About Alison
Alison McWhirr is a counsellor with ten years' experience helping people manage stress, anxiety and low mood. She supports people struggling with self-esteem, motivation and relationship concerns. She also addresses issues such as ADHD, addictions, grief and anger.
Alison works from a belief that each person knows their own story and brings strengths to the work. Her style is calm and straightforward. She focuses on listening first and helping people make sense of what they are facing.
Background and approach
Sessions aim to identify practical steps a person can try between meetings. Alison keeps language simple and avoids jargon so conversations feel normal and honest. Alison practises client-centred therapy, which means she follows the person’s agenda and uses their experience to guide the work.
This approach suits worries about anxiety, stress, relationship strain and self-worth. It also helps when people are navigating loss, family problems or life changes. She has worked with a wide range of concerns over a decade in the United Kingdom and holds BACP accreditation.
Her practice includes conversations about adoption and foster care, attachment, blended family issues, body image, chronic illness and caregiver stress. Sessions are offered in English and delivered online through video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging. The subscription model used for sessions can be cancelled at any time, and cost varies with location and therapist availability.
How client-centred work translates to online therapy
Client-centred therapy places the person at the heart of each session. The counsellor listens closely, reflects what she hears and follows the client’s priorities. This approach helps with anxiety, stress and self-esteem by building understanding from the person’s own experience.Because Alison uses a person-led model, sessions focus on the issues the client brings. Together they explore what matters, set short-term goals and try practical steps between sessions. That collaborative process makes it easier to adjust the plan as needs change and to find what feels most helpful.
Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging to suit different lives. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation; phone sessions can be useful when bandwidth is limited or for a shorter check-in. Live chat and text messaging let people communicate without being on camera and can fit around work, caring duties or busy days.
Working online gives flexibility in timing and format, and makes it straightforward to continue with a counsellor when schedules shift or travel is difficult. A therapist will help decide which format and pace best match each person’s goals and preferences.
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Self esteem
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- ADHD
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Eating and food-related issues
- Family conflicts
- Family problems
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
- Young adult issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 10 years
- Licensed
- Languages
- English
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