About me
Hello, my name is Alison. I am here to offer you a kind, confidential space to help you with what you are experiencing.
I offer face-to-face and online person-centred counselling in Birmingham in the Bournville and Selly Oak areas.
You may feel as if things are impossible right now, or overwhelming. You may have been struggling for a long time with no one to talk to. You may be scared to speak out or not know how to take the first steps to do so. You may have been just getting on with things but no longer feel able to do that. Whatever’s happening for you, I am here to help you work through your experience and find a way forward.
My approach to counselling offers a non-judgemental, empathetic space that supports you in finding a way forward that is right for you.
I will work with you to find the best ways to help you. This can be through simply providing a place where you feel able to talk in absolute confidence, or through other creative ways of working together using, pictures, toys, drawing or writing, for example.
As well as listening I can help you find strategies to help you live life more fully and feel at peace in your daily life.
If you think I can help, please get in touch.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am a qualified and registered person-centred counsellor. This means that I am a safe professional who is recognised by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), which is a key regulatory body for Counselling and Psychotherapy in the UK.
Prior to becoming a professional counsellor, I have worked for 15 years as a teacher of Childhood and Education Studies. I have a great deal of knowledge regarding how early life experiences influence a person’s sense of identity and how, sometimes, a person’s childhood can result in difficult emotions that continue to impact on adult life. In my teaching career I have supported many people from a wide range of different backgrounds, and I understand how life experiences can be strongly shaped by culture and/or expectations of family. I am also a trained bereavement counsellor and regularly provide support to people experiencing loss. Additionally, I have experience of counselling clients experiencing various types of distress.
Areas of support that I can help with:
- Grief, loss and bereavement
- Self-esteem, confidence
- Identity, gender, sexuality
- Body image
- Loneliness
- Anxiety
- Depression, low mood
- Relationship issues
- Menopause
- Aging
- Burnout, stress
- Anger
- Family, cultural issues
- Trauma
- Sexual abuse
- Oppression
- Suicidal feelings
- Self-harm
Member organisations
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
Therapies offered
Fees
£50.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Concessions are available for those on low income or students.
I offer a free initial consultation to help decide if I am the right counsellor for you.
Further information
Qualifications
- L4 Therapeutic Diploma in Counselling
- L7 Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
- Bereavement Foundation Certificate
- Phd Intercultural Communication
- MA Professional Studies in Childhood
- BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies
