网爆门

Online/telephone - 1 hour, 拢50 (concessions may be available)

I currently have daytime availability for online/telephone sessions on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays. I can offer online/telephone sessions in the evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

In-person - 50 mins, 拢40-拢50 (dependent on income)

I offer in-person sessions on Saturday mornings in Edinburgh, at Connections Counselling on Dalmeny Street, Leith.

Hello, I鈥檓 Ali (she/they), an LGBTQ+ and neurodiversity-affirming counsellor.

I work from a pluralistic framework, which means I recognise and value the individuality of your experiences and preferences. I believe there are many 鈥渞ight鈥� ways to do therapy so I may draw on different theories and techniques depending on what feels most helpful and meaningful to you.

At the heart of my practice is a person-centred approach: I aim to offer an authentic relationship built on empathy, care and respect, where you feel heard and accepted as you are. If you are feeling overwhelmed or disconnected from yourself I hope to provide a compassionate and grounded presence to help you tap back into your inner wisdom.

I鈥檓 particularly drawn to supporting people who know what it is to feel on the outside of things, misunderstood, overlooked, or different in some way. I have worked therapeutically with a diverse range of issues, including relational trauma, self-harm, loss and grief, neurodivergence, and LGBTQIA+ identities and experiences.

Before training as a counsellor, I spent many years working in client-facing roles in charity settings. This has given me extensive experience of supporting people from many different walks of life. Having previously worked in the gender-based violence sector, I have particular experience of supporting people to navigate the impact of sexual assault and abuse. I am sensitive to the complexities of trauma, and if this is part of your story, I hope that you will feel safe enough sharing this with me if and when you choose to.

I am deeply committed to working in a non-pathologising way: you are not broken. I understand that the struggles bringing you to therapy are often shaped by wider social and cultural contexts, not just individual factors. My hope is to offer a space where your feelings and experiences can be met with compassion and understood within that broader picture.

I offer a free, no-obligation 30-minute introductory video/telephone call. This gives us both the chance to get a sense of how it might feel to work together, and for you to ask any questions you may have. You can also use this time to talk about what you鈥檙e looking for from counselling, and we can discuss how we might work together, including practicalities such as session frequency and availability.

For this first meeting - and for future sessions if we decide to work together - I warmly invite you to bring along anything that will help you to feel at ease and present. Some examples might be a drink, a comfort object, tissues or a notepad and pen.