Alex Murphy BSc (Hons), H.G. Dip

“Sport taught me about emotions, I just didn’t know it at the time.”

My interest in human performance began long before I entered a classroom or therapy room.

As a professional rugby player, I experienced first-hand the challenges that come with performing under pressure. While physical preparation was always important, I became increasingly aware that some of my biggest obstacles weren't physical at all. Overthinking, self-doubt, anxiety, and the inability to switch off mentally could have a significant impact on performance, regardless of talent or preparation.

Those experiences sparked a lifelong interest in understanding what enables people to perform at their best when the pressure is highest.

“My move into education provided me with the skills to help others understand”.

Following my career in professional sport, I spent 16 years working in independent education, supporting and developing young people in high-performance environments. As both a teacher and coach, I witnessed how confidence, mindset, emotional regulation, and resilience often played a greater role in success than ability alone.

“My focus shifted from observation to understanding behaviour.”

Driven by a desire to understand human behaviour and performance more deeply, I retrained as a psychotherapist through the Human Givens College, gaining a practical and evidence-based understanding of how people respond to pressure, adversity, uncertainty, and challenge.

Alongside my work in education, I have spent the last several years working therapeutically with individuals experiencing a wide range of emotional and psychological difficulties. I have supported clients presenting with anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, stress-related conditions, low confidence, and other forms of emotional distress. Through the Human Givens approach, my work focuses on helping individuals understand the factors contributing to their difficulties, regain emotional balance, and develop practical strategies that enable lasting positive change.

“I began supporting athletes facing similar struggles. People sometimes forget that they aren’t superheroes”

Due to my own background in professional sport and my longstanding interest in human performance, I have also gone on to work with elite and aspiring athletes from a wide variety of sporting disciplines. Drawing on my experience in sport, education, and psychotherapy, I help athletes develop the psychological skills required to perform consistently under pressure, manage unhelpful thinking patterns, build confidence, and maximise their potential.

Today, my work spans both psychotherapy and performance development.

I continue to support individuals seeking counselling and psychotherapy for a wide range of emotional and psychological challenges, including anxiety, depression, trauma, PTSD, stress, and other forms of emotional distress. Alongside this, I work with athletes, leaders, teams, and high-performing individuals from the corporate world who want to strengthen their ability to think clearly, manage pressure effectively, and perform consistently at their best.

“Across both areas of work, the underlying principle remains the same: helping people understand and manage the thoughts, emotions, and behaviours that influence how they experience life and perform under pressure.”

Because when pressure rises, the ability to think clearly often becomes the difference between simply coping and truly performing.