I developed my passion for helping others and raising awareness of mental health from a young age. Growing up in an ethnic minority culturally dense working-class community meant I understood the harms of the stigmas surrounding mental health help seeking, being comfortable with speaking about your emotions and developing your identity based on the expectations of society, religion and your mother and father! I first-hand witnessed the dangers that people would face when they had no identity or direction in life. How easy it was for people to fall into crime to make quick money and ruin all future opportunities at achieving a successful life. Moreover, having personal experience of mental health affecting those closest to me and the devastating impact it had on families who refused to seek appropriate support, I understood the damage and felt the helplessness this caused numerous people. I wanted to do something about this lack of awareness!

I recognised the struggle of feeling alone and not feeling as if you fit in. Carrying the burden of expectation from your family, your friends and the workplace/ university and the struggle to fit all those expectations into one single identity. Do nothing and it causes significant trauma and angst amid feelings of misunderstanding and hopelessness. Trying to make educated life choices amid such a background is a recipe for failure and future life troubles.

I was able to navigate these aspects and learnt from these experiences and utilised the opportunities given to me. I understood I was not the only one faced with such challenges who required direction and purpose. We all face them at various stages of our lives. I decided to combine my knowledge of Religion and Philosophy combined with my passion and experience in Psychology to develop this service.

I have developed a deep and complex understanding of why we behave the way we do, and my aim is to support others to achieve the optimal in their lives by overcoming the numerous issues we all face. Identity crisis, mental health, emotional problems, family crisis and enmeshment, relationship problems and childhood traumas. How your culture and religion and or belief system has an impact on these aforementioned factors. How you fit in with the world and all its choices and what you make of those choices is how we are defined. I am here to support you make the right choices and enable you to accelerate your potential and support you to recognise your true self. I am here to give you clarity where there is uncertainty, and to provide grounding where there is unstability. I am here to provide you with a safe space to shape the person you always wanted to be.

Talha Alarakhia PsychCoaching Values

Relatable

A holistic package that accounts for your social, cultural, and religious needs to provide an authentic and well-rounded service

Connection

Equips you with the tools to connect with yourself as well as others which result in higher levels of self-efficacy and value and helps improve your immune system!

Autonomy

We help to empower you to gain control over your life, your decisions, and choices. Inevitably, this improves self-esteem and confidence. Our service instils importance on your values, and we provide a service which conducts itself with integrity and respect of your needs and goals.

Novelty

Starting something new such as undertaking the journey to discover yourself activates the dopamine system directly. This enhances your mood and creates a sense of motivation and goal setting which encourages a more positive outlook.

Professional Bio

I have over 10 years of experience working in mental health and social care settings. I have worked with a range of people, both young and elderly suffering from mental health including; anxiety and depression and emotional disorders such as personality disorders. I have an in-depth experience of working with trauma and childhood trauma and have developed a great insight into attachment styles, recognising how our childhood experiences affect our relationships in adulthood. I have mentored teenagers and worked in a looked after children’s home delivering therapy interventions to adolescents. I have worked in various therapies such as Dialectical Behavioural Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Psychotherapy. I have co-published research into delivering psychology interventions for the elderly in hospital settings and my master's dissertation on overcoming barriers to help seeking amongst ethnic minority groups received research of the year.

I hold 2 master’s degrees in Psychology and Psychological Wellbeing
I hold a BA honours degree in English Literature
Certified as a Leadership and Management Coach
Completing a postgraduate diploma in Psychology and Mental health Wellbeing
Graduate Member status (MBPsS) with the British Psychological Society and have been granted the Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC)