Albert Viljoen
What would you like people to know about you?
I am a South African, and have moved to London in July 2017. I would describe myself as a dormant amateur musician, who has managed to produce a handful of songs under the name: John Yielding. I am a Tim Burton fan, and I love trail-running, spending time in nature, and having brunch! When I socialize, I am mostly drawn to conversations about complex, ‘deep’ issues, like culture, race, sexuality and beliefs. People who know me well, can sometimes describe me as intense and — at my worst — maybe a bit melodramatic. On the personality spectrum, I am a Meyers Briggs INFP, and an Enneagram type 4.
What’s your background? (Coaching and otherwise)
I studied medicine in South Africa, and worked as a General practitioner for 5 years. During and after my training, I felt this frustration with the health institution. I felt that there needs to be more of an integration between the ‘healthy’ and the ‘sick’, and a need for us to recognize ourselves and others on a spectrum. I also felt that we need to have a better integration between the body, the mind, relationship and lifestyle, and to treat people in an integrated way, not in fragments.
This spurred my interest in Integrative health, and I did a short course at the University of Stellenbosch, where I was first exposed to coaching. Suddenly, something clicked: it felt like the missing link — the key to bring the different elements of mind, body, relationship and work together.
3 years later, I signed up for an 18-month coach training process at The Coaching Center in Tokai, Cape Town, where I obtained my ICF ACTP Diploma in Practitioner Coaching.
This training has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life! They provided us with sophisticated tools to support and heal others, but also challenged us to do the work for ourselves. The level of integrity — of practicing what you preach — was even more rigorous than in med-school, and it brought a new depth of understanding to my biomedical knowledge of how humans work — not only physically, but psychologically and interpersonally.
What’s your mental health journey?
I would say my first experience as someone who ‘has mental health’, was in university. A friend of mine — a narrative child therapist — organized camps for kids from underprivileged communities. On these camps, we would provide them with activities, food, and a safe space to share any traumatic experiences they may have had. Her skills as a therapist showed me a side to our humanity that I felt had gone largely untapped. I recognized that most of us fear ‘going deep’ on an emotional, meaning-making level, and prefer to relate to others on superficialities such as weather and weekend-activities.
My friend’s therapeutic skills extended to our friendship, as she managed to pry me out of my shell, asking incisive questions, but with a deep care. Her powerful emotional support was invaluable, especially in times when I had felt isolated and misunderstood.
This experience of a supportive relationship was in stark contrast to institutionalized mental health that I experienced in hospitals, where I worked as a general practitioner at the time. Something about the institution jarred with me, and I felt this need to bring the world ‘out there’ and the world ‘in here’ together. This was one of the core motivations that brought me into my coaching practice.
What would you like people to know about your coaching?
One of the strengths in my coaching style, is a deep empathy and understanding for your world. The feedback I often get, is that I ‘meet people where they are at’, and that I am ‘easy to talk to.’ Due to my medical training, I also have a thorough understanding of mental illnesses, and have worked with people across the spectrum of mental health: from high performing execs, to medicated psychiatric patients.
I am comfortable and confident that I can offer you the space and insights you need for your unique psychological state. My hope is that, in our working together, you will unlock new ways to be fully human!
What else would you like to say while you’re here?
All of you is welcome to show up in a session with me. There is nothing you can bring that will be too shameful, strange, weird or ‘wrong’: I want you to feel comfortable enough to be fully yourself. I believe that radical self-acceptance is the only way true healing and growth can take place, so bring it on!
