Sumie MacAlpine-Downie
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
An experienced, accredited counsellor and therapist offering Single Session, Brief and Open-Ended Therapy to individuals and couples.
Training, qualifications & experience
As an accredited member of the College of Sex and Relationship Therapists (COSRT), I am bound by and adhere to their professional Code of Ethics and Practice. I am fully insured.
Qualifications
- Postgraduate Diploma in Psychosexual and Relationship Therapy - accredited through the University of Middlesex and approved by COSRT and the National Council for Psychotherapy (NCP)
- Postgraduate Diploma in Integrative Therapeutic Counselling - accredited by the Counselling and Psychotherapy Central Awarding Body (CPCAB)
- Certificate in Counselling Skills
I have been working with individuals and couples in both a private and clinical setting for over twelve years.
Professional Membership
- COSRT Accredited Membership
Practice
I work exclusively online.
Personal Approach
I work within an integrated framework that draws on a range of counselling theories, approaches and techniques: Psychodynamic Therapy, Existential Psychotherapy, Gestalt Therapy and Imago Therapy amongst others.
I like to work in a direct way providing an individual approach that is personalised around you and your needs and problems.
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
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I have specialist training in psychosexual and relationship therapy working with individuals and couples.
Specialist psychosexual therapy covers a broad range of issues including erectile dysfunction, painful sex (dyspareunia), contractions in vaginal muscles (vaginismus), mismatched libidos, loss of or reduced desire, infidelity, arousal issues, communication issues, porn or sex addiction.
Also known as sex therapy, it can help you alleviate your discomfort, gain peace of mind and improve your mental well-being and sexual relationships. By providing you also with real tools to incorporate into your daily relationships, it can help you and your partner discover a more fulfilling way to live your life together.
Therapies offered
Fees
£80.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Duration - all sessions are of 60 minutes duration.
Fees - £80.00 per session.
Location - I work online exclusively.
When I work
Mon - Thur 10:00 - 18:00
Further information
Common problems for individuals that I can help with:
- I feel stressed and anxious most of the time and it's affecting my work and relationships
- I find it difficult to communicate with others or be assertive
- I have a difficult decision to make and feel stuck
- I can't find any meaning or aims in life
- I have difficulties in my sex life
- I'm worried that I (or someone I know) might be an addict
- I have relationship problems with my family (or friends or work colleagues)
- I'm going through an emotional crisis
- I have experienced trauma previously and want help looking at dealing with this
- I'm dissatisfied with my life and I don't know why.
Common issues dealt with in couples' therapy include:
- communication - do you often argue over petty things or the same unresolved important issues?
- intimacy - do you wish you could be closer or more affectionate together?
- jealousy - do you or your partner suffer from a lack of trust or intrusive jealous thoughts?
- infidelity - have you or your partner been involved with someone else?
- sex - have either of you experienced recent or continued sexual difficulties?
- commitment - are either of you unsure about compatibility or whether you want to stay together?
