Malik Akhtar
Experienced person-centred counsellor
About Malik
Malik Akhtar offers calm, practical support for people juggling stress, anxiety, addiction and life changes. He speaks English, Punjabi and Urdu and aims to make therapy straightforward and understandable. The first contact focuses on what the person wants to change and how they prefer to work.
Sessions can be short-term or longer term depending on need. He has worked in the field for 22 years and is a member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP.
Background and approach
That background means he follows the BACP ethical framework in his practice. Malik uses a mix of approaches and adjusts them to suit each person's situation rather than rigidly following one method. In practical terms he draws on client-centred work that keeps the person's perspective central.
He also uses elements of mindfulness to help with stress and anxiety and solution-focused ideas to set clear, manageable goals. Motivational interviewing is used when someone wants help with change, for example around substance use. People often come with concerns such as depression, trauma, grief, sleep or eating difficulties, parenting strain, anger, low self-esteem or problems with work and career.
Malik also supports people facing multicultural issues, prejudice, obsessive behaviours, panic and phobias, and compassion fatigue. Sessions are offered online by video, phone, live chat or text messaging. The initial step is a short matching questionnaire, then scheduling is arranged to suit both parties.
Malik aims to create a practical, steady pace so people can begin making changes they value.
What Malik works with
How Malik works
Listed by Malik among the ways they work.
Listed by Malik among the ways they work.
Listed by Malik among the ways they work.
Listed by Malik among the ways they work.
Listed by Malik among the ways they work.
Sessions & fees
How Malik’s approaches work online
Client-centred therapy focuses on the person's own perspective and priorities. The therapist listens without directing and helps people find their own solutions, which can be useful for depression, low self-esteem and relationship worries.Mindfulness therapy teaches simple attention and breathing practices to reduce stress and calm anxious thoughts. It can help with panic, sleep problems and everyday tension by building small habits that change how someone responds to stress.
Motivational interviewing is a collaborative way of exploring ambivalence about change. It is often used when someone wants support for addictions or behaviour change, helping them find personal reasons and practical steps to move forward.
Finding the right approach is part of the work together. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences and what feels most helpful, then adjust methods as the sessions progress. This means the plan can shift if different strategies suit better over time.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat and text-based messaging. Video is good for a fuller conversational session, phone needs less bandwidth, chat and messaging work well for brief check-ins or when writing feels easier. These options offer flexibility so people can fit therapy into work, travel or busy family routines.
| Session length | Typically 50 minutes |
|---|---|
| Client ages | Adults, 18 and over |
| Fees | Subscription via BetterHelp, cancel anytime |
| Insurance | Not billed directly |
Questions people ask
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Areas of focus
What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Addictions
- Relationship issues
Also listed
- ADHD
- Anger management
- Bipolar disorder
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- Coping with life changes
- Depression
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating disorders
- Family conflicts
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Jealousy
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sleeping disorders
- Trauma and abuse
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 22 years
- Registered with
- BACP
- Languages
- English, Punjabi, Urdu
