Alistair Semmence
Hello,
I’m a mixed-race (British-Thai) and queer trainee psychotherapist based in Peckham, South London. My pronouns are he/him.
ABOUT ME
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.
My 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.
I’m passionate about working with people from minoritised communities, having first-hand experience navigating the unique challenges that come with multiple identities. I recognise that larger social and cultural forces often influence how we experience the world. In our work together, we may explore how aspects of your identity - like race, gender, class, sexuality, and ability - are shaped by and connected to these broader systems.
Sessions
I work with individual adults on a weekly basis, which can be in-person in Peckham or online. Sessions are 50 minutes and we’ll meet at the same time every week.
My fee for an initial session is £40 and if you decide we’re a good fit and want to work together, sessions are £60 after this.
During our initial session, we'll speak about what you're looking to get out of therapy as well as understand whether you're looking for short-term or longer-term therapy.
If you want to get in touch to arrange an initial session or ask me any questions, you can reach me at hello@alistairsemmence.com.