Educated at King's College Cambridge, from 1969 to 1977, Alec has degrees in natural and moral sciences and theology.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Health, a Senior  Registered Practitioner of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, a Full Member of the Association of Short-Term and Strategic Psychotherapists and is registered as an Independent Practitioner in the United Kingdom Register of Counsellors.