5 February 2026
Meet Tom Edwards, PhD
Each month we spotlight an ACA member in the ACA Monthly Bulletin, our monthly newsletter. The Member Spotlight is designed to showcase the work of our members to you! We hope their stories inspire or spark interest. Let’s share our experiences within our counselling community.
What motivated you to pursue a career in counselling?
I became a counsellor almost by accident. At the time I was an academic researching and teaching on the neuroscience of memory but not enjoying lab work, it was socially isolating. What I noticed was that the “pracademics” in the School appeared to be the happiest. At the same time a senior colleague also complemented me for being able to defuse student issues which would otherwise have escalated. So as a lifestyle choice I enrolled in a Master in Counselling to off-set my scholarly work.
What specific areas do you primarily work within?
In spite of team leaders asking me to specialise in some aspect of counselling I’ve deliberately resisted the pull. I enjoy meeting all sorts of clients and within limits can help many of them. But if I was pushed to say what I most enjoy it is exploring issues of identity. What shapes one’s identity is, for me, the most human question of all. So be it clients with a Cluster B personality disorder, issues related to sexual/gender identity, or clients who are trying to manage a life transition, if we can learn to trust each other enough so as to explore questions of identity, rather than just symptom management, then good counselling often results.
Can you share a recent success or achievement in your counselling work that you're proud of?
Perhaps putting clients aside for a moment I have had the privilege of teaching a particular student for now about two and a half years. She came to us after life had really battered her about. As you can imagine her self-esteem and self-efficacy were low and this made for some frank exchanges between teacher and student. However by learning to trust one another, and by setting firm and stable boundaries, this student recently scored a High Distinction. Her work has gone from strength-to-strength and, all going well, she will graduate as a counsellor next year. I could not be more proud of her knowing the struggles she has had, but that she chooses success nonetheless.
What is the most rewarding aspect of being a counsellor for you?
“The most rewarding”… It’s pretty much all rewarding! I have fantastic colleagues, a very supportive supervision group led by Barbara Matheson who won the ACA Inaugural Excellence Award for Excellence in Supervision, and I have clients who say thank you on the hour every hour. It’s a pretty remarkable job when you think about it. In addition, to be given access to the most intimate parts of a client’s life, to try to open a creative space for them, and to see the changes that emerge is a great privilege. A decade and a half into the work I can’t see myself doing anything else.
How do you contribute to the betterment of the profession and your community?
I’m my own worst enemy. I’m privileged to lead the counselling program at the University of Divinity, have PhD students working in areas such as DV, write on topics of interest, review manuscripts for various journals, supervise other counsellors, and sit on the board of the Christian Research Association. Although often too busy I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Are there any projects or initiatives you're currently involved in?
Over the last few years I have taken on two major projects. First, the Vice Chancellor at the University of Divinity invited me to set up a new Bachelor of Counselling and I was given effective carte blanche. This allowed me to devise a stimulating and challenging curriculum, and recruit what I consider to be outstanding teachers. We have themed our degree around finding “the good life” and I think this direction is consistent with what our profession seeks to help clients achieve.
As for my scholarship, I and a number of counselling colleagues took on a writing project which began with “the good life” but specifically explored the role of particular virtues as important for counselling practice. Titled Acting For Virtue this edited volume should be published by Australian Academic Press later this year. This project has also spawned a variety of research papers on topics such as hope and forgiveness, two PhD projects, and a 3rd year unit within our Bachelor degree. My overall goal is to demonstrate that a small set of virtues with evolutionary significance play an important role in client change.
What advice would you give to someone considering a career in counselling/psychotherapy?
Go for it! But learn from the best teachers, read lots of case studies, take nothing for granted or on face value, and remember that with each client you always start anew. The implications of this require anchoring to quality evidence, to accept the inter-subjectiveness of human relationships, and to never stop learning.
Is there a quote or philosophy that inspires your work?
Perhaps no person in the English world has known humanity better than Shakespeare. A theatrical director once put a useful spin on Hamlet’s famous soliloquy which has always stuck with me and perhaps frames much of my work. By changing the punctuation and where the stress is placed this director shifted Hamlet’s worldview from something approaching nihilism to confident existentialism. He had his Hamlet realise: "To be, or not. TO BE - that is the question”.