He studied at Oxford and University College Hospital, qualified in medicine in 1949. He worked as a General Practitioner in North London, then directed the University of Sussex Health service, and later worked as a Consultant Psychotherapist in St. Thomas' Hospital, London, from 1983 to 1992.
While in general practice he realised that a lot of his patients were presenting with psychological problems or distress, which he confirmed by epidemiological studies. He developed interest in psychotherapy and later developed a time limited therapy which can be offered in the UK's National Health Service. This type of therapy is known as cognitive analytic therapy.