Alison Jackson
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
I am a BACP Accredited Integrative counsellor and counselling Supervisor with 12 years experience dealing with a wide range of clients and issues. I offer face-to-face counselling, email counselling, telephone counselling and online counselling.
Are you looking for a counsellor or wondering whether counselling might help you?
Counselling can help when we feel things are going wrong with our lives. Counselling can help us to understand the things that are going wrong and to work out what we can do to deal with them.
Life can be very complex, busy and demanding. We may feel we do not have the space to explore what is happening. We may not think we have a trusted person with whom we can share our personal, and possibly painful, experience.
Seeking counselling is not a sign of weakness. In counselling, you build a trusting relationship with your counsellor who will help you address the issues you want to face. Counselling requires courage and commitment, and choosing the right counsellor to work with is crucial.
I offer face to face counselling in Tavistock (PL19), online counselling via Zoom and telephone counselling.
About Me
I was trained as an Integrative Counsellor. This means I believe that no one theory will either make sense of or be entirely applicable to every person. Neither will one approach or technique help all people. I work with people in whatever way helps them to resolve the issue they have chosen to address.
We can experience difficulty in a number of ways: in our thoughts; in our
feelings; in our bodies and in our spirits. My approach is to explore where the blocks lie and work with a person to help them move forward.
Broadly speaking my approach is humanistic and optimistic because I believe in the essential goodness of people, their innate drive to develop and their ability to use their inner resources to resolve difficulties.
I employ approaches and methods from Person-Centred Counselling, Mindfulness, Gestalt Therapy, Transactional Analysis, Transpersonal Psychology, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Psychosynthesis.
As well as being a qualified and experienced counsellor, I am also a qualified teacher. I have taught English & Drama in Secondary schools, worked with children with learning difficulties (Autism, Aspergers and ADHD), with adults with learning difficulties and physical challenges and was employed in a University Chaplaincy. For four years I worked for a charity offering low-cost counselling. I am a qualified Supervisor which means I supervise the work of other counsellors.
Training, qualifications & experience
I hold an Advanced Diploma in Integrative Counselling (Adv Dip Couns). I am an accredited member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists (Reg MBACP Accred). I also hold an Advanced Specialist Diploma in Clinical Supervision and I supervise the work of other counsellors.
I have completed over 100 hours additional training in online and telephone counselling and hold a Certificate in Online and Telephone Counselling.
I have completed Clinical Trauma Training (Complex / Developmental Trauma / PTSD / Attachment Trauma): The Institute of Psychosynthesis' Fundamentals of Psychosynthesis course: CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) training and courses in Mindfulness, Transactional Analysis, Suicide and Self-mutilation, Somatic Experiencing and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Internal Family Systems, Radical Self-Acceptance and Compassion Focused Therapy. I have been trained as a Samaritan Counsellor for Samaritans.
I have attended additional courses on: anxiety, depression and CBT; eating disorders; self-harm; domestic abuse; bereavement; dying; body therapy; anger; children and adolescents counselling.
I work within the BACP's Code of Ethics. I receive regular supervision as required by The Ethical Framework of BACP.
I have a Privacy Policy which I explain to clients during the introductory session and, with my clients’ permission, I keep written records in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (May 2018). I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office as a keeper of personal data.
I hold an Enhanced DBS check (used to be called CRB check) and am fully insured.
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
Complex (Developmental) Trauma
Therapies offered
Fees
£35.00 - £50.00
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Face-to Face and Online Counselling
It is important for you to find the right counsellor to work with.
I offer an initial one hour consultation costing £25 at the end of which we decide whether or not we are 'a good fit' to work together.
Further sessions are booked on a session-by-session basis. Counselling can be short- or long-term depending on your needs and goals.
The standard fee for one hour is £47 per session for online sessions and £50 per session for face to face sessions, payable at the end of each session by cash, BACS or PayPal.
A limited number of concessions (reduced rate of £35 per sessions) may be available for students, those in receipt of benefits and counsellors in training.
Missed appointments or cancelled sessions are chargeable in full, apart from exceptional circumstances when an agreed portion of the fee will be payable. Sessions usually take place once a week, however this can and does change according to the individual needs of the client.
When I work
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I offer appointments between 9.00am and 7.00pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and between 1.00pm and 7.00pm on Wednesdays and Fridays.
Further information
Online counselling using Zoom™ video-conferencing software
Online counselling can be a useful alternative to traditional face-to-face counselling. Therapists have been using various forms of online counselling for years. Many clients have found it to be as beneficial as face to face therapy.
What is online counselling?
Online counselling follows the same fundamental principles as face-to-face counselling. Instead of an appointment in my therapy room, we hold the session from our own separate locations using a webcam and audio link. Please note, if you are not comfortable being seen on screen then it is possible to switch off your camera and use only the microphone; you could still see and speak to your counsellor.
The confidentiality and security of your therapy remains central to all parts of the process.
For online counselling I use Zoom™ video-conferencing software. This is an established, secure platform used by many online therapists. You can find out more about Zoom at www.zoom.us.
You do not need to create a Zoom account. I will create a link to the meeting and send it to you by email, together with a password you will need to enter in order to join the session. A unique invite and password will be emailed to you the day before your session so that each session is secure and nobody else can access the session.
To use Zoom on your computer, you will need to have a webcam and microphone. If you do not have these, you can use your mobile phone or tablet instead.
Possible advantages:
You may be able to have counselling at a time which is more convenient for you and without the need for you to travel to a therapy centre.
You may find the process of communicating from your own protected safe space very helpful in itself. Some clients say they find it easier to talk about some things when they are not in the same room as their therapist (although this may not be the case for you).
I may be able to offer you more flexibility online, for example if you must change location for any reason, you'll still be able to continue with your sessions, if you have access to your device.
Possible disadvantages or difficulties:
It may feel strange to work without the same ‘cues’ that arise when we are in the same room together and you may find it harder to communicate exactly what you are feeling. In direct face-to-face communication we pick up information from facial expressions, voice tone, body language, and even the clothes people are wearing, which may be less obvious when working online.
You may find yourself exploring things that you would not feel able to say when we are together in person. This might lead to unexpectedly heightened emotional responses both during the session and afterwards. It is important to be aware of this and I will explore this with you regularly as a central and ongoing part of the process.
Occasionally technological problems can arise which affect the online link. We will discuss alternative means of contact and have an agreed course of action in case this happens.
You will be responsible for ensuring privacy at your end. You will need to be able to shut the door on any noise, ensure that no one interrupts us and turn off telephones and other forms of contact.
You may find it confusing to see us both on the screen at the same time. We will discuss ways to resolve this - for example, I can help you to turn off your own video screen, if you prefer, once we have made contact.
