Alex Hayes , BACP

Alex Hayes is a BACP-registered counsellor with three years of professional experience across counselling centres, addiction treatment settings, and private practice in Cape Town, Belgium, and London. He brings a person-centred, client-guided style to his work, partnering with people to explore what matters to them and to build sustainable change in a non-judgemental way. His approach balances warm support with challenge when needed, helping clients to move through difficult moments and develop practical coping strategies.

Before training as a therapist, he worked in corporate roles in London and later retrained in Cape Town after confronting his own experience of addiction. That personal journey informs his practice and his commitment to helping others find their way out of very dark places. As a BACP member - the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - he follows recognised professional standards for counselling and psychotherapy.

Alex works with a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, addictions, trauma and abuse, self-esteem, coping with life changes, LGBT issues, relationship and family problems, grief, intimacy-related difficulties, eating and sleeping challenges, parenting and anger, as well as mood conditions such as bipolar and depression. He also focuses on related areas like abandonment and attachment issues, codependency, kink and alternative sexual culture, substance use, impulsivity, infidelity, isolation and questions of life purpose. He offers collaborative, tailored support to help clients identify goals and take meaningful steps toward them.

How Alex’s Approaches Translate to Online Therapy

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, helps people clarify their values and take committed action toward a more meaningful life. It focuses on accepting difficult thoughts and feelings while building practical steps that align with what matters most, and can be helpful for anxiety, depression, and recovery from addictive behaviours.

Attachment-Based Therapy explores how early relationship patterns shape present-day connections and emotional responses. It supports people working through abandonment, intimacy issues, or recurring relationship difficulties by strengthening emotional awareness and new ways of relating.

Alex combines these perspectives with a client-centred stance, meaning therapy is guided by each person's priorities and pace. Finding the right approach is part of the work - he collaborates with clients to identify which methods will best meet their goals and adapts techniques as needs evolve.

Online sessions using video calls, phone conversations, live chat, or text messaging make this collaborative work more flexible and accessible. These options allow clients to engage from different locations and to choose formats that suit their comfort, schedule, and communication style while maintaining the same therapeutic focus and continuity of care.