Alexandra Stevens
Counsellor
I specialise in:
About me
I qualified in 2015 as a Gestalt psychotherapist. Shortly after I trained and got accredited in EMDR and attachment-informed EMDR. I have worked in various settings from a prestigious Harley Street clinic, an NHS psychiatric unit, a residential trauma treatment centre and in private practice. I have taught psychotherapy at the prestigious University of Surrey and at the world-known Gestalt Centre, London where I trained therapists to gain an MA in Gestalt. I am a certified supervisor. I am also certified as a Life Design coach.
I’m a solo mother of two and a woman of African/Swiss heritage and thus very interested in issues of diversity and inclusion. I recently moved to Lisbon from London, following my soul’s calling for a new adventure. I'm passionate about supporting individuals to live the truest and happiest version of themselves. I’m optimistic, creative, open to the possibilities of life and dynamic. I value honesty and integrity I’m considered a safe pair of hands. I specialise in attachment trauma and relationships. I also support those considering becoming solo parents around the process of parenting.
I speak:
Location:
Approach
In our initial assesment we collaborate to figure out your therapy desires and goals. I gather as much information regarding your current situation and your past experiences, including childhood. From this I formulate a guess of what the issue is and I propose how I can support you in terms of the the type of therapy and interventions that would suit you best. I view us as a therapeutic team where we collaborate to create your shifts. Therapy is a process of us exploring your issue, gaining more awareness and building trust within the therapy relationships. Whilst I bring the therapy expertise, you bring the you which is summed up in all your life experiences to date. I am always ultimately guided by you and what you feel energised/interested in. I will not tell you what to do or give advice and trust you will get to where you need to be with my support. As a Gestalt psychotherapist I take a holistic approch. In a session I will enquire not just about your thoughts and behaviours but also your emotions and body sensations. I place a lot of emphasis on the ‘here-and-now’ and that change is possible right now with enough awareness of our current situation. I combine a deeply caring approach with offering just the right amount of challenge so that you are sometimes a little out of your comfort zone. This is necessary in order to create the changes that you wish. I might do this by offering Gestalt experiments for example asking you to imagine speaking to someone you have a conflict with.
I use Gestalt therapy as my basic approach alongside Internal Family Systems. I additionally use attachment-informed EMDR if you are interested in this approach. I ultimately trust that the approach that you resonate with most will be the one that works best and that this can change over time. Indeed each course of therapy I provide is tailor-made to suit each individual.
I work both in a short-tem and long-term way depending on what you need and on your resources.
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