Alistair Thain


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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
About Me:
Often we can find life overwhelming for a variety of reasons, be that something big, lots of little stressors which have all added up, or an experience/memory from our past that won't leave our mind. Whatever the stressor happens to be, taking the time to explore and understand it is a step towards easing the stress it brings. It can be hard to experience difficult emotions and situations, and we often can feel confused, isolated, and scared. Frequently, the people we normally turn to are unable to help us in the way that we need, or simply do not understand. Taking those first steps towards therapy can typically feel difficult. I am Alistair (He/Him) and I work in such a way that recognizes this difficulty, and I aim to make this experience of beginning therapy as comfortable, and straightforward as possible for you. My work covers a wide range of issues that we might face in our lives, including anxiety, depression, stress, isolation, traumas from our past and many more. I provide a safe, non-judgmental space in which issues can be explored and worked through safely.
How I Work:
I work in an integrative way, which means I have trained in a variety of approaches to therapy and bring them all together to suit the individual I am working with best. My core approach is a Person-Centred way of practice, and you would experience me listening carefully, supportively, and non-judgementally in order to best understand your experience from your perspective. I reflect these observations back to you, to help enable you to understand and begin to make sense of all that has brought us together.
Training, qualifications & experience
I have worked as a therapist in a variety of charity sectors, mainly bereavement, trauma work with individuals who have experienced rape and/or sexual assault, and more generalized therapies for people who are struggling with everyday life. Prior to my work as a therapist, I worked in the third sector of the mental health field. Currently, I live and work in Sheffield.
My two main qualifications are shown below, but I have an abundance of experience, and training certification in a wide area of work. I never like to enter in to a new area of work without having the training and understanding beforehand.
- BA (Hons) in Philosophy & Psychology (2015)
- FnD in Counselling (2021)
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
Free initial telephone session
When I work
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My work is split between two places, Alistair Thain Counselling (Website linked above) and Sheffield Central Counselling. For more in-depth detail, please check out my website.