Mario Fernandez Alameda

I have dedicated my professional life to the fascinating study of human behaviour, a journey that has been both enlightening and enriching. Early in my career, I immersed myself in the exciting world of psychology, working in the first psychology office set up for the NGO Auxilia. This noble organisation was dedicated to providing support, counselling and research for people facing challenges due to disability.

I then spent 15 years working as a Human Resources Manager in prestigious organisations in Monterrey, Mexico and Spain. During this time, not only did I gain a great deal of experience in human resources management, but I also embarked on a constant quest for knowledge, completing a Master’s Degree in Organisational Development (OD) and specialising in the assessment of managers through the Assessment Centre. At the same time, I trained as a psychoanalyst at the International School of Psychoanalysis in Monterrey, adding another layer of understanding to my professional arsenal.

Although my time in business was satisfying and successful, in the 1990s I felt the call to return to the field of helping relationships. It was then that I decided to dive back into this exciting field, combining my business experience with my fervent desire to understand and guide the personal growth of others.

In 1993, fate led me to meet Paolo Quattrini, an illustrious Italian Gestalt psychologist who became not only my mentor but also an invaluable friend. From Paolo’s hand I plunged into the world of Gestalt psychotherapy and counselling, a journey of six years of training at the Gestalt Institute of Florence under his wise guidance.

In those years counselling was emerging as a unique and humanistic model of the helping relationship, gaining influence in both England and Italy. This upward trend culminated in the establishment of the first Italian Counselling Association, of which I was a founding member. I also had the honour of being actively involved in the organisation of the first International Counselling Congress, an event that brought together leading figures such as Paolo Quattrini, Claudio Naranjo and Petruska Clarkson, as well as numerous Gestalt and humanistic psychotherapists from all over the world.

During my training in Gestalt counselling and other helping approaches, I became determined to return to the field of helping relationships and gave up my business career. In 1998 I founded the Gestalt Counselling Institute where I began training counsellors and psychotherapists in the Gestalt approach based on existential and phenomenological principles.

Over time I have broadened my horizons to include character psychology, sacred psychology and psychedelic models from various schools and streams of scientific research. In 2010, together with colleagues and mentees, we founded the Spanish Counselling Association (AECO), which later joined the European Counselling Association (EAC). This milestone was crucial in establishing counselling as an independent and distinct profession, in line with European professional standards.

I continue to work as a counsellor and psychotherapist, trainer and Gestalt supervisor in Spain, Argentina and Mexico. I have assumed various responsibilities in the maintenance, dissemination and development of counselling and psychotherapy with an existential and phenomenological approach, directing institutions and events that promote emotional well-being and personal growth.

Passionate about helping relationships based on human freedom and responsibility, I have had the honour of bringing counselling to different regions of Spain and working closely with colleagues from all over the world. My aim remains to promote emotional wellbeing and personal development through an evolving therapeutic approach.