Alison Whitwood

ACA Registered Counsellor | Somatic Psychotherapist | Wellness Coach

Hello, I’m Alison

I’m an ACA Registered Counsellor, psychotherapist and Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), which means I work with both your inner emotional world and physical wellbeing without treating them as something separate.

Many people come to me having already done a lot of work. They’ve read the books, tried protocols, understood their patterns, and pushed themselves to improve. What’s often missing isn’t effort or insight, but the capacity to stay present with themselves when things are uncomfortable, painful, or uncertain.

When you can stay with what you’re feeling and experiencing without overriding it or forcing change, something begins to reorganise on its own. Acceptance is not resignation. It’s the point where real movement becomes possible.

Who this approach tends to suit

You may be someone who is:

  • in recovery from addiction, codependency, or compulsive patterns and wanting deeper emotional healing alongside your recovery work

  • feeling trapped in cycles of anxiety, burnout, overwhelm, grief, or trauma responses that your nervous system keeps repeating

  • living with chronic illness, autoimmune symptoms, fatigue, or ongoing stress where your emotional and physical health clearly affect one another

  • highly self-aware and insightful, but still noticing that understanding your patterns hasn’t fully resolved them

  • someone who spends much of your life supporting others, including therapists, coaches, carers, and helping professionals who are often the strong one for everyone else

This work may not be the right fit if you’re looking for quick fixes, rigid protocols, or someone to tell you exactly what to do.

What happens in a session

Sessions are designed to give enough time and space for deeper work to unfold.

We begin with where you are, not just what you want to talk about, but how you’re arriving emotionally, physically, and mentally. From there, I guide the session based on what feels most relevant. Sometimes that means talking things through clearly. Sometimes it means slowing down enough to notice what your body is holding, build a stronger sense of internal safety, or work with imagery, metaphor, or symbolic material that emerges in real time. These aren’t techniques that get applied. They’re different ways of listening and responding, depending on what’s present.

I’m actively tracking pace and depth. Sometimes that means slowing things down so something can be properly felt and integrated. At other times it means being more direct, naming patterns or choices that are asking for attention. The work is responsive, but it isn’t unstructured.

This isn’t the kind of work that’s meant to be “done” in a single session. Change tends to unfold over time, through repeated experiences of being met, understood, and guided rather than pushed. Continuity matters, because it allows insights and shifts to settle and integrate.

How physical health fits into this work

I don’t treat physical health as a separate project or a set of behaviours to get right.

Food, inflammation, exhaustion, weight changes, and symptoms often carry emotional and nervous system information. Addressing them without understanding that context can lead to more pressure and self-blame.

Where appropriate, I support approaches such as theAutoimmune Protocol (AIP), but always in a way that takes the whole person into account, including emotional load, stress, history, and capacity.

Why I do this work

I do this work because I’ve needed it.

I’ve lived with chronic illness, faced significant health and emotional challenges, and committed to my own inner work over many years. This has taught me to stay humble, be realistic, and respect the body’s timing.

Alongside lived experience, I’ve been supported by skilled therapists, coaches, and teachers, and I’ve also trained extensively to support others.

Next steps

If this resonates with you, visit Work With Me to learn about sessions and practical details.

You’re also welcome to explore Qualifications, FAQs, and Blog if you'd like more background.

Book a Discovery Call

Send me a WhatsApp message to 0408 414 359