Alison McNaught

Hello, I’m Alison, a BACP registered therapist working with adults and young people aged 14 and over. My experience spans a wide range of settings and client groups: Alongside my private practice, I’ve delivered short-term integrative therapy in the NHS, within a community counselling organisation, and currently support 14- to 18-year-olds at the BRIT School. Across all of these, I’ve been continually struck by how much can shift when people understand themselves with more compassion, and how a therapeutic relationship can nurture this. 
My practice is LGBTQI+ informed, trauma-informed, and neurodivergence-informed, so whoever you are and whatever you’ve been through, you can expect to be understood, respected, and taken seriously.

As an integrative and pluralistic therapist, I believe there’s no single right way to do therapy, and that what helps one person may not help another. Your preferences matter, and we’ll shape the work together around what feels right for you. My work is rooted in the person-centered approach, which means you’ll be met with warmth and respect, without judgment, as the expert on your own life.
I also utilise Internal Family Systems (IFS), or parts work, to help us get to know the different aspects of your personality,  including the anxious, critical and protective ones. I take the approach that these parts developed to keep you safe, and understanding them with curiosity and compassion can be an agent of awareness and change.
When the work is more solution-focused, I bring in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), helping you clarify what truly matters to you and take practical steps toward it, even when difficult thoughts and feelings come along for the ride. I have a keen interest in neuroscience and somatic approaches, which help us understand how experiences are held in the body and mind, and how the nervous system can return to a sense of safety.

Our first session is a chance for you to tell me what’s been going on and what’s brought you to therapy. If you have goals in mind, we can explore those too. I’ll ask some questions and collect some basic information to help me understand your situation, and you’ll get a sense of what it feels like to work with me.

We won’t dive in too deep too quickly. Feeling safe and comfortable with your therapist matters, and building that trust lets us explore things more deeply over time.

Towards the end of the session, you can decide whether I feel like the right therapist for you and how you’d like to continue. Some people prefer open-ended, longer-term work, while others choose a set number of sessions. We’ll agree on what suits you best.