Sometimes, people hesitate to seek mental health treatment because they worry about mental health stigma. However, therapy can be one of the best things to happen in your life. Talking to a professional can feel as liberating as talking to a friend and can help you become the best version of yourself. In the individual therapy session, we will discuss your problems, emotions, and concerns in a safe, private environment. Going to therapy might not necessarily make your life easier or get rid of challenges. However, it can equip you with the tools you need to face these challenges healthily, avoid negative thoughts, and achieve emotional well-being. Individual therapy isn’t just for people battling clinical mental health disorders but for everyone needing guidance in processing their feelings and overcoming a more challenging period.

İlkay Alici Counselling offers you a safe, supportive, confidential space to examine whatever difficulties you are facing and to explore your thoughts and feelings. Through listening non-judgmentally to you, my role is to enable you to better understand your thoughts, feelings, patterns and experiences and to support you in finding a way to move forwards.

Do you find it challenging to reach your partner emotionally? Are you stonewalled, afraid of conflict, or pleasing people for a quiet life? Do you have a pattern of being submissive, passive-aggressive or unable to communicate your wants and needs effectively? Do you feel like you and your partner don’t understand each other?

Couple therapy is a means of resolving problems and conflicts that couples cannot handle effectively on their own. It involves both partners sitting with a trained professional to discuss their thoughts and feelings.

I aim to help you gain a better understanding of yourselves and your partner and understand negative patterns within the relationship. We will examine unhelpful dynamics and behavioural patterns and explore where you are stuck. Issues of toxic shame, violent communication and unhealthy grandiosity will be explored. I will also assist you in identifying how trauma is possibly manifesting in your relationship. I will provide a neutral safe space and use my skills to give feedback on the dynamics you observe and experience within the session and guide you to a mutually respectful understanding of each other’s experience.

I work with the following issues:

Divorce, Dysfunctional patterns of behaviour, Infidelity and betrayal, Finance

Lack of boundaries

Life stage stressors (parenting, midlife crisis, retirement, redundancy, illness, loss)

Intimacy issues, Loss of trust, Narcissism

Parenting and children

Unmet emotional needs

Young people can feel under massive pressure in modern life. Bullying (including cyberbullying), exam stress, divorce, peer pressure or the burden of social media are all common problems.

Young people may secretly struggle emotionally but find it difficult to tell somebody close to them, often through embarrassment or a fear of being judged. If young person internalises their problems, it can result in them engaging in unhealthy behaviours. However, you and they don’t have to cope alone; I can help.

I understand that it can feel like a big step to seeking counselling for children or teenagers, and however, I aim to make it a little less daunting for you. There are few things more worrying as a parent or caregiver than your child experiencing emotional difficulties.

How Ilkay Alici Counselling can help children

I will help your child deal with issues causing emotional pain or uncomfortable feelings. Therapy provides a safe and regular space for them to express and explore complicated feelings. I won’t offer advice or ‘fix the problem’. But I do help find new insight and ways of understanding problems in a constructive way. Therefore, reducing the negative impact,

sometimes it’s easier to talk to a stranger than to parents, relatives or friends. During the session, I will listen and help to find answers to problems. Without judging, dictating or patronising

Counselling can often involve talking about difficult or painful feelings. It’s common for children to feel great relief when they finally talk about their issues.

I use different therapeutic techniques to help your child gain a better understanding of themselves and their relationships. I can help your child manage the challenges of mental health problems and navigate their way around life’s challenges. Doing this early can give young adults a significant advantage for the rest of their lives.

Family counselling can be essential to the well-being of the family group; it is from here that we learn how to develop feelings of respect and love and learn to communicate. If this goes badly wrong, then other problems can manifest, which can result in long-lasting negative effects later on.

 Whether your family problems are minor or major, I will help by challenging your current state of being and getting down to the areas that create stress and upset.

Varied problems

Here are just a few of the triggers that I can help with; problems due to:

• Academic worries
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Divorce
• Finances
• Grief
• Illness

Group therapy is a psychological therapy that takes place with a group of people rather than with an individual during a one-on-one session. Having therapy in a group environment can have many benefits, as it offers a support network and provides the opportunity to meet others experiencing similar concerns. You will be encouraged to share your experiences and work on understanding yourself better with the other group members and me.

It is particularly useful for looking at relationship issues, sexuality, race, abuse and trauma, and many kinds of anxiety and depression. Most people can benefit from working in a mixed group, but sometimes it is better for people with similar problems to work together in a group, for example, people with alcohol or drug problems. By sharing with others and feeling accepted, individuals can feel less isolated and more confident socially. The support and safety of the group help you to confront complex issues and recurring themes which might be relevant to both the individuals and the group as a whole.

Ilkay Alici Counselling can offer group therapy sessions for a specific group of clients.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me to discuss your group’s particular needs. I will do whatever I can to accommodate your specific issues and find creative ways to help you.

Nowadays, it is straightforward to communicate online with your therapist. You can use a desktop computer, tablet or smartphone wherever you are, and your counsellor will speak to you via an easy-to-use, secure service like Zoom.

Why do people use Online Counselling?

Many of our clients use online counselling due to issues such as Lack of time, Physical hurdles, Shyness or embarrassment, Agoraphobia or social anxiety. Numerous studies and NHS research has found online counselling and remote therapy to be as effective as visiting a counsellor or therapist face to face. Some clients who have the time for face-to-face therapy even prefer online counselling because it gives them more flexibility and comfort. I can provide a valuable service if you require therapeutic help but have shied away from it for emotional or practical reasons.

Undertaking personal therapy is an essential part of the development of any future counsellor and is crucial in enabling growth and self-awareness. I think it is necessary to experience therapy if you want to be a therapist. The counselling training is demanding: mentally and emotionally. To sit with a client, to feel their pain but not get lost in it; to travel their journey of self-discovery and acceptance but not try and ‘do it’ for them; to be open to life stories of trauma, abuse and despair and not drown in them, you need to have worked on your stuff, you need to be wholly present with and for the client. Being in therapy as trainee counsellors helps us better understand our client’s perspectives. Also, personal therapy can surface blind spots and unspoken trauma.

Balancing academic work, client work and research with the demands of life outside of college can create stress and anxiety. Personal therapy provides a crucial support mechanism for trainee counsellors as they juggle different demands. You will be able to recognise and separate your personal issues from those of your clients when they manifest themselves in the therapeutic relationship, and you will be able to stay more present and focused with your clients.

Concessionary rates for students

I love working with counselling students. I enjoy how the work runs on many levels, with the training context being a clear aspect of the work. I know it’s financially challenging to be in counselling when you are training – you already have to invest in the course, in supervision and potentially have to take time off work and find childcare. It is not an easy task. But the rewards are significant.

If you are studying to be a counsellor – or know someone who is – and are looking for a counsellor, get in touch. I offer concessionary rates to trainee counsellors and students in general.