Nik Shah

Nik Shah is a trainee integrative counsellor and is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).  He works within the Lambeth Talking Therapies team, seeing NHS patients in Brixton.  Nik is currently in his second year working towards an advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling at The Awareness Centre.

Nik’s approach to therapy is adaptive – combining humanistic modalities such as Person-centred, Gestalt, Transactional Analysis and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy with Psychodynamic theories.  He also incorporates elements of CBT, mindfulness and breath-work.  Nik holds a special interest in childhood trauma and self-worth, with the two often intertwined.  His therapeutic style is built around providing a non-judgemental space, harnessing core principles including integrity, respect, equality and humility.  Nik believes the therapeutic relationship is central to the work, influencing the outcome of therapy and is the catalyst for change.  Genuine collaboration between the therapist and client is encouraged.  Nik sees every client, every session as unique.  As such, he’s creative and dynamic in integrating his learnings and life experience, while sitting with the client as their story unfolds, offering support to unpack, process and heal.  He works to understand and explore the client’s own lived experience.  One of his aims through therapy is to make the client’s values and beliefs conscious to facilitate this exploration, so the possible maladaptive cognitions, emotions and behaviours can be unearthed and processed.  Nik’s ethos is that purpose and meaning play a significant part in our lives.  He stresses the importance of autonomy and celebrates the capacity of each individual to access their inner resources to carve out their own meaning in life.

With a background in Marketing, Nik has spent the majority of his career working in fast-paced, high stakes environments, allowing him to deeply understand the tension between business success and personal wellbeing and the toll this can take on work/life balance.  This insight has been enriched further in roles as a mental health first-aider within corporate structures, which developed his empathic capabilities.  He holds a BSc in Consumer Behaviour and Psychology, which required a deep understanding of human mannerisms and emotional pain points.  This has helped foster a fluid transition into active listening and tailoring care to meet specific client needs.  Nik also has experience working with and advising UK-based charities such as Mind and CALM on their outreach marketing strategies, as well as volunteering as a youth engagement worker at London Youth and RISE projects.  Nik has a diverse ethnic background, with British, Kenyan and South-Asian heritage.  This has provided a deep understanding of cultural values, traditions and stigmas, that may influence clients’ experiences and mental health journeys.  He is committed to helping clients navigate their societal challenges with understanding and empathy.