Chris Jones

The world we live in can be a very challenging place, and many of us will experience emotional difficulties at some point in our lives. This can be a very negative experience, and it is not always easy to understand the root of these challenges. I believe that talking about these experiences in a safe and contained space, free from judgement and conditions, can bring about powerful changes to our lives and help us heal. My hope is that by facilitating a safe, collaborative, and empathic environment, you can find some understanding of your current position.

I am an honorary integrative counsellor and am in my final year of my diploma at City Lit. As an integrative practitioner, I believe that there is not one size that fits all, so I draw on a broad number of approaches to best help support my clients. My working day at EASE is Tuesday, and I am based at Mill Hill and Hackney.

As a registered student member of the BACP, I work within its ethical framework to ensure that I maintain safe and professional standards. I apply a self-reflective approach that allows me to continuously develop and improve my practice. I drive my self-development in a number of ways including through short-term courses and workshops I have completed alongside my counselling qualifications. Some of these include “Neuroscience and Psychotherapy” at Birkbeck; “8-week MBCT Mindfulness” at The Mindfulness Project; and “Queering Therapy Spaces and Working with Gender Diverse Clients,” a workshop hosted by the BACP.

Along with my education and training in counselling, I am a professional skateboarder. This has opened a number of opportunities for me and led me into helping environments. These have included being an ambassador for Skatepal, where I’ve worked to provide spaces for kids to play in Palestine. I have assisted in the construction of skateparks over the world, working within a variety of communities for Make Life Skate Life. Some of these projects have included working in Iraq, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Myanmar. I have also been a skateboard instructor at Akwaaba, where I ran skateboard workshops at a migrant centre in Dalston. More recently, I have become a trustee for the Ben Reamer’s Foundation, a mental health charity, where I support the de-stigmatisation of mental health within the skateboarding community. I have talked about issues surrounding mental health in interviews and on talk panels, such as the “Why So Sad” campaign for Nike SB.

Beyond the skateboarding sector, I have taken up several positions in other helping roles. I was a befriender at AGE UK, where I helped support elderly people. I volunteered at the homeless charity Under One Sky, where I assisted in the provision of food and clothing to people during the pandemic. I have also volunteered for other homeless charities, such as Crisis at Christmas, where I again supported people at various Christmases. Alongside these, from 2020–2022, I was a Listening Volunteer at The Listening Place (TLP), where I offered face-to-face support to those who no longer felt that life was worth living. Through TLP, I had training around attachment, working with visitors with autism, endings, and shame. My long series of volunteer work started in 2014, when I volunteered as a play worker at Kids Company, where I engaged in activities with inner-city children from struggling backgrounds. It was during my time at Kids Company that I became aware of my ambition to work in the helping sector, which eventually led to me training to become a counsellor. All these experiences have contributed to a passion to help others and the skills required to do so.