About me
My approach (psychodynamic psychotherapy) is to explore your life, past and present, and consider how your experiences shape the person that you are, and what's happening in your life now. In turn, this helps you understand yourself better, helps you to make sense of things, and helps you move towards the future you want for yourself. If you're looking for meaningful change, this approach to therapy is hard work, but very powerful.
Free initial assessment session
To make sure we are a good fit before starting therapy, I offer a free initial assessment session. This gives me the opportunity to gather some background information and get a sense of what's going on for you. In turn, you experience what working with me feels like and gives you the chance to ask questions so that you can make an informed decision about whether I, and how I work, are right for you. Get in touch to make an initial appointment: abrassier@gmail.com
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Why have therapy?
Maybe something doesn't feel right. Maybe you wonder why you think and behave in certain ways, repeating patterns that you know aren't good for you. Maybe you'd like to understand yourself or the relationships in your life. Perhaps you need to express difficult feelings or talk about something difficult without fear of judgement or consequence. Whatever the reason, therapy can help you process events, face challenges, find acceptance, or instigate change. It's an opportunity to explore what's going on for you in a confidential and tranquil space.
- Connect events from the past to the present
- Look at things from different perspectives, and
- Address the parts of your life where you feel stuck
I have particular experience with:
- Grief and loss
- Identity: including gender and sexuality / LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, values and beliefs, culture, ability, and disability
- Relationships: including relationship to self, friends and family, monogamy/ENM, polyamory, and kink
- Anxiety, stress, depression, and depressive episodes
- The decision to have — or not have — a family: including infertility, assisted fertility / IVF, adoption, and surrogacy
- Processing or considering an autism / ADHD diagnosis
- Trauma and adverse early life experiences
I welcome enquiries for these, or any other challenge you might be facing.
How I work:
I practice psychodynamic psychotherapy, which is conversational and exploratory rather than directive. I believe that change (or acceptance, as we can't always change things) comes from your own insight, rather than me giving you advice or tools and techniques.
My approach to therapy is collaborative — I have theory and clinical experience, and you have the lived experience of being you. In sessions, we talk about what’s going on for you, exploring patterns that might have developed over time, what’s happening below the surface, and how your past experiences may be shaping the present.
Initial sessions are part information gathering and part us getting to know one another, building trust. As sessions progress and the process gets a little harder, I encourage you to bring everything you’re thinking and feeling into the room — frustration, doubt, irritation. For example, there will be days when you do not want to come into therapy, it's hard, you feel as though you're going backwards... Those feelings can be really useful to help us understand what’s happening for you, so come despite these feelings so that we can discuss them.
My aim is to help you gain insight and understanding about yourself that leads to meaningful and lasting change. It’s not the right therapeutic approach for everyone, because it is emotionally demanding, but if you want depth rather than a quick fix or short-term coping, psychodynamic therapy is a very powerful process.
Training, qualifications & experience
- I completed my MSc in Human Relations and Counselling, undertaking a research project to explore how psychodynamic psychotherapists experience fusion with clients, an aspect of countertransference.
- Currently applying for BACP Accreditation
- Tutor to trainees: Human Development Scotland (since 2025)
- Counsellor: Edinburgh University, Student Counselling Services (2023-2025)
- Psychotherapist in private practice (since 2023)
- Counsellor: Bright Light / Relationships Scotland (2022-2024)
- PGDip Human Relations & Counselling (Human Development Scotland)
- COSCA Counselling Skills Certificate
- BSc Computer Science & Psychology (University of Stirling)
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.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Please get in touch for an initial conversation to discuss what's going on for you.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£70.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
My standard fee is £70 per session, payable weekly or monthly. I also offer a limited number of concessions -- a block of six sessions for £50 per session -- for those with low or no income (students, non-working and refugees).
When I work
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Further information
Check the FAQs on my website to understand more about counselling and therapy: https://annebrassier.squarespace.com/faqs (copy and paste the URL into a new browser window).
I consider myself an LGBTQ+ ally.
