Alisa Goldstein

I am currently working full day on Wednesday- online in the morning, and at Hara House from 2pm-8pm

On Thursday I am available for online sessions.

Hello, I’m Alisa.

I work with adults who may look like they’re coping, but inside things feel more messy. You might feel stuck, low, or caught in patterns you can’t quite shift, especially in relationships. Many people I see grew up in families that were loving in places, but emotionally complicated, where they learned to be responsible, agreeable, or to hold everything together. Over time, this can feel exhausting. Together, we will slow things down and make sense of the mess, so you can respond with more clarity, steadiness, and choice in your life and relationships.

Life may look fine on the outside, but feel messy underneath. You might feel overwhelmed, stuck in repeating patterns, or unsure of yourself in relationships. Together, we gently untangle what’s going on, so things can begin to feel clearer, calmer, and more manageable, and you can feel more fulfilled in life.

Over time, this work can lead to calmer relationships, clearer boundaries, and a stronger sense of who you are, separate from what you do for others.

Alongside individual counselling, I also offer relationship-focused parenting sessions for adults navigating the realities of family life. This is not couples therapy, and it is not therapy for your child. The focus is on you, your responses, your patterns, and your own experience of being parented. Parenting often brings old dynamics to the surface, sometimes in ways that feel surprising or uncomfortable. Together, we make sense of what is being activated, without judgement. Families come in many forms, and there is no perfect way to do this. The aim is not to remove the mess, but to understand it, so that family life can feel more connected, more intentional, and less overwhelming.

For twenty years, I’ve worked with children, parents, carers, and individuals navigating the tensions, loyalties, ruptures, and unspoken rules that shape family life. My background spans social work, play therapy, psychosynthesis counselling, and humanitarian work in high‑pressure environments. Across all of it, I’ve seen how complex and messy being human can be.

My approach is trauma‑informed, relational, and rooted in psychosynthesis. I pay attention to attachment dynamics, nervous system responses, and the different parts of you that developed to cope, belong, or stay connected. I am both gentle and direct, and I believe therapy doesn’t need to feel clinical or performative. There is space for humour, joy, rage, silence, and tears that may not yet make sense.

At the heart of my work is a respect for complexity. People are rarely one thing. Families are rarely simple. Change is rarely linear. And this is a place where all of that is welcome.