Humza Yousaf says going for counselling was 'one of the best decisions' of his life

Humza Yousaf was born and raised in Glasgow by a Pakistani father and Kenyan mother who moved to Scotland in the 1960s. He replaced Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s first minister in March 2023. From the off, Yousaf had his work cut out for him as the Scottish National Party - to which he and Sturgeon belong - had taken a blow to their reputation. Indeed, Rishi Sunak was recently reported to the police for joking about Sturgeon getting arrested as part of a live police investigation into the SNP’s finances.

Yousaf is the second Muslim to lead a major British political party and the first person of colour to hold the position of Scotland’s first minister. More recently, Yousaf and his second wife Nadia have been in the news a lot for a different reason: Nadia’s parents are stuck in Gaza and have been having intermittent communication with their family. In mid-October, Yousaf sat down with Holyrood magazine’s Chris Marshall and spoke very openly about the mental struggles that come with being in a position of power. He even goes so far as to say that going for counselling was 'one of the best decisions' of his life and that he would return to it.

Humza Yousaf’s first marriage

Yousaf first started counselling in 2016 when he was working as transport minister and dealing with the breakdown of his first marriage to SNP activist Gail Lythgoe. The pair were university sweethearts and got married as students in 2010. The union lasted until 2016, when their divorce put a large emotional strain on Yousaf.

During the interview with Holyrood, he explained that seeking help with his mental health allowed him to push through professionally and personally:

I went through a really tough time. I had personal issues – I was going through divorce and some other relationship issues. On top of that, I was going through a really tough time professionally, having trouble with the trains at that point as transport minister.

I was feeling really down about things and I’m not sure I could have continued as a minister without having that counselling.

The type of counselling Yousaf does

Yousaf said that he was given a certain technique during that difficult period that he still uses today. He says he practises mindfulness, which he describes as ‘extricating yourself from the bubble’. Yousaf mentions how that helps him deal with social media:

We can think that because something is a big issue on Twitter that it’s the issue that needs dealt with or the issue that people are talking about.

Genuinely, my wife says that to me every night. I say, ‘Nadia, here’s what people are thinking’ and she says, ‘what people?’

Yousaf says that doing counselling gave him a certain ‘resilience’. He describes it as ‘one of the best decisions’ he ever made and states his intention to start going again as first minister:

I was just talking to my wife, actually, last week about making sure I continue counselling as first minister. I don’t need to do it weekly as I was doing in the past, but people shouldn’t wait until a crisis moment to access counselling.

Balancing the stress of leading Scotland and looking after your family is certainly a challenge; Yousaf has previously said that during busy periods he tries to leave Monday evening free for family. At least he gets paid a decent salary!

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Sources used:

Independent: Scotland’s first minister says he plans to resume counselling as mental health help built ‘resilience’

BBC: First Minister Humza Yousaf makes contact with family in Gaza

Holyrood: Humza Yousaf: Going for counselling was one of the best decisions I ever made