Malik Akhtar, BACP

Malik Akhtar offers calm, straightforward support for people facing stress, anxiety, addiction and a wide range of life challenges. He speaks English, Punjabi and Urdu and brings 22 years of counselling experience in the United Kingdom. Malik aims to create a space where someone can talk honestly about what is worrying them and start making practical changes.

He trained as a person-centred counsellor and is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). Malik adapts his approach to suit each person, using tools drawn from client-centred work, mindfulness and solution-focused techniques. Sessions can be short-term or longer-term depending on what a person needs.

In practice he helps people deal with relationships, family strain, grief, trauma and abuse, and problems with sleep, eating or anger. He also supports those coping with addiction, ADHD, bipolar issues, and work or career stress. Malik works with concerns such as guilt, shame, obsessive thoughts, panic attacks, phobias and prejudice-related distress.

His style is practical and collaborative. Malik listens first, then offers ideas and exercises to try between sessions. Mindfulness and motivational strategies are used to build coping skills and shift unhelpful patterns.

Sessions are offered by video, phone, live chat or text messaging, which lets people pick what fits their day. To begin, a short matching questionnaire is completed and appointments are scheduled according to availability.

Therapeutic approaches you can use online

Malik often uses client-centred therapy, which focuses on listening and understanding the person's experience. The therapist follows the client's lead, reflects what they say and helps them find their own solutions; this approach helps with low mood, self-esteem and relationship concerns.

He also draws on mindfulness therapy to teach simple attention and breathing practices. These techniques are aimed at reducing worry, improving sleep and helping someone notice patterns of thought without being overwhelmed by them.

Finding the right approach is part of the work together. Malik will discuss goals, try different ways of working and adjust methods based on what feels helpful. This is a collaborative process that values the client's preferences and aims for practical changes over time.

Online sessions can be scheduled by video, phone, live chat or text messaging, giving flexibility for different days and routines. Video calls are useful for face-to-face conversation, phone sessions are good when bandwidth is limited, live chat can be a shorter check-in and text messaging suits ongoing support between appointments. These options make it easier to fit therapy around work, childcare or travel commitments.