Hello, I’m Alison, a psychotherapeutic counsellor. I see adults, older adults and young people (16+) face to face on Saturdays at Chapter House in North Shields, with appointments from 10:30am through to a last session that finishes at 7:20pm. Whatever brings you here, we’ll take it at your pace, with warmth, honesty and mutual curiosity.
Not sure where to start? The free intro call is a 15-minute phone chat, with no obligation afterwards. I make those calls on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, between 7pm and 9pm.
There’s no problem too small. If it matters to you, it matters here, and you don’t need the right words for it before you arrive.
Anxiety that hums away in the background, or floods in all at once.
A heaviness that’s hard to name, and harder to shake.
Grief and loss, recent or carried quietly for years.
Relationships and family tensions that have become hard to hold.
Big life shifts: a new baby or grandchild, separation, menopause.
Work that’s taken over, especially if you work in education.
Do any of these resonate? Here are some of the other things people bring.
I see everyone in the same quiet room at Chapter House in North Shields, every Saturday. Sessions are 50 minutes, and we can meet weekly or fortnightly, for a few sessions or for as long as it stays useful.
My practice room is inside Chapter House, a quiet private practice on Preston Road in North Shields. Appointments are at 10:30am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm, 3:30pm, 5:00pm and 6:30pm, with an hour kept free in the middle of the day.
An accessible room is available here. Do mention any access needs when you book, and I’ll make sure we’re in the right room for you.
If getting to North Shields is difficult, sessions can also be held online. Just ask when you get in touch.
I’m an integrative counsellor, which simply means I draw on several ways of working and follow what actually helps. Sessions are built on mutual curiosity. We look at things together, at your pace.
Drawing on several therapeutic models, tailored to you rather than one fixed method.
Understanding how past experience and unconscious patterns shape the present.
Using the therapeutic relationship itself as a place of insight and change.
Making sense of the patterns and 'scripts' that play out in your relationships.
Imagery and creative approaches, for when words alone don't quite reach it.
Play-based ways of working, drawing on my years alongside children and young people in schools.
Focused, time-limited work around a specific issue or decision.
Sessions can include talk therapy, somatic work, creative interventions and psychoeducation, whatever helps us reach what words alone sometimes can’t.
I came to counselling after many years in education, working alongside teachers, parents and children when life at school, and at home, got difficult. That background still shapes how I work: practically, warmly and without judgement.
I trained at the Northern Guild for Psychotherapy and Counselling in Newcastle, and I’m a Registered Member MBACP. MBACP stands for Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, the UK’s professional body for counsellors, so I work within its Ethical Framework, have regular clinical supervision, and appear on its public register.
Whether you come for a few focused sessions or stay for longer work, you set the pace and the direction. I’ll work alongside you, drawing on whatever helps, and we’ll look at how it’s going as we go.
Every session is the same simple price of £60 for 50 minutes, and we always begin with a free phone call, so you can be sure before you book.
A no-obligation phone chat to tell me a little about what brings you to therapy, ask questions, and get a sense of whether we're a good fit.
A 50-minute one-to-one session, face to face. Weekly or fortnightly, short-term or open-ended. We'll find the rhythm that suits you.
Honest answers about fees, where we’d meet and how we’d begin, before you’ve had to ask.
Saturday sessions at Chapter House in North Shields are open to book now. Start there, or with a free 15-minute phone call. No pressure, no obligation, and no need to have the words ready.
Prefer email? alison@alisonwoodward.com