Alan Russell, NCPS

Alan Russell is a counsellor with five years of professional experience across teaching, coordinating, and direct counselling roles. He works with people who are struggling with stress, anxiety, depression, addictions, trauma and abuse, and career-related pressures. He aims to treat everyone with respect, sensitivity and compassion.

Alan practises as an integrative counsellor, which means he adapts sessions to fit each person’s needs rather than using a single fixed method. In practice this can mean talking through recent problems, identifying patterns that maintain distress, and agreeing on small steps to try between sessions. He often helps people address feelings of guilt and shame, midlife concerns, mood disturbances, and issues connected to pregnancy and childbirth.

Clients may also bring workplace stress or questions about men’s issues, and he supports those conversations in straightforward terms. Sessions aim to be practical and focused on what the person wants to change. The counsellor listens, reflects, and works with the client to set realistic goals.

Alan’s background in teaching and coordinating informs his approach to planning and structure in therapy. He uses that experience to help clients map progress and spot obstacles. Therapy is presented as a collaborative process where the client’s voice guides the direction.

Signing up begins with a short matching questionnaire and then scheduling according to availability. The counsellor encourages the first step and seeks to make the process clear and welcoming.

How different approaches can help online

Alan describes himself as an integrative counsellor, so he draws on evidence-based techniques and tailors them to each person. One common approach is cognitive-style work that looks at unhelpful thoughts and tests them against real situations; this helps with anxiety, low mood and workplace worries. Another typical strand is trauma-informed listening and pacing, which focuses on stabilising strong feelings, building coping strategies, and working through difficult memories at a manageable pace.

Finding the right approach is part of the process. The counsellor will talk with the client about goals and preferences, then suggest methods to try together. Decisions about pace and techniques are collaborative and can change as progress is made.

If you plan to meet online, confirm available session formats before booking. This counsellor’s biography does not list specific formats, so check which options are offered when you arrange sessions. Online work can make it easier to fit therapy around work, reduce travel time, and allow shorter check-ins when needed. It also gives flexibility to arrange sessions at times that suit a busy week.