Mrs Alison Turner

A conversation with Alison Turner

• What led you to choose psychotherapy or counselling as a profession?

  Even as a kid I loved listening to people and hearing their stories which also led to wanting to help. Also, my own life experiences led me to becoming a therapist.

• Which philosophical approaches have influenced your professional development?

  While Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic form the foundation of how I work, other theories have influenced me as well including Attachment Theory, Existential, Jungian Psychology, and in recent years Somatic Experiencing and therapy.

• Which particular aspects of health or the human journey are you interested in?

  How people heal, the resilience of the human spirit, using our creativity in every area of life, the potential of each person, the flow and directing of energy and connectedness or disconnectedness and to sum it up I love the complexity and nuance of people and how each persons journey is similar in some respects and totally individual in other respects.

• What methods do you use?

  The framework of therapy is an important method in the process. For me it's seeing clients once week (sometimes more if needed) on the same day, same time. That consistency and containment is important in the process. We also explore the key areas of a persons past including family and other relaitonships, the culture and environment a person grew up in, exploring any traumas, crisis or other significant events. Exploring and shedding light on the subconscious and unconscious is a big part of the process. I think of it as similar to what we refer now to "Self Awareness", the unconcious and subconscious are a big piece of that puzzle and important to take into consideration. There is also much of the treatment that is based on each persons needs, but the above is the foundation. I also sometimes recommend tools like meditation, grounding exercises, breath work or books that I think might be helpful to someone.

• When do you think the client will start to feel that progress is being made?

  What I find with longer term, depth oriented therapy that i do is that the changes people experience do take longer and are more subtle, but also are powerful and longer term changes. The people I work with notice differences in how they respond to life circumstances and/or people in their lives. They notice changes in how they feel about themselves, how they experience their past. They are able to not just make sense of the past, but also have it be integrated into who they are in a healthy way, but also not be defined by it. People also notice feeling more integrated and whole in general and experience more self agency.

• How has therapy made a difference in your life?

  Its made a massive difference. In my own therapy, I was able to build my self awareness about my own patterns, explore my history and do healing I needed to do. Growth is an ongoing thing though and I think one of the gifts of therapy is that it can give you tools that you can continue to cultivate in yourself throughout your life. My therapist Anne has been a big inspiration to how I work.

• What do you like most about being a therapist?

  I find this work so special and amazing to be able to walk alongside people in this journey and to see them make changes that help them heal and grow. In this time period we live in I also love that most therapy is still 2 people in a room with no laptops (unless it's online!), no phones, it's just real and raw. I think its an incredibly special space and I feel honoured to do this work with people.

• Do you ever have 'bad hair' days?

  Yes! Especially because I live in humid Sydney with curly hair

• What do you think is the most significant problem we face, in the world today?

  Disconnection from ourselves, others and nature. When I am out, I notice people just looking/living in their phones. On the surface, it may look like they are self absorbed, but they are not even absorbed in themselves, they/we are absorbed in our phones, social media, etc. I think unfortunately we will continue to see more mental health issues growing out of this in the future.

• Can you share the name of a book, film, song, event or work of art that inspires you?

  There is so much that inspires me, so I'll a few. I have been studying middle eastern dance a music for over two decades and the music and cultures the music and dance come from inspire me. Also being a dancer as well as a therapist gives me a deep appreciation for the connection of mind and body. Really, it's one and the same! other influences are reading and authors, I'm a huge reader. Some favourite authors are Anne Rice, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Anais Nin, Donald Winnicott, Carl Jung, Tom Ogden and tons of authors both professional and just for fun reading. Finally I am hugely inspired by music. I love Rock music, Blues, Jazz, Soul, Folk and Motown.