Alan Lynam

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BACP Registered Counsellor and Psychotherapist
Limited availability
Limited availability

This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.

Manchester, Greater Manchester, M3 4BQ
Limited availability
Limited availability

This professional is accepting new clients but may have a waitlist. Please enquire with them directly to discuss availability.

About me

Life can be a struggle times and very confusing. At any stage one can, be faced with feelings of sadness, anxiety, fear and feeling completely overwhelmed among others. Negative thoughts can make one very uncomfortable, insecure, “not good enough”, and lacking in self-confidence. Negative thoughts and their associated feelings can take up a lot of energy and be thoughts about oneself, others or the world around us. We all experience negative thoughts from time to time, it’s perfectly normal. However, if these thoughts and their associated feelings are making you feel “stuck”, and impacting on your daily life, then counselling and psychotherapy can help you to work through and process them.

I believe we all experience episodes in our lives which would benefit from therapeutic support. My journey to becoming a psychotherapist began as a direct result of me being in therapy and seeing how beneficial and life changing it was for me.

I’m originally from Cork in Ireland and practise at Milton Hall on Deansgate and at the Didsbury Counselling and Therapy Centre. Helping my clients feel comfortable is of paramount importance to me as I am aware that for many of you coming to therapy is a new experience which you may find daunting. It’s perfectly understandable to feel nervous when wishing to see a counsellor for the first time. It’s a new experience, meeting a new person, what will he or she be like? Will I feel relaxed with him or her etc? It’s OK to feel this way.

Whatever it is you are going through at present you are not alone, yes you may very much feel at times that you are the only one which such an issue but talking to a professional therapist who is not connected with you in any way works and helps to bring awareness and clarity to a particular situation and can move you towards beginning to lead a more fulfilling life. 

Counselling:

Counselling can be very effective in helping you to explore new ways of managing day to day situations which are impacting on you in the here and now. These can impact on you and your relationship(s) with others and affect you at work. 

Psychotherapy:

Psychotherapy can be effective to overcome long-term deep-rooted beliefs about yourself and others which we would work on together to help to bring you towards leading a content life.

My approach:

I work with clients on a short term or long-term basis (short term can be from 8 to 12 sessions). Longer term therapy can take much longer from a few months to years. However, we both agree together as to what’s best for you and I will check in regularly to see how therapy is working for you.

It may be for example that someone comes for counselling initially with work related stress and over the course of a number of sessions stuff from childhood comes up which the client wants to focus on and work through in psychotherapy and we contract together to work for longer through these unresolved historic issues. Longer term work enables you to explore your difficulties at much greater depth and move forward with greater confidence with your life.

A big aspect of counselling and psychotherapy is about recognising and facing uncomfortable feelings. This is not easy and can be overwhelming and distressing but you are not alone in this. I will journey with you to help you discover effective ways of approaching and coping with uncomfortable feelings which is part of the therapeutic process.

As a practitioner, I am offering to share my time, knowledge and expertise with you so that we can work through things together in ways that may be challenging but also life changing.


As a counsellor/therapist I have worked with a great variety of people from diverse backgrounds with a range of issues including anxiety, depression, sexuality, self-esteem, relationship difficulties, panic attacks, loneliness, searching for meaning in life, stress, and confidence issues among many others.

You may have a specific problem or issue which you need help and support with, you may feel somewhat "stuck" and unsure or just need to talk. At the initial consultation appointment, you can discuss what it is that brings you to therapy; I can answer any specific questions you may have about the process and will explain more about my approach to us working together.

In my work with individual clients, I use an integrative approach to psychotherapy. I draw on my training in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as well as other modalities. I keep abreast of the latest research and training to inform my therapy practice. 

Individual or couples therapy online:

The advantages are that you can talk to me from anywhere in the world through an encrypted webcam software such as Zoom. It’s safe and secure and instead of coming to see me in Manchester we meet online.

Think of it as if you were coming to see me Manchester City centre, where you and or your partner would be uninterrupted for the duration of the session (by others in household or pets or other distractions). In my experience it works best for couples counselling for both partners to be able to sit facing each other (on separate chairs or on a sofa) and to ensure that your tablet, computer or laptop is set up in such a way that I can see both of you.

It is vital that you are not likely to be heard by anybody in an adjacent room. This is your space, your time and in order for you to feel safe in opening up to your therapist it’s important that nobody is likely to hear you.

Couples Counselling:

As a couple's therapist I use Imago Relationship Therapy which is a highly effective form of couples counselling which has positively benefited couples throughout the world. Imago relationship therapy is a great way to get to know your partner better and feel more loved and deeply connected. It is also about experiencing the joy of being in relationship and how it is important for us to show appreciations to our partner.

