Susanna Alyce

I see clients Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. 

I have more than 25 years experience working with clients, and am qualified in several disciplines. I strive to build a warm and caring relationship with my clients, where you will feel listened to and understood and where confusion and 'hard to own' feelings can start to emerge and resolve.  If this sounds like what you need please read on, or click through to my website. Or call me and we can chat through what you are looking for. 

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.

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.

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.

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. 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. 

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.

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.