There are times in most peoples lives when we could benefit from talking to someone. I offer you an opportunity to explore your concerns in an atmosphere of trust and support with a caring professional. This will enable you to find your own answers and way forward, at your own pace.
“The gentle and sensitive companionship of an empathic stance… provides illumination and healing” – Carl Rogers
Together, we can take stock of where you are; bringing greater clarity and kindness to your experiences. This allows us to reflect upon your situation, facilitating deeper insight into how you might choose to live with greater meaning and connection.
“Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed” – Thich Nhat Hanh
Taking responsibility for your own happiness, you can find the freedom and confidence to make empowered decisions and choices. Through counselling, you can come to accept the things that you cannot change, whilst finding the courage to take action to change the things that you can.
With my help, you can begin to let go of old habits (and addictions) – those deeply grooved patterns that keep you stuck and limit your experience of life. This allows you to move towards becoming more the person you wish to be – living the life you wish to live.
“The purpose of psychotherapy is to set people free” – Rollo May
In short, working together, we can discover who you are and how you want to spend your time on this earth. Counselling can help you to feel better and live life in a more enriching way, with a greater sense of ease and appreciation.
“Am I living in way which is deeply satisfying to me, and which truly expresses me?” – Carl Rogers
Testimonials
“I saw Alan every week for 12 weeks, I would go to his little space in St. Helens and sit on the sofa in his nicely scented room and calming atmosphere! I found Alan to be warm and gentle and it didn’t take long for me to be relaxed enough to open up and share my feelings…I was able to learn more about myself and connect the dots that I simply couldn’t see on my own! He really helped me to find myself and I found a great comfort from him, as a result of our sessions I feel I found a way to express my sadness in a healthier way. I would say that if you are in need of being heard and wish to find a deeper understanding of yourself / or you simply need someone to hold you whilst you work through some of your emotional pain, go see Alan! You deserve to be heard and he is a wonderful listener. Thank you so much, my friend!” (G)
“I wasn’t sure whether counselling would actually work for me… but I was conscious, that there were things I had buried and didn’t want to discuss. I knew at times I felt quite isolated and lonely and these were just odd days when I felt down…On our first meeting, he was very approachable and I found I felt relaxed almost immediately. I didn’t feel judged, and Alan put me at ease through his natural way and made no assumptions about me. Alan came across as very genuine and gradually throughout the sessions I felt as though I could trust Alan and be open and honest about my feelings, It felt comfortable to express my feelings in a safe place, and Alan seemed to accept me for who I was and allowed me the time and my own space to do this. I discovered myself through this talking therapy…” (J)
My Philosophy
I practice Counselling from a Person-Centred perspective, underpinned by an interpersonal and existential frame of reference, and by the influence of my Zen Buddhist practice.
My Person-Centred foundation has imbued in me a deep respect and trust in the autonomy, uniqueness, and inner resources of each individual. This approach is at the heart of all I do. My aim is to help each person achieve his or her goals and to realise their full potential – to live and to become the person he or she wants to be.
“The process of the good life is not, I am convinced, a life for the faint-hearted. It involves the stretching and growing of becoming more and more of one’s potentialities. It involves the courage to be. It means launching oneself fully into the stream of life”
I truly believe that we each possess within ourselves everything that we need to live full, fulfilling and satisfying lives… and that, beyond whatever difficulties we may be experiencing right now, there is an underlying state of wholeness (or health), that is potentially available to all of us.
I am often moved by the courage and resilience of the human spirit, and our ability to overcome adversity. I work from a perspective which recognises that everyone has the potential to heal, grow and flourish, given the right conditions for growth. I aim to offer you these conditions in our therapeutic relationship – non-judgemental, unconditional acceptance, compassionate caring, empathic understanding and genuineness. This relationship allows you the safe space for exploration and healing.
“It is the relationship that heals” – Irvin Yalom
I hope to be able to meet you at relational depth, to form a meaningful connection with you that supports your growth and healing.
Sometimes we just need a gentle, caring companion and guide to help us to see our own potential an find our way.
“When a person realises he has been deeply heard, his eyes moisten. I think in some real sense he is weeping for joy. It is as though he were saying, “Thank God, somebody heard me. Someone knows what it’s like to be me.” – Carl Rogers, ‘A Way of Being’