If you and your partner are going through a difficult time, struggling to communicate, feel as if you’re not being heard or understood or missed this is normal. It’s the power struggle of relationship which we all need to work through in order for us to reconnect and experience the joy of being in relationship which we all felt at the beginning of the relationship.

In Imago we learn to see the world from our partners perspective, to really listen and understand things from their world and they in turn can begin to see things from your perspective/ your world.

Techniques are used to get yourself and your partner into deeper connection with each other through a process of dialoguing in a safe contained space with my role being to facilitate and guiding you in the process.

Want to know more? Contact me to discuss further. First appointment is a chance for you both to tell me what you both want from your relationship and couples therapy and I will explain more about how I work. I will work with you both to begin the process of bringing you both into deeper connection with each other.

Having worked with many clients who have come to embrace a more content life I know that with your willingness and my support it is possible for you to overcome the challenges that you are currently experiencing and use them as an opportunity to give you the inner strength and courage to embrace the life you want for yourself.

Want to know more, any questions or want to arrange an initial consultation appointment, contact me either by phone or email. If I am not available, please leave a voice message and I will get back to you. We can then arrange a free no obligation 20 min chat on the phone or on zoom to discuss your needs further and how I may be able to assist you.

Training, qualifications & experience

MBACP 

Proficient ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) therapist.
Certificate in therapeutic counselling.

Successfully completed 4 Year training in Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy. Proficient TA therapist.

MA Social Work
BA Social Science

I am a member of the United kingdom Association for Transactional Analysis and the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists and abide by their code of ethics and professional conduct. I attend regular professional supervision and undertake regular Continuous Professional Development courses and training events to enhance my practice.

The therapy service I provide is fully insured and I possess an up-to-date enhanced DBS.

I'm a qualified social worker registered with Social Work England and have over 15 years significant safeguarding experience working in various roles in child protection including Social Worker, Independent Reviewing Officer, Child Protection Conference Chair and Social Work Team manager. In addition to my counselling work I currently work part time for a Local Authority as a Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO).

I have delivered safeguarding training to multi agency professionals and volunteers. I've also delivered bespoke safeguarding training to counsellors and psychotherapists.

Member organisations

BACP
British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy (BACP)

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

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy
Accredited Register Scheme

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.

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy

Therapies offered

Photos & videos

Fees

£55.00 per session
Free initial telephone or online session

Additional information

Free Introductory telephone call or zoom call.
I offer a free 20 min introductory telephone call (or online via Zoom) should you wish to chat or discuss your needs further prior to potentially booking an appointment. 

The first therapy session with me is an initial consultation appointment. This is an opportunity to expand on what we have discussed on the phone or online and for you to discuss in more detail about what you’re struggling with, and you can get more of a sense of how I work as a therapist. If you think my style and approach suits you then we can agree to work together.  

For couples therapy and the introductory call, it is best that I get to speak to you both via telephone or on zoom as it is important to speak with both in the relationship.

My fees are £55 (50mins) for individual therapy and £85 for couples therapy (60min duration).

When I work

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

Face to face appointments on Mondays and Tuesdays in Milton Hall Manchester Deansgate from 10.30am to 8.30pm Online zoom availability also on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesday evenings.

Further information

If you would like to make an appointment or seek clarification on anything, feel free to ring, email or text and I will get back to you. Please note I am not always available to answer the phone so please ensure you leave a voice message or email/ text to ensure that you get a prompt response.

I work from Milton Hall on Deansgate on Monday's and Tuesday's offering daytime and evening appointments. This is a central location in Manchester City Centre which is 6 mins walk from Deansgate Metrolink and Train stations and 6 mins walk from St Peter's Square.

I also offer online therapy appointments on Mondays and Tuesdays on the zoom platform and on Wednesday evenings.

Milton Hall, 244 Deansgate, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M3 4BQ

Type of session

In person
Online
Phone

Types of client

Adults
Older adults
Couples

Key details

DBS check

In England and Wales, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS, formerly known as CRB) carry out criminal records checks for individuals working with vulnerable groups, such as children. To find out more, visit gov.uk , or contact this professional directly

Wheelchair user access
Wheelchair user access

Wheelchair-accessible premises should have step-free access for wheelchair users and individuals who are unable to climb stairs. If a Counsellor's premises aren't step-free, they may offer alternative services such as telephone/web-based appointments, home visits, or meeting clients in different location, so you can choose the option that suits you best.

You can contact the Counsellor to discuss the options available.

Under the Equality Act 2010 service providers have a duty to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that individuals with disabilities can access their service. You can read more about reasonable adjustments to help you to access services on the CAB website.

My office is on 3rd floor of Milton Hall in Deansgate Manchester which can be accessed via stairs or lift.

Online platforms

Zoom
Alan Lynam
Alan Lynam