Here to Help

Welcome to Southdowns Psychotherapy and Counselling, a private practice led by Alana Burton (CTA, MBACP).

Are you struggling with something you can’t seem fix alone? Perhaps you need to support to work through something together with your partner in couples therapy? Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed by something that’s going on for you? Therapy sessions provide an understanding and challenging environment through which you can develop emotional resilience and experience optimal growth.

I engage in conversations with people, like you, who may be experiencing some sort of emotional challenges. I believe that emotional distress, can be complex and bewildering. It can also be viewed as a legitimate emotional response to certain life experiences. As a therapist my role is to help you gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your circumstances. I will support you to utilise existing strengths more effectively. We can also can also work on developing new strategies to facilitate your personal growth and transformation.

Together, we will delve into your unique experiences and personal history to create a coherent narrative that will guide you toward a more fulfilling future.

I am located in the village of Washington (RH20) in West Sussex, and I work with individuals and couples seeking to enhance their overall well-being and relationships. Additionally, I offer psycho-educational groups and group therapy sessions. Regardless of your motivations for seeking therapy, it is my belief that we all strive for greater emotional fulfilment, and counselling and psychotherapy can be instrumental in helping us achieve that objective.

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Alana Burton

Therapy & Counselling Services

Couples Therapy

For yourself and your partner

Group Therapy

Join a supportive community

Supervision

For your clinical work

Issues I Help With

Abuse

Emotional Abuse, Physical Abuse, Domestic Violence, Sexual Abuse, Drug & Alcohol Abuse

How Can Therapy Help Me?

My role is to support you increase an understanding on what is going on for you and your situation. I can help you to gain the resources you need to help bring about changes in your life.

Therapy can help you navigate feelings, develop better behaviours and support you to relate to your thoughts differently so that you can live the life you want.

We don’t always have to be experiencing some sort of difficulty or trauma or going through a rough patch to benefit from therapy.

Therapy can help us achieve our potential, lead more engaging, enriched lives and to have more emotionally satisfying relationships both with ourselves and with others. It may be a time of crisis that brings us to therapy but many people find they get so much more than they anticipated!

What Can I Expect?

Starting therapy can be quite a daunting process and during our initial sessions we will have the chance to unpack the issues you want to bring in more depth and to work together to establish a working therapeutic relationship together.

I recommend that at the start of therapy you let me know the range of difficulties you may be facing and also about any misgivings or preconceptions you may have. This will give us the chance to work together to ensure they are addressed at the appropriate time and pace for you.

Your Therapy

Professional
Qualifications

Qualified Practitioner and Certified Transactional Analyst (CTA(P)), Dip. TA Practice, Clinical member of UKCP, Registered member of BACP (MBACP).

Convenient
Locations

West Sussex location in Washington (RH20). Washington is just off the A24 and within easy distance of Storrington, Steyning, Ashington, Thakeham, West Chilt, Worthing and surrounding villages. Daytime (Mon to Fri only) and evening appointments available.

Memberships
& Insurance

I am fully insured and a member of professional bodies including BACP, UKCP, UKATA.

Frequently Asked Questions

Testimonials

Note that these testimonials are from colleagues and people I have worked with outside of the therapy room. The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) Code of Ethics prohibits psychotherapists from using client testimonials in any advertising and so if you see a therapist publishing testimonials anywhere, you can be sure they are not adhering to this code.

Having worked on several therapeutic projects with Alana, including a workshop where she presented on several aspect of TA, I found her to be compassionate, insightful, and a really effective group facilitator who managed to create a sense of understanding and calm with an audience who had a wide range of understandings.

CD

Latest Blog Posts

3 April 2025

Is Time Really a Healer?

Pop Culture and Loss I recently finished the Netflix series One Day. (Spoiler alert—if you haven