Alistair Semmence

Name: Alistair Semmence
Address: Print Village, Southwark, Greater London, SE15 4PU, United Kingdom
Telephone: 447421208268

Therapist Directory Listing Category: Psychotherapists and Counsellors

About the Therapist

About the therapist:

I’m currently studying an MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy at the Metanoia Institute. Part of what integrative means is that I draw from a range of psychological theories, from neuroscience and other evidence-based approaches.

Alongside my training, I’m a counsellor at CliniQ, a holistic wellbeing and sexual health clinic for trans, non-binary and gender diverse people and Transform, a low-cost counselling service. I’ve come from a career in the tech industry as a qualitative researcher, where I worked at a dating app company researching sensitive topics like: dating as a single parent, dating during the COVID-19 pandemic, sexting and consent, and the experience of minoritised communities on dating apps.

I started training as a psychotherapist because it felt like a good fit for me. I was drawn to a career in research because I'm curious about who people are and how they tell their stories, so therapy felt like a natural next step. I'd also had my own transformative experience being in therapy, which left me feeling better connected to myself. I wanted to provide that space for others, helping them navigate their journeys and find meaning in their experiences.

Sexual identity:

Gay
Queer

Gender identity: Male

Gender history: As assigned at birth

Non-monogamy: No

Intersex: No

Neurodivergent: Yes

Personal pronouns: he/him

Qualifications - Links to websites:

I'm a UKCP-registered trainee psychotherapist. I'm currently in my third year of a five-year MSc in Integrative Psychotherapy.

Qualifications - Additional:

Award	Awarding body	Year of award
MSc Integrative Psychotherapy	Metanoia Institute	2027
Certificate in Working Alongside Trans, Gender Diverse & Questioning People	Gendered Intelligence	2024
Certificate in Therapeutic Counselling Skills and Studies	Metanoia Institute	2021

Experience and approach:

I see therapy as a partnership, where we’ll start by building a strong and trusting relationship. I believe this is crucial to creating a sense of safety where we can explore and make sense of the difficulties you might be facing. Therapy is about having dedicated time and space to help foster curiosity about how we relate to ourselves and others. It's in this that I think therapy can be a radical act of self-care.

A core aspect of my approach involves understanding how you have been shaped by your experiences and how you’ve learned to cope with the challenges you’ve faced. I believe that we adapt to survive in the best way that we can and that we might reach a point where how we’ve adapted no longer works for us. There are difficult and painful realities of life that we sidestep for survival. Therapy can help move beyond just surviving and help transform us so we can live a more fulfilling and connected life.

Approaches: