Alex T.
How would you describe your approach to counselling?
For me, counselling is the pursuit of self-awareness. I am certainly not here to tell someone how to live their lives, but I am here to listen to how they are living it. Through our reflective work together the client can come to develop an understanding of their patterns of behaviour. From there it becomes about their choices and feeling empowered to make any changes they may wish. Whatever the client decides, the aim is for them to come away trusting their own internal compass.
What do you think are the most important factors in the counselling relationship?
A client’s readiness and the quality of trust they have in their Counsellor. Counselling is a journey which requires commitment, but they must also consider who accompanies them on this journey carefully. There are lots of counsellors out there with a large range of styles and it’s incredibly important that a client chooses someone who is right for them. I believe everybody deserves a space where they can share their inner world with another person without fear of judgement. As a Humanistic / Existential counsellor the type of therapy I offer is primarily concerned with creating that feeling of safety for a client so that the conditions can be right for them to share and get curious about themselves.
Do you have any special interests or client groups that you work a lot with?
I’ve been a Counsellor at Mind since 2019. In that time, I’ve been very fortunate to work with many clients from a range of differing ages, backgrounds and beliefs. They have each brought a variety of challenges that they are facing such as Anxiety, Depression, Anger and Loss to name but a few. However, I often find that regardless of why someone has come to seek Counselling, it usually becomes about meaning for them. Clients are often looking to answer the question of “Who am I?”. Sometimes they feel like they’ve never known the answer to that question. For others, they used to have an answer but something’s changed and they want to figure out who they are now.
What do you enjoy most about your work as a counsellor?
It is an honour to be invited into someone’s private world and to be trusted with their thoughts and experiences. This role has allowed me to meet many people who have displayed strength in the face of life’s hardships. Sometimes it’s a strength they haven’t recognised in themselves and helping someone to see that is very rewarding. It’s a gift to have been able to listen, laugh and share ideas with so many inspiring people.
Tell us something interesting about yourself
Prior to training to be a Counsellor I studied Philosophy at University. At the time I had no idea what I hoped to do with it but as a happy accident some of the themes I learned about have lent themselves to this work quite well. On a personal level, I also really enjoy exploring how some of those ideas are presented in storytelling mediums such as Films, TV and Games.