Alison May, BACP

Alison May is an inclusive, integrative counsellor working in the United Kingdom who aims to meet each person where they are and work alongside them in a flexible, collaborative way. She describes therapy as a team process and treats the client as the expert on their own life, offering support and encouragement as people take the often courageous steps toward change and a more satisfying life.

Alison has experience with a wide range of concerns, including anxiety, sexuality and gender matters, relationship difficulties, addiction, depression, trauma, uncertainty about how to move forward, self-esteem challenges, and life changing diagnoses. She also brings specific training and lived experience supporting LGBT+ people and neurodiverse clients, with particular interest in ADHD and autism. She identifies as a strong ally to people of colour and to trans people, and she works to create an accepting therapeutic space for diverse identities and experiences.

Alison practises in an integrative style, drawing on different methods to suit each person she works with. She is a member of BACP, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, which is a professional body for counsellors and psychotherapists in the United Kingdom.

Therapeutic approaches and online care with Alison May

Alison draws from Attachment-Based Therapy, Client-Centered Therapy, and Narrative Therapy to tailor online work to each person's needs. Attachment-Based Therapy explores how early relationships influence current patterns and helps people build more secure ways of relating, useful for attachment issues, abandonment concerns, and relationship difficulties. Client-Centered Therapy emphasizes a respectful, nonjudgmental stance where the therapist follows the client's lead to foster self-awareness and growth - it can be particularly helpful for self-esteem, life transitions, and identity questions. Narrative Therapy focuses on the stories people tell about themselves, helping them separate problems from their identity and rewrite narratives that feel limiting, which can support work around trauma, grief, and moving forward in life.

Finding the right approach is part of the therapeutic process, and Alison works collaboratively to identify which methods best match a client's goals, preferences, and situation. She adapts her style as trust develops and needs change, involving the client in decisions about direction and techniques.

Online therapy with Alison is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging, giving practical flexibility for different schedules and comfort levels. These options make it easier to attend sessions from home or while traveling, allow for varied communication styles, and support continuity of care even when in-person meetings are not possible.