A single armchair in a quiet, sunlit room

Psychotherapeutic Counselling · Harley Street / Norwich / Online

Something keeps happening, and you're not sure why.

A calm, confidential space to understand what's going on underneath, and find a way forward that feels more like you.

Arrange a first conversation or call 07799 563910

UKCP Registered · In practice since 2005 · Bupa, Aviva & AXA PPP

Where we start, bring the thing you're most afraid is too much. I'll stay.

Where we start

Bring the thing you’re most afraid is too much. I’ll stay.

I won’t hand you answers, and I won’t hand you back. Here it’s steady enough that you can find your own — and I trust that you will.

Bring the thing you're most afraid is too much. I'll stay.
Martin Alderton
About Martin Alderton

Twenty years of staying with people in the hardest places they've been.

More than twenty years in residential mental health and addiction services, much of it alongside people in real distress, is where I learned that the relationship is the work.

A hand reaching up to support the underside of a heavy concrete slab beneath a monumental serif letter M — the relationship taking the weight.
Two hands and a curling ribbon passing between them — a steadiness that stays present and containing.

That work asks for a particular steadiness: present and containing when someone is struggling, and not needing them to be anywhere other than where they are. It's the same steadiness I bring to private practice, established in 2005.

A figure walking a narrow plank bridge across a gap between two cliffs.

Staying with you, for as long as it takes.

A more workable relationship with the person you already are.

SUPPORT, a hand resting a giant letter U on a concrete plinth.

Staying with you, for as long as it takes.

20+ years
Residential mental health & addiction services
Relational & trauma-informed
Understood, held, together
UKCP Registered
Full member, UK Council for Psychotherapy
Recognised provider
Bupa · Aviva · AXA PPP

I don't arrive as the expert on you. I help you become the expert on yourself.

I don't arrive as the expert on you. I help you become the expert on yourself.
Giant serif type reading 'The places this work most often begins', a figure walking through a doorway formed by the letters, above the line: people arrive with all sorts of things, each a doorway into the same work.
How I help

The places this work most often begins. People arrive with all sorts of things — these are some of the more common, each one a doorway into the same work, not a category you have to fit.

The approach, how the work moves

Change happens in the relationship.

Change happens in the relationship, two hands passing a serif letter R stitched back together.
i
Staying with

What is actually here

Bring what you have and we can make it manageable.

ii
Rupture & repair

A relationship that survives

Misunderstanding brings understanding.

iii
Working through

Understanding you can feel

Thinking needs room to breathe.

A figure walking a narrow plank bridge across a gap between two cliffs.
What changes over time

A more workable relationship with the person you already are.

Your problems won’t disappear — your relationship to them changes.

A giant number fifty forming a doorway; a figure in a long coat stands in the lit opening, holding the door.
Sessions

minutesonce a week,for as long
as it takes.

The rhythm

A reliable hour, held open each week, is what lets something difficult be brought into the room slowly, rather than managed alone between appointments.

What a session is

Fifty minutes, with no agenda you have to arrive with. Some weeks we follow a thread all the way through; some weeks we sit with something and let it stay unfinished. Both are the work.

i
First contact

A first conversation

A free fifteen-minute call, what's bringing you to therapy, and whether working together feels like a fit. No pressure to commit.

ii
Beginning

An initial session

A longer session, in person or online. Space to say more, to ask questions, and to begin mapping the territory.

iii
The rhythm

An ongoing rhythm

Weekly fifty-minute sessions, at the same time each week. The work settles best with a steady home in your week.

iv
Ending

A natural ending

We agree the work is done together. Endings matter, and we give them the time they need rather than letting things drift.

A large serif pound sign held aloft on an upturned hand
Fees

Clear, up-front, no surprises.

First conversation

15 minutes · by phone
No charge

Harley Street

50 minutes · weekly, in person
£110

Norwich

50 minutes · weekly, in person
£60

Online

50 minutes · secure video, Teams
£90
Bupa registered · Aviva & AXA PPP recognised provider
Frequently asked
A paper question mark held aloft, with the words Things people often want to know set inside its loop
01How long does therapy usually take?
It varies. Some people come for a few months to work through a specific difficulty; others find longer, open-ended work valuable. We review together every few months and let the work tell us when it is finished.
02Is what I say kept confidential?
Yes. Confidentiality is the foundation of the work. The only exceptions are statutory ones, risk to yourself or others, or a court order. I will always discuss this with you at our first meeting.
03Will my insurance cover sessions?
I am registered with Bupa, Aviva and AXA PPP. Most policies cover sessions with a UKCP-registered counsellor; check with your provider first and bring your authorisation code to our initial conversation.
04What if I'm not sure therapy is for me?
That is a good place to start from. A brief call is the cleanest way to find out, and there is no obligation either way.

Get in touch, an initial conversation, no obligation beyond the time it takes.

The words 'no obligation' in large serif type, a hand resting at the edge of a doorway

An initial conversation

beyond the time it takes.

admin@martinaldertoncounsellor.com 07799 563910
117 Harley Street, London W1G 6AT
Norwich NR2 · Online via Microsoft Teams