Alison Doherty

Hello and thank you for viewing my profile. I offer a safe and welcoming environment where change can occur. I understand that taking the first step to finding the right counsellor for you can be a daunting experience. However, if you take this first step and get in touch, I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have. As a qualified EMDR therapist who has a MSc in integrative therapeutic counselling. I adhere to the BACP/EMDR ethical framework and also accredited with the BACP.

I believe each of us is unique around our feelings and experiences

Whether you are affected by feelings and experiences from the past or by more immediate issues you will be able to explore what those feelings mean to you and understand how to move forward.

EMDR therapy is increasingly becoming the most common type of therapy. Given the wide array of therapies on offer nowadays I integrate my counselling alongside EMDR and have found a way to blend them together as a way to tailor my client’s needs. 

Over the past 18 years of my counselling career, I have had the privilege of providing complicated therapeutic counselling and trauma support. I have a master’s degree in integrative counselling and, I am a qualified EMDR therapist. It is an amazing and humbling experience to witness people who have been through so much get their lives back. I am trained in EMDR and rewind which over the years many clients have found helpful in removing unwanted images

I started my career within the corporate finance world where I worked for 33 years and during that time, I return to university to complete my training as a therapist whilst volunteering as a counsellor within the local community.

As well as running my own private practice and working with EAPS and NHS services, I apply my skills as a psychotherapist in other areas, including training, coaching, and speaking. These diverse areas of work link together well and enhance each other – and they are all underpinned by my core belief system as well as the way of life including principles by which

I consider myself a well-rounded individual, having a diverse range of interests and abilities. I am equally at home working on my allotment or eating a sandwich whilst out with my dogs as I can to being wined and dined in a 5-star hotel. I live my life. 

The first counselling session is called getting to know each other. it is just an opportunity for us to meet. You may feel nervous or awkward and this is perfectly normal. You can begin to get to know me, and my way of working to see if I might be a counsellor you would like to work with.

The session is also a time for me to get to know you. I will ask you some questions about you and the issues(s) you are facing. I will explain to you more about boundaries, limitation of confidentiality, my fees, cancellation policy and the way I work. Most of all there will be time for you to ask me questions.

We will then be able to decide if my counselling practice is right for you and you can decide if you would like to have more sessions. There is no need to continue if you decide not to.

For subsequent sessions, which will be led by you as sessions can be flexible and vary in timescale as therapy is about flowing with client needs. The sessions are a space to reflect on your past, present and future.

There are many reasons why people may want to access private counselling. One may be that there are no limits on the number of sessions available and it offers the opportunity to build a longer-term relationship with a therapist. Another may be the ability to guarantee a certain level of experience of qualification in the therapist. You may not want to wait to access other forms of therapy and want to get started as quickly as possible.

Counselling gives you somewhere to turn that is independent and impartial in a supportive and non-judgemental setting. You can talk to someone and share your problems; understand how you are thinking, feeling, and begin to work out how to take the first step towards finding a solution.