Susanna Alyce
Every professional displayed on Counselling Directory has been independently verified by our team to ensure they have suitable credentials to practise.
This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Hello, my intention is to create a warm and friendly relationship within which you will feel at home to address your reasons for seeking help. We can work together to help you find your way towards where you would like to be.
What can I help with?
Anxiety, depression, relationship issues, low self esteem, loss of direction, confusion or traumatic distress: these are extremely common experiences, but if you are struggling with them life can feel overwhelming and dark. Sometimes difficult emotions or mental states appear as if from nowhere, but they can also emerge as a result of challenging or traumatic life events. I am experienced in working with all forms of mental and emotional distress, including (but not limited to) those resulting from childhood abuse, trauma, shock, ill health, abandonment, neglect, redundancy, retirement, bereavement and divorce.
Mental health and well being issues can colour every moment of the day and routes out of the tangled thicket can seem impossible to find. I am trained in therapies which can help.
What will therapy be like?
Difficult mental and emotional states are sometimes helped by exploring their causes or the conditions that gave rise to them. Some people gain solace from exploring their childhoods and/or life experiences. Clarity can emerge by understanding root causes and by working with the tensions arising from conflicting parts of the psyche things can settle into a more harmonious relationship. Distress of many types is often underpinned by inner conflict and confusion.
However, some people prefer not to look backwards but to learn techniques or strategies to work with the distress and gain a sense of control and agency. This can help you feel more able to cope by learning to take action which can move you from a triggered or upset emotional state towards more steadiness. Many times such strategies are an important first step before addressing long term issues.
For many of us, a blend of these approaches is most helpful.
How would a first session look?
Our first session would be with no obligation to go further. It is a chance for you to discover if I am someone you would like to open up to, if I feel like a safe and trustworthy person. If you like my way of working, and the room I work from. We would chat, I would listen, we might explore some of the ways I can help you. A first session usually lasts an hour.
How do I work?
I work using a person-centred approach; this means I listen to your wishes and needs and together we discover and create therapy in a way that helps you. I do not ever attempt to use a 'one size fits all' approach. I work integratively blending counselling, trauma informed modalities, mindfulness and yoga therapy. We can draw on whatever modality is most appropriate and move between them when needed. Many people find using their body a new way to work. Listening to the information the body holds can be incredibly helpful when working with what initially feels like mental and emotional distress - using body-psychotherapy can be a game changer.
In summary:
For therapy to be effective the most important thing is to find someone you feel you can trust. Being able to open up about what's on your mind allows confusing and difficult issues to be worked through. Without trust, important information can remain obscured. Sometimes we may not even realise we are holding back details until we are with someone who we know isn't judging or shaming us. During an initial, no-obligation session, we can explore whether you feel I am such a person. You will choose whether to talk or whether to use skills I can teach you. I will be an ally and support on your road to happier times.
About Me
I have been told by previous clients I am a warm, compassionate therapist, with excellent empathy and listening skills. I strive to create a safe space for my clients within which they feel able to explore the events and issues which have been troubling them.
I have been working with clients to address mental distress for more than 15 years, and been teaching yoga therapeutically since 2001. I am qualified in person-centred counselling and I have a PhD in the field of trauma and traumatic events and neglect in childhood. I have more than 25 years experience working with clients to improve their well being and sense of joy and happiness in their lives. Sometimes this is about addressing distress, fear, anxiety, social injustice, suicidal thoughts and overwhelm or confusion. Other times the way forward is to make a life which is predominantly 'OK' even better - more aligned with the sense of what feels right for a person who has been squished into a box by familial or societal expectations. Freeing the inner knowing of what makes a person's unique heart sing can be very rewarding. I myself have benefited enormously from therapy, mindfulness and yoga and it is my joy to share these with others.
Want to know more about me and the way I work?
Please visit my website
https://www.susannaalyce.com
Training, qualifications & experience
- Diploma in Person-centred Counselling
- PhD in Applied Psychology
- MSc in Mindfulness-Based Approaches
- British Wheel and Iyengar Yoga Teaching Diplomas, and Scaravelli Approach supervision
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
£55.00 per session
Additional information
Block bookings and concessions by arrangement
