Compassionate counselling

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The Real Affect is a humanistic, trauma-informed compassionate counselling service in Canberra.  We believe people have untapped capacities to resolve their own challenges and experience emotional healing, given a relationship with a warm, empathic, accepting and understanding listener.  

Humans are designed to heal. We just need the right conditions, namely a compassionate counselling context that provides safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment and respect to help you restore your sense of agency and reignite your joy for life !

We do not 'treat' you, nor do we 'fix' you. 

Instead we invite you into relationship... 

We are not the expert in the white lab coat, nor do we believe that something is wrong with you but rather we are curious about what happened to you and what you might need now.

We all want relief from our suffering and resources to help us cope with life.  Alison's relatable counselling style is all about emotional connection and practical support: 

• Mindfulness (by focusing your attention on what's happening as it actually happens you become the curious observer, radically increasing your level of awareness & transforming your inner experience) 

• Compassion (relating to your pain & suffering with an attitude of care and genuine kindness like you would a good friend, loosening the grip of shame and increasing your sense of wellbeing and motivation to act) 

• Somatic (body) awareness practices (befriending our nervous system to understand the impacts of trauma; breathwork & body scanning for emotion regulation/ calm/relaxation; inner child work to help you become your own best parent) 

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (understanding how your thoughts, feelings & behaviour are interconnected to enhance self-management); and

• Narrative Therapy (understanding & reauthoring problematic stories to expand your self-concept and  life choices)