Alan Williams, PACFA

Alan Williams does not follow a medical model of diagnosis and prescription. He focuses on helping people uncover the meaning behind their emotions, experiences, relationships, history, thoughts and beliefs so they can cope and thrive in everyday life. He is often described by clients as "warm and engaging" and seeks to offer empathy, compassion and maitri rather than a clinical checklist.

Alan is fundamentally a relationship counsellor who has trained in couple and family therapy and views many difficulties through the lens of attachment and connection. He is a PACFA Registered Clinical Counsellor and a Certified Imago Therapist, using Imago dialogues with couples to repair disconnection, deepen emotional intimacy, clarify needs for feeling loved and cared for, and to teach ways of asking for support that substantially improve the chance of those needs being met.

He works with grief and loss, including voluntary assisted dying, and has a particular interest in helping people and their families when discoveries about biological parentage arise from adoption, donor conception or other non-paternity events. Alan also clears specific phobic reactions using a refined tapping technique derived from Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and the desensitisation element of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Clients do not need a formal diagnosis of an anxiety or phobic disorder to benefit; if a distinct trigger can be identified, there is a good chance of relief.

Alan spent 15 years part-time as a Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner and has extensive experience supporting parents, particularly victims of domestic abuse, through mediation on financial settlements and arrangements for children. He also worked 18 years part-time in an Employee Assistance Program and brings 38 years of his own workplace experience to help with psychological and relational workplace issues. Although his profile lists anxiety among areas he can help with, he suggests people seeking a primary anxiety specialist may prefer a clinician who identifies that as their main focus. He works only with adult individuals (18+) and couples, and can sometimes offer sessions outside standard appointment times by request.