Psychological therapy and counselling for educational professionals by 'Skype'
........a flexible online therapy service to suit you
Dr Alesia Moulton-Perkins, Clinical Psychologist and CBT therapist
I specialise in offering psychological therapy or counselling to professionals working in the education sector who are struggling with work-life balance or emotional issues in their personal lives.
- Are you a teacher, university lecturer or other professional working in the education sector? Perhaps you are working in a school, college or language academy abroad, or in the UK?
The public say working in a university is like being in an ivory tower, but you know differently! The pressure of keeping up a publication rate or bringing in grant money whilst teaching, supervising, marking and keeping on top of the admin as a lecturer or teaching fellow can be taxing. Ever increasing expectations generated from student surveys, the REF or departmental targets can make it seem like what you have to offer is never quite good enough. Whether you are working at professorial level leading teams of researchers or a postdoc on their first contract, these challenges are always harder if combined with difficulties at home. Our resilience can be eroded when personal issues start to get us down, and work doesn’t seem to let up. Without a breathing space, and back up at home we can stumble and become ill.
Teachers don’t have it easy either. You may have gone into this profession because you love kids and helping them to learn, but when constant changes to the curriculum and government micromanagement means you spend most of your time with paperwork the joy can go out of it all. Then there are the social-emotional problems of the kids – you are expected to be a social worker/parent/nurse/psychologist – everything it seems except get on with the job of teaching! Demanding parents, bullying line managers, dilapidated classrooms can get in the way at your enthusiasm for a job you once loved. What if your dream was Teaching English as a Foreign Language and now you are here in your chosen country, it isn't turning out to be quite what you thought it would be. Then if your own kids get ill, a parent dies, a partner leaves, you develop a health problem, get depressed – you name it - life happens! When home life is no longer the rock to help you survive your day job, the house of cards can come tumbling down.
Worries about work or personal relationships can lead to sleepless nights and maybe we end up coping by doing the things we know we shouldn’t, but just can’t find the will to resist – drinking alcohol or eating too much, getting irritable with our partners or families. After a while you might wonder ‘what’s the point?’ when no matter how hard you work, however hard you try, it just doesn’t seem enough. What space is there for the other important things in life: romantic relationships, kids, hobbies? Our resilience is eroded, and depression, anxiety, stress, and exhaustion may creep in.
Do any of the following sound familiar?
- I can’t cope
- I just feel so tired all the time
- I can’t stop thinking about work when I’m at home. It’s the first thing on my mind when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep
- My back and shoulders are so tense
- I keep getting stomach problems
- I can’t seem to make decisions anymore. I can’t focus
- I feel helpless. No matter what I do I can’t change things
Why I am particularly well-placed to help you
I understand these pressures because I’ve been there. Of course, I won’t know every circumstance and challenge you’re facing but I’d bet I’ve encountered a fair few of them! I spent several years living abroad teaching English as a foreign language and then as a primary school teacher in international schools before returning to the UK to make a career change. In my mid-30s I revaluated what I wanted from my life and decided to retrain as a psychologist. I took the leap and went back to college as a mature student. I know how scary, but also exciting it can be to make a complete change of direction. After retraining as a clinical psychologist and CBT therapist I worked in the NHS for over 10 years. Now I seem to have come full circle and have found myself once more teaching and mentoring those early in their careers, training the next generation of clinical psychologists at the university of Surrey. I see every day the struggles of young professionals, struggling to make their mark in the world. I know that while working in the education sector, here or as an ex-pat, has many advantages, it can also be hard when the magic wears off.
A way forward: 100% online and flexible
I can help you find a way forward, find meaning in what you do again. Or, if you are seeking a way out, I can work with you to discover a new beginning, a new direction that makes you feel alive again. I can help you get a better night’s sleep, concentrate better, deal with those worries, improve your mood and relationships, tame that self-critical voice that gets you down and stops you from enjoying life and realising your potential. Or maybe you want to get on top of some unhealthy habits. As a busy professional, I understand how difficult it can be to fit in time for therapy when work and family demands seem to squeeze out every last minute of the day. I can help, providing a convenient, flexible service to meet you where you are. You can even ‘Skype’ in with your mobile phone or tablet so you can have your session at any time of the day, and in any location. I work exclusively online via email, telephone, or face-to-face video calls (like ‘Skype’).
What problems do you work with?
As well as work-related stress, burnout, depression, work-life balance issues, grief and loss and relationship problems I can also help you if you have:
- Panic and agoraphobia
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder
- PTSD and trauma
- OCD
- Neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD and Tourette’s syndrome
- Depression and Low self-esteem
- Work stress
- Insomnia
- Long Term Conditions and difficulties psychologically adjusting to them (physical health problems such as chronic pain, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome/ME, COPD, cancer, diabetes, heart problems, irritable bowel syndrome amongst others)
I offer a flexible way to access therapy so you have a choice in terms of time commitment and cost. See my Therapy Options and Fees page for more information
Testimonials
“I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you so much for helping me over the last few difficult months of my life. I really couldn’t have got through it without your care and support and for that I will always be eternally grateful”
“Thank you for your invaluable expertise, kindness and generosity of spirit while equipping me with the tools to help me through an extremely difficult time in my life and beyond! You will always be remembered with affection and a smile”
“Thank you for all your support, our sessions have really made a difference. I feel much more able to cope now as you have taught me lots of strategies that I think I can use”
"I’m really pleased I went ahead with therapy... I opted to have the therapy over video phone which was great because I could fit it in my lunch hour at work, which I wouldn’t have been able to do if I need to attend face to face therapy. Alesia was great. She gave me some really useful tools to take away from the sessions which really made me feel I could finally move forward. Even though we spoke over video call I still feel I was able to build a rapport with her. She was very easy going and I felt I could say everything I needed to in front of her without any judgement. I would thoroughly recommend both Alesia, and telephone therapy if you don’t have time to commit to face to face therapy." Sarah
"If you have a busy schedule and or live in a remote location, I highly recommend online therapy with Alesia. She made it easy to settle into each session and not a single session was wasted. She actively listens and provides the help and tools needed to make improvements in mental health and life. I cannot stress how easier I find day to day activities now. Adam