Alison Bubbins, BACP

Alison Bubbins is a warm, down-to-earth counsellor who brings an authentic, unpretentious style to her therapeutic work. She has a quirky personal presence - including distinctive hair and visible tattoos - and she uses that straightforward, human approach to create a space where people can be themselves without judgement. Alison works integratively, combining person-centred methods, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and broader psychotherapeutic techniques so that her work adapts to each person rather than fitting people into a fixed model. She describes therapy as a collaborative process - not something done "on" someone but done with them - and she prioritises meeting clients where they are, with honesty, respect, and a touch of humour when it helps.

Alison provides support for a wide range of concerns including stress, anxiety, trauma and abuse, grief, addiction, relationship and family difficulties, ADHD and autism, sleep and self-esteem problems, and intimacy and kink-related topics. She is openly affirming of diverse lifestyles and identities and offers an accepting environment for exploring sensitive or nontraditional subjects. Alison holds BACP accreditation - membership of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy - which indicates recognised professional standards. She is currently only able to accept live chat clients because she is a mum and her children are on school holidays, making other modalities less predictable.

Integrative approaches for online support

Alison uses person-centred work and cognitive behavioural techniques as core parts of her online practice. Person-centred therapy focuses on creating a nonjudgemental, empathetic environment where clients can explore their thoughts and feelings; it is helpful for building self-understanding, confidence, and emotional safety. CBT is a practical, skills-focused approach that looks at how thoughts, feelings and behaviours interact and offers tools to manage anxiety, low mood, unhelpful thinking patterns, and behavioural challenges.

Her approach is integrative, blending these methods so therapy reflects each person’s needs and goals. Finding the right approach is part of the collaborative process - Alison works with clients to identify what feels most useful, adjusting techniques and pace according to personal preferences and life circumstances.

Online therapy offers practical flexibility: sessions can be scheduled around work, family, or location, and different formats meet different needs - video calls for face-to-face connection, phone sessions for convenience, live chat for text-based real-time conversation, and messaging for shorter, ongoing support. Alison currently accepts live chat clients, which can be particularly accessible for people balancing childcare or unpredictable schedules, and these options can make beginning and maintaining therapy more manageable for many people.