Meet Max

Max Hutchings is a Perth-based psychotherapist and writer, who primarily uses the Enneagram as a map to guide inner work.

I have always been passionately curious about what it means to be human. This has led to a lifelong fascination with both other people and my own inner world, seeking to understand at a deeper level, why do we do what we do?

Through attempting to understand and heal my own struggles with anxiety, I sought the help of psychologists and counsellors, I read far and wide in both psychology and philosophy, and I completed higher education in the areas of psychology and psychotherapy. More recently, I discovered the Enneagram - a system that I’ve come to view as the most accurate and insightful tool for guiding inner exploration.

My journey has left me with a profound appreciation for what is possible from doing inner work, and has kindled a purpose-fueled mission to enable and enhance other people’s ability to do the same.

My approach rests on the understanding that every part of us belongs. Every part of us makes sense in the appropriate context, and every part of us is essential in becoming all that we can become. It is only through the integration and reconnection with our disparate parts that we can attain a sense of wholeness and well-being.

I maintain a firm grounding in a compassionately non-pathologizing stance. Meaning, I don’t diagnose, nor do I believe that diagnoses are even helpful for most people. I don’t believe that there is anything ‘wrong’ with us, instead, we have simply found ways to cope with what we’ve been through - and some of these coping strategies are now getting in the way of our true flourishing as human beings.

Passionately integrative, I draw from many modalities and schools of thought, with the underlying mission to find what works - no matter where it’s from. With a background in psychology and neuroscience, I then pursued a master’s degree in psychodynamic psychotherapy, primarily being drawn to the emphasis on depth and meaning.

Subsequently, I have discovered somatic parts work, and the Enneagram, which have both become hugely influential to not only my therapeutic practice, but my life and worldview as well.

For a better understanding of the main modalities that I draw from, see below.

My Approach

Modalities

  • Psychodynamic psychotherapy seeks to understand the dynamic connections between things. Between our past and our present, between other individuals and ourselves, between our conscious and unconscious realms.

  • The existential approach is all about meaning. Rather than seeing so-called ‘disorders’ like anxiety and depression as something that is ‘wrong’ with us, it instead sees them as meaningful responses to our lived experience. Therefore - instead of saying how do we treat this condition, we ask instead - what is it trying to tell us?

  • Grounded in positive psychology, humanistic approaches seek to unlock the latent potential within each of us, rather than just ‘fixing’ our psychopathologies. As a ‘client-centered’ approach, the client is always seen as the expert in their own story, and the counsellor is there to collaboratively assist the client’s growth, rather than the more traditional ‘expert and patient’ dynamic of more medical models.

  • Using the Enneagram of personality as a way of not only accurately seeing oneself, but using it as a map to chart the path forward.

  • We are all made up of many internal ‘parts’. It is through working with these parts, rather than against them, that we can finally begin the healing process.

  • I recognize and understand both the prevalence and ubiquity of trauma in our modern world, especially in those seeking help. I appreciate the myriad ways that trauma impacts our functioning both psychologically and physically, and seek to aid in the gradual healing of past traumas in a safe and client-centered way.

  • Holistic psychology seeks to understand the individual in their entirety, with a reverence for the interconnectedness of the mind, body, and spirit.

Testimonials

  • "Max has the enviable gift of being able to present a fascinating and yet complex subject with both clarity and alacrity. Having done decades of therapy/spiritual/personal work, I was profoundly delighted and surprised at the ‘newness’ of information Max had to share. His perspective was a deep dive in ways I’d not previously experienced. If deeper insight is your goal, I can highly recommend Max."

    Bella (Type 4)

  • “I had the pleasure of working with Max and exploring the Enneagram. Max is highly eligible and working with him has allowed me to see the mask I wear and learn that it is OK to take it off and be my true self. As well, Max has great experience in working with trauma and addictions, and he has helped me to integrate the part of my shadow and to not feel shame from the past.”

    Wayne (Type 3)

  • Master of Counselling and Psychotherapy, ECU

  • Bachelor of Arts (Psychology in Society), UWA

Qualifications

Additional training and experience:

  • Several years working in the addiction recovery field

  • Completed the ‘9PrisonsONEKey’ Enneagram course run by The Human Potentialists, an offshoot of the Enneagram Prison Project

  • Extensive learning, study, and exploration of the Enneagram

  • 100+ books read on psychology and self-development

“You need your pain. It is a message, and we must listen to the message. All of these depressed and anxious people all over the world - they are giving us a message. They are telling us something has gone wrong with the way we live. We need to stop trying to muffle or silence or pathologize that pain. Instead, we need to listen to it, and honour it. It is only when we listen to our pain that we can follow it back to its source - and only there, when we can see its true causes, can we begin to overcome it.”

— Johann Hari, Lost Connections