued to walk the path of healing, inquiry, and service. I hold a Masters of Applied Science in Social Ecology (UWS) and a Graduate Diploma in Transpersonal Psychotherapy (The Crucible Centre). I’ve also immersed myself in meditation, energy healing, and nature-based practice for over 25 years. As one of the early pioneers of ecopsychology in Australia, I’ve spent the past two decades facilitating retreats in the wild, or on the edge, supporting others to reconnect with the deeper ground of their being.

And while nature holds a special place in my heart and practice, the work I offer doesn’t require stepping into the wild. I also work from a warm, quiet indoor space—simple and grounded—where you can feel safe, held, and fully yourself. Whether we meet surrounded by trees, seated in a room, or on the internet, the invitation is the same: to come home to yourself, gently and honestly, in your own time.

Into The LIGHT is the natural extension of all of this—a place where your story, your wounds, your questions, and your light are welcome.