Fiona McAlister
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This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.
About me
“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” *
Pema Chödrön
Sometimes it seems that we are stuck in past pain, loss or trauma that we feel unable to tolerate or to understand, yet unable to release. We have unanswered questions, painful and confusing thoughts that run on loops through our mind, and hurt deep within our body that won’t heal.
Does this sound familiar to you? Maybe your mind and body are trying to teach you something you need to know and yet, without the proper space or time, it’s been difficult to listen fully. And so, as in Buddhist Monk Pema Chödrön’s quote above, the teaching is still deep within your body and subconscious mind.
I’d like to help you
At the heart of the therapeutic process is the relationship between therapist and client. The potential for healing and change resides in having our stories really heard and understood by someone who cares enough to listen deeply, then help us navigate safely through the meaning of our story.
And so, using a trauma-informed approach, I will walk alongside you to provide a safe and supportive space, carefully developing a trusting relationship with you to enable you to dig deep – to tell me your story and share your vulnerabilities with me; and in doing so, reveal your truths to yourself as you gain insight into the sources of your anxieties and trauma.
Using a variety of methods and approaches, together we might:
- Talk about your past in a journey towards understanding who you are now in your present;
- Bring your awareness to the trauma held in your body through mindfulness, somatic work, breath work, movement;
- Give respect and compassion to your inner voices to learn what your multiple parts wish to tell you;
- Look at issues in your present and what your thoughts, feelings and behaviours can teach about your beliefs of yourself and the world;
- Work creatively with drawing or cards to help you express unarticulated emotions.
I will be led by you as we create your therapy together to enable you to challenge negative self-beliefs, tune into the wisdom of your body, integrate the impact of trauma, develop ways to more skilfully manage relationships, and attune with your purpose in the world.
Get in touch
If you’re looking for a safe space to explore your issues and my approach resonates with you, I invite you to contact me for a free no-obligations 20-minute introductory phone or video call, where we can discuss what you are seeking from therapy, what I can offer you and whether we’re a good match for each other.
* Pema Chödrön, Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion
Training, qualifications & experience
Training and Qualifications
I hold an Advanced Diploma in Humanistic Integrative Counselling and a Diploma in Trauma Therapy.
As part of my commitment to my ongoing professional and personal development, I continue to broaden and deepen my learning by engaging in continuing professional development, having completed courses in Mindfulness, Breathwork, Compassion-Focused Therapy, Neuroscience / Polyvagal Theory and Therapy, Working with Dissociative Disorders, Mental Health & the Body, Integrating Psychedelic Experiences, Internal Family Systems, Time Limited Counselling and Single Session Therapy.
I have my own practices in mindfulness, yoga and breathwork, giving a holistic approach to my therapeutic work.
Experience
As a psychotherapist and counsellor, I have worked for a variety of organisations including the East London Mental Health Service, the Koan Practice and at One in Four, a specialist charity providing services to survivors of sexual abuse and trauma.
Before training to be a psychotherapist, I worked in the social care and voluntary sector. The people that I've supported have been many and varied: young people from trauma-filled backgrounds, older people nearing the end of life, adults with mental health issues.
Specialisms
I work with young people and adults across a range of areas (see below). My areas of specialism are working in-depth with survivors of child sexual abuse, adults coping with the impact of parental neglect and dysfunctional families, and people struggling to understand the impact of their trauma on the dynamics of their relationships. I am also interested in exploring the feminine and masculine; how women and men connect to and express their identities through the different stages of their lives.
Professional Membership
I am an Accredited Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and abide by BACP’s ethical framework. My work is supervised by a qualified supervisor and Accredited member of BACP.
https://www.bacp.co.uk/
Member organisations
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred).
Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision.
Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training.
All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I also provide integration therapy for people who are considering using psychedelics (plant medicine) therapeutically, spiritually or recreationally - perhaps to prepare for their experience beforehand; and, following the journey, to integrate their experiences into their life. This might include anyone struggling to understand or digest insights given by the medicines, cope with difficult experiences had during the journey, or emotional / physical after-effects.
Please note that, as the use of these substances is currently illegal in the UK, I cannot provide access to psychedelic substances or carry out illegal psychedelic-assisted work. My practice does not support or encourage the use of illicit substances in unregulated and illegal frameworks.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£75.00 per session
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
I work with young people and adult individuals
£75 for 50-minute session
£80 for 60 minute (depending on availability)
Free initial 20-minute telephone or on-line consultation
When I work
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Further information
Getting Started
If you are interested in having an initial consultation, please email or leave me a voicemail with your details. I aim to reply within 48 hours. Following the consultation, if you wish to work with me, we will arrange to meet on an agreed day and time each week.
First Session
I work open-ended (short or long-term), and during our first sessions we will discuss the length of therapy that might suit you and identify the areas you wish to work on, though we will continue to review this in partnership throughout our time together. We will also agree a contract, a framework and container in which the therapy takes place, which includes confidentiality, payment, holidays and cancellations.
Location
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons, I practice in-person at the Barnsbury Therapy Room, 144 Liverpool Road, Islington, London N1 1LA.
However, if you are interested in working with me but are unable to visit the therapy room for regular sessions (perhaps due to accessibility, work or travel, or maybe you live outside the UK), then we can discuss working online from the get-go. We will talk that through during the consultation and explore how that would work for your therapy and our therapeutic relationship.
