Former Winstanley College student hits Amazon’s top 100

Joshua Fletcher, who is 34 and originally from Westleigh, is now a successful psychotherapist. ‘Anxietyjosh’ has a huge following on social media and has been featured on the front page of The Times and had a piece in the Guardian and The Mail on Sunday. Joshua has also been a guest on Richard Hammond’s podcast and will soon be on Dr Alex George’s Stompcast.

Never forgetting his roots, Josh, recently contacted his former college to reach out to current students and promote his new book.

Josh said:

‘I was a student at Winstanley from 2005-2007 (wow that's a long time ago) and I loved my time there. I studied for A-levels in Economics, Drama and Maths before progressing to Bath Spa University where I completed a degree in Education Studies and Drama.

It was from there I decided to move into psychology and focus on building a carer in therapy and helping others. Events in my past and my own anxieties through life were also inspiration for taking this route. I studied for an MSc in Counselling Psychology at Keele University and that started me on the path to where I am today.

I work as a therapist based in Manchester and offer online therapy through my website www.schoolofanxiety.com. I have also been very busy the past few months working on my book, which is going really well.

Joshua’s advice to students thinking ahead to the future is: ‘Strike the right balance between encouraging yourself to do well, but going easy on yourself when you need a break. You are not defined by your grades, but your intentions and effort. I loved my time at Winstanley and made lifelong friends during my time there.’