Welcome to Counselling West Berkshire
Welcome, my name is Alma.Thank you for making contact..
I am a BACP registered counsellor offering sessions to adults and young people (age 16 plus).
Alma López-Tolman
MBACP Member 405255
B.Sc. Hons Biochemistry (University of London).
Enhanced DBS holder.
Spanish speaker.
About me
Early in my life I wavered between studying art or science. Although I wanted to study Art, my studies and working life started in Science. A Biochemistry degree allowed me to satisfy my curiosity to uncover, understand and explore the fascinating, infinitely small universe within us. Art has remained in me throughout my life in my love of visual and performing arts, poetry, beauty.
Life’s circumstances led me to a need to understand human nature, a desire to learn about myself and others, understand our emotions, choices, relationship issues, in a similar way that I had learnt Biochemistry, which in turn led me naturally to counselling and therapy.
How I Work
“The ability to be simultaneously thoughtful and emotional, to mix the poetry of human connection with a scientific mind, is the essence of a good psychotherapist”.
Louis Cozolino
This duality between the poetry of human connection with a scientific mind is implicit in me: my science background and curiosity enable me to be comfortable exploring new areas of neuroscience to deepen my knowledge and understanding of human nature, a desire to find the underlying cause beneath issues of concern into my practice, whilst keeping the emotional connection, seeing simultaneously both areas of our selves: mind and emotions.
Therapy demands that we use our heads and hearts, minds and bodies, knowledge and instincts, to glean all kinds of information and understand with compassion.
I am present in heart, body and mind, connecting what you bring to counselling, what you say, do and feel, to help you make sense of confusion, all along seeing who you are. In our relationship, I provide you with the emotional support you need to explore your stressors. I listen with calm, flexibility, openness to contradictions, centredness, to find the answers, deeper understanding and knowledge to uncover your own wisdom to fulfil your needs and wellbeing.
Location & Availability
I work in West Berkshire and North Hampshire, as well as the surrounding areas. I will provide full location details when we arrange our counselling sessions.
In addition to face-to-face therapy, I offer online sessions for clients in the wider area via Zoom. Alternatively, we could arrange walk sessions in nature by previous appointment, weather permitting.
Sessions last for 50 min, at the same time each week. Counselling requires weekly attendance, which would be expected as part of our agreement; short or long-term sessions can be agreed. All sessions are £50.00p paid in advance of the session by bank transfer or in cash. A minimum of 48 hr cancellation is kindly requested; 24 hr or less cancellation will be charged the full fee.
I have availability on Wednesdays from 4:00 to 6:00 pm in Newbury, and Thursdays from 2:00 – 4:00 pm in Kingsclere. Further availability will be announced in future as it arises.
Please, contact me by email to arrange an initial assessment appointment which will consist of a 20 min telephone consultation to discuss your needs, answer any questions you may have, and find out whether we could work together.
The first step is the hardest, and you have already taken it by reading my profile. If you think we can work together, I look forward to hearing from you either by leaving me a telephone message, or an email.
Thank you!
Testimonials
Some frequently asked questions
Many therapists tend to view Counselling as ‘short-term’ work; when someone has a problem that can be looked at and discussed in a clearly-resolvable way. This work often requires undertaking sessions for a certain number of weeks, to explore, discover and clarify a way forward. Therapy is a word used more to describe ‘long-term’ work; discussion that tends towards substantial issues and things that might be life-changing on a deeper level.
Whether counselling or therapy work best as a short- or long-term option depends on the client though, and the difficulties they are facing. In some cases counselling can prove helpful as a continuing, longer-term option, or therapy can help resolve an issue in just a few sessions.
There’s no fixed or ideal length of time for the counselling process; it varies from person to person and will often depend on the depth of the issues they are facing. While I can work on an open-ended basis with clients, I find it is helpful for us to both agree before we start on undertaking a certain number of sessions and reviewing where we are at once we reach that point. You are able to decide how long your therapy will last, and in return my aim is to make sure therapy continues for only as long as it is of benefit to you.
This depends on what your needs are. Some people find that after only a very few sessions they have some clarity and focus and are ready to end the therapy. Other people value the ongoing support and relationship with me and will continue to come for weeks, months, or even years. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' when it comes to therapy.
My aim is to offer you a first appointment, known as an assessment session within 1-2 weeks, this is once we receive your completed client pack back. However, waiting times will vary according to pressure on our resources, your own availability and the service you seek.
An appointment to our short term counselling, which is not subsidised, can be offered within about one week.
Confidentiality is one of the main ways in which therapy differs from many other forms of helping - for example, talking to friends or family can rarely offer the same degree of confidentiality as talking to a counsellor. Because of this confidentiality, you will find that - as you get used to coming for therapy - you are freer to talk about whatever you wish to.
No therapist can offer 100% confidentiality: there are some situations where the law requires disclosure of risk (e.g. certain child protection issues) and in common with most other therapists, there are some situations where I may not be able to keep total confidentiality. In particular, if someone tells me that they are thinking of harming themselves in a way that I believe puts them at serious risk, or if someone tells me that they are doing something that could put others at risk, I may not be able to keep such information confidential. However, breaking confidentiality is rare, and only happens after talking to the person concerned.
When you come for counselling it's important that you feel free to talk about whatever is important to you. Sometimes, you may not be clear what those issues are. Having a friend or family member with you is not usually helpful because they may have their own agenda for you. Even if this is just that they want to be supportive, or want you to 'get better', this agenda can prevent us opening issues up. When you come for therapy, you may need to explore thoughts or behaviours about which you feel ashamed or embarrassed and you may censor yourself so as not to hurt someone, or you may find that what they want you to talk about is not really what you need to discuss.
Sometimes, family/friends can even be part of an underlying issue which needs to be aired and discussed. Usually, people who ask this question are nervous about coming for a session alone, or they are anxious for the person who is thinking about arranging sessions. This anxiety is quite normal, and you will not be forced to talk about anything you feel uncomfortable about - but you do need to be able to talk about whatever is important. For this reason, I do not see clients accompanied by friends or family.