Alex Balkwill

Hello, I'm Alex, a qualified person-centred counsellor – I’m kind, warm, patient and non-judgemental. I currently have capacity to work with new clients, do get in touch if you'd like to give counselling with me a try.

We'll need to talk first to make sure that we are comfortable to work together, and I offer a free call to do this, up to 20 minutes. This is really the only way to tell if we're a good fit! 

My intention is to help bring your awareness to what you're feeling about what's going on for you.

I do that by creating a safe space for you to speak, I'll be there alongside you (metaphorically speaking – I’m only offering telephone and online sessions at the moment). I'll be listening without judgement and encouraging you to speak freely, at the depth that you're ready for in the moment. Just the action of speaking out loud the thoughts that might be circling in your mind can give you a fresh perspective. We can aim to take the pressure off trying to understand why you feel as you do, or how to change how you feel, although both might be the natural consequence of fully expressing what you are feeling.

My experience is that counselling isn't just for when you're in crisis, at your absolute lowest point, but for any time you need a safe space to talk through what's happening for you. It has been valuable to me at my own lowest points, but also during periods of stuckness, for support through periods of change, or to share something that feels unshareable any other way. And it's helped me during happier times too, when my feelings have sometimes been confusing, complicated, contradictory.

Counselling isn't always easy, it does take energy and it can be challenging, but the rewards can be absolutely worth what you put in, and it can boost your energy too. We'll be checking in as we go about what feels manageable, and we'll aim not to take on too much at once, so that our sessions won't be contributing to any overwhelm but will hopefully provide a respite from it.

It will be really rewarding for me to be by your side, to help you understand what you're feeling, to offer you the space to be your fullest, truest self, and to move towards acceptance of yourself just as you are. I know what a difference it can make to have that opportunity, I have benefitted from it so much myself, and I want you to have that too.