Alison Stevenson

When we first meet, you don’t need to arrive knowing exactly what you want to work on.

I’ll begin by understanding what is difficult for you now and how you have been trying to cope. We can explore your history, relationships, emotional and physical health, lifestyle, values and beliefs, significant stresses and the support you have around you.

Most importantly, I want to understand what you would like therapy to help you change.

Making sense of your experience

My style is conversational, exploratory and reflective. I will give you space to lead while also offering focus and structure when that feels helpful.

Over our first few sessions, we may begin to identify recurring themes that can help us decide where to focus. I’ll offer observations and insights, and we can review the work together approximately every six weeks to understand what is changing and whether our focus still feels right.

Because I work integratively, therapy can look different depending on what you need. At times we might explore your past and relationships in depth. At others, our work may be more practical, with specific strategies, goals or things to try between sessions.

I also work creatively where it feels useful, using approaches such as imagery, metaphor, poetry and other arts-based exploration to help you connect with thoughts and feelings that can be difficult to put into words.

Understanding patterns that keep returning

When the same emotional or relationship difficulty keeps appearing, I become curious about where that pattern began.

We may explore your early relationships, significant experiences and losses, and the beliefs you developed about yourself while growing up. Ways of coping that helped you manage difficult circumstances earlier in life can sometimes continue long after they are useful.

Understanding those connections can help you recognise when a present-day reaction is being shaped by something older.

My work is strongly informed by attachment and trauma-informed approaches. We may explore how your earliest relationships shaped the way you seek connection, respond to the possibility of rejection or abandonment, communicate your needs and establish boundaries today.

Where appropriate, I may also introduce mindfulness, breath, nervous-system and body-based practices. These can provide another way of noticing and responding to difficult emotional states alongside talking and reflection.

We may also work with different “parts” of yourself, including younger parts associated with earlier experiences, with the aim of developing greater self-awareness and a more compassionate way of responding to yourself.

Ultimately, our work is about helping you develop stronger connections — with yourself, with other people and with the life you want to build.