Brent Black - Counsellor

My counselling is grounded in a client-centred approach and I work primarily as an addiction counsellor. I also empower non-addicted individuals to overcome personal obstacles such as depression, anxiety and relationship issues. I began my work as a counsellor in 2013 and now consult with individuals, couples and families in a private capacity. Humanistic in nature, my counselling focuses primarily on the ways in which individuals perceive themselves consciously rather than on how I interpret their unconscious thoughts or ideas.

My professional experience includes several years of work as an outreach counsellor for a London-based charity providing health, community and youth services – particularly in relation to gender/sexual identity and substance abuse issues. I have also worked as manager, addiction counsellor and programme co-ordinator at a residential rehabilitation facility in Pietermaritzburg.

My passion for guiding those struggling with addiction was born out of my own experiences as an addict. It was through having experienced first-hand the pain, despair and suffering that drug addiction ultimately causes that I turned my interests towards addiction counselling and psychology. I have now been clean for over five years and have turned my experience into a tool to help others. I have an innate ability to guide addicts from a place of genuine understanding and relate-ability, demonstrating true empathy towards their circumstances and facilitating a judgement-free space for these individuals to process their struggles and begin working towards recovery.

I hold a BA (Hons) and an MA (cum laude) in my original field of journalism, and am presently studying a BSc (Hons) Psychology. I hold a Certificate in Counselling Skills, have completed a certificate programme in Drug & Addiction Studies through King’s College (London) and have been awarded a certificate in the Identification & Management of Substance-Related Disorders.

I have experience working with all types of addictions, whether substance-related or behavioural in nature, and I offer individual addiction counselling to adolescents (aged 15+) and adults. When necessary I also engage with the family members of addicts in order to address the broader psycho-social aspects of addiction and any dysfunctional family dynamics. I offer individual counselling to adults for anxiety, depression, stress and relationship issues. Additionally, I counsel adolescents for a range of adolescent-specific issues.