Wajeeha Amin is a well being expert, a professional therapist, relationship coach and an APCTC Therapist/Practitioner Of The Year Award Nominee for 2015 . She was recently on Noreen Khan’s famous Fabulous Women show on BBC Asian Network. I had a conversation with her so we can all learn what well being is all about. Wajeeha is based in Central London and East London.
Enjoy reading the interview and I hope this helps you in one way or another.
How did you think of starting this as a career? Tell us your story.
Looking back, it was not a conscious decision to have a career as a therapist or even study counselling or hypnotherapy for that matter. I have always worked in the caring field and enjoyed my work; working in the NHS gave me my first insight to talking therapies that heal. I was really inquisitive and wanted to know more, I came across a charity that was looking for people who wanted to volunteer their time and be trained as crisis telephone counsellors. They were also delivering training in Psychotherapy and Hypnotherapy, I applied completed the course and went on to volunteer as a crisis telephone counsellor. Whilst volunteer as a counsellor for different charities I have continued to develop my skills through further training. When people ask me why I do what I do I say because I am interested in listening to people’s stories about their lives. Every new person who comes to me brings their own incredible, wonderful story and we work on that story and explore its highs and lows together. It is a privilege to be invited into people’s lives this way. If you ask me is it my career or business, I would tell you it’s a purpose. Motivated by intuition, passion and self-belief to be able to go home every night doing something I feel has great value and has made a real difference.
What difficulties did you face when starting this business?
I did not have a clue where to start for me I did not think off it as a business, and to a certain extent I have learnt the business side of things by default. It’s been a huge learning curve, one I have to say I have enjoyed. Volunteering as a therapist and working for someone else was easy, the business side was taken care of and I could get on and be the counsellor. Venturing out on my own I had to learn everything from booking clients in, to designing of my website. I have learnt about how google works, SEO and social Media. My next learning curve is how to deliver webinars. I am happiest running my Master classes, one to one sessions, consulting and public speaking engagements. I guess there is going to be something new to learn each step of the way but I am up for the challenge as long as I am able to carry on doing what I enjoy whilst making a difference.
What qualifications does one need to get into such a career?
It’s great to get the qualifications under your belt and there are so many different routes you can take. From university courses to private training providers, I trained in Psychotherapy, Hypnotherapy and coaching, however I learnt the most valuable skills through life experience, volunteering placements, from my supervisors and mentors. The key is to never stop learning, continue developing your skills through attending continued professional development and never stop asking questions.
What kind of people does this cater to?
Anyone and everyone! I think all of us, if asked, would consider therapies like counselling, hypnotherapy or coaching to be positive and beneficial, but we tend to regard them as choices for ‘other people’. It feels like they’re not for us, even if we don’t really know why.
Each of us has a personal journey; we have our struggles, our successes, fears, dreams and hopes. I work with clients to think outside of the box, I help people achieve their goals, be it in their studies, career, business, relationships and life as a whole. I have seen the transformation in my clients. They come with a sense of hopelessness, that something is missing, they feel stuck, and they leave with hope, they see the possibility of change, opportunity and above all they leave with a sense of self-belief.
Why should people take these services?
It may be life is going fine, as planned, on the surface nothing seems wrong but there is a sense of something not right: a feeling of searching for something, a missing piece, a lost chance, a different future. Or your trying to come to terms with loss. Coping with the pressure to performe, pass exams, excel in your career, lack of confidence, struggling with heightened anxiey and stress. Maybe it’s an endless search for Mr or Mrs Right or an unbeatable battle against weight-loss, break down in relationships and deep down you know you need to do something about it. Your not quite sure what to do and it’s hard to talk to the people around you. Getting therapeutic help should be an ordinary and wholly unsurprising thing, like getting a facial, haircut or going to the dentist.
Seeking therapy is one of the most generous things we can do for ourselves. The opportunity to talk freely about your thoughts and feelings with a supportive person makes you feel better. It can be very healing, to voice your worries or talk about something that’s weighing on your mind. And it feels good to be listened to—it can be life-changing. A recent client said “To summarize my time with Wajeeha would be that my therapy sessions was the best money that I have spent on myself and worth more than shoes and handbags (which are a particular weakness of mine)”
Another client said “Looking back now, overcoming that initial fear and taking the first step is probably the most significant thing I have done in making a positive change in my life”
Working with me provides you with unique opportunity to mirror your true self, tell your story out loud. When you see yourself as you really are, it becomes much easier to figure out where you’d like to go, what you’d like to do, and which path holds the greatest promise for a fulfilling, meaningful life. I focus on helping clients to thrive in the present and future, and on creating a vision and action plan towards living life to its fullest capacity, proudly and boldly!
Email Wajeeha: info@wajeehaamin.co.uk
She also holds Master Classes that are worth having a look at .
