Alan Sparkes

I am a qualified BACP registered therapist. I help people heal and integrate. I’m a parent, a skateboarder, a basketball player and I’ve done a lot of therapy.

I don't do psychic amputation. I believe you can't cut off a part of yourself you don’t like or that causes you pain and that you will run into more problems if you try. I do believe you can reach into your heart and soul through therapy and establish a healing relationship that will give you the resources you need to live well and fully. I work short and long term, face to face and online.

I did a BSc Hons degree in Psychology as a mature student and started psychotherapy training at 28yrs of age at The Metanoia Institute in West London. Here I did 4yrs of Transactional Analysis (TA) psychotherapy and worked at Hackney Bereavement Service and ran a private practice in North London. I’ve taught psychology undergraduates at Middlesex University and also taught & facilitated groups at the British College of Naturopathy and Osteopathy.

I have qualified as master practitioner in NLP and my recent training includes qualifying with a Diploma in Contemporary Psychotherapy that integrates systemic NLP as an outcome oriented approach. I am a member of BACP(British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) and also work as a volunteer counsellor at the Terrence Higgins Trust in Brighton.

I have a special interest in physical health and wellness, people diagnosed as bi-polar, and early development trauma, and suicidal feelings. All the fun stuff.

My approach, training and practice is in Contemporary Psychotherapy an integrative and outcome oriented approach intended to organically facilitate recovery, growth and healing. As a therapist it is my aim to be accurately adaptable to the unique experience and functioning patterns of you as the client, tailoring my approach to the uniqueness of each person. I focus not just on your personal history, but especially on your immediate needs and your short and long term well-being, for now and in the manageable future.

My methods of practice are probably of less interest to you if you are seeking help - sometimes you just want to be helped. My approach is strongly influenced by the work of legendary therapist Milton Erickson, and aims to provide a safe and relaxing approach, working with you to find your change and heal in harmony with your own unique sense of self.

My first session is always a two way interview in which you will get a flavour of how I work. I will also follow up on our initial email or phone call to deepen my assessment of what you bring and how I can help.  As part of my training is outcome oriented I will ask you about your goals for therapy and what it is you would like to get from the process so that we can develop a clear understanding together of where it is you want to go. This first session is also an opportuity for you to ask any questions about the process, style of therpay and anythingn you might want to ask about me.

My initial training was 4yrs of Transactional Analysis (TA) psychotherapy at The Metanoia Institute in West London. As well as these 4 years of Transactional Analysis training, I have a BSc Hons Degree in Psychology and am a Masters Practitioner of NLP. I have a Diploma in Contemporary Psychotherapy, an integrative, outcome solution focussed approach strongly influenced by the work of Milton Erickson.

Contemporary Psychotherapy an integrative and outcome oriented approach intended to organically facilitate recovery, growth and healing. As a therapist it is my aim to be accurately adaptable to the unique experience and functioning patterns of the client, tailoring my approach to the uniqueness of each person. Contemporary Psychotherapy focuses not just on personal history, but especially on the immediate needs of the client and their short and long term well-being, concerning the client’s management of their condition or situation, recovery and personal development, for now and in the manageable future.

My aim with Contemporary Psychotherapy - is helping you to change and heal in harmony with your own unique sense of self. It is an integrative approach that utilises your natural resources and is tailored to fit you rather than imposing a specific framework.

I currently have a counsellng & psychotherpay private practice in Brighton & Hove, East Sussex and offer face to face and online psychotherapy and counselling. I also currently work for The Terrence Higgins Trust as a counsellor.

Although therapy is not affordable for everyone, I aim to make my practice as accessible as possible to anyone seeking help. The therapy service I offer does not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sex and sexual orientation. My aim is to work with a wide range of clients and actively acknowledge my privilege and its impact in the therapeutic relationship.

The first session has two important purposes. Firstly is for you to share your story of what's led you to seek help at this time. This can be a difficult thing to do initially and having some anxiety around the first meeting is normal and healthy - it's always an act of bravery and risk to say 'I want help'.

The second important purpose of our first psychotherapy session is that it gives us a chance to meet and find out if we want to work together. The first session is helpful to me in terms of making a proper assessment of how I can help you.

Equally important is that it is an opportunity for you to interview me for the job of being your therapist. It is not easy to hold on to this idea if you are experiencing great distress yet I believe it is an important part of the initial process. Why? So that you are aware you have choices and power too. This is why I like to gently remind potential clients that the first session is always a two way process of assessment and sharing.

Once we decide that we want to to work together, we will usually schedule a few sessions and co-create a simple agreement about what you want to work on, for how long, and when we will meet. Sometimes 1-6 sessions is all that is needed, sometimes longer term work may be advisable. In the unlikely event I can't offer you help, I will refer you to a colleague or service that is suitable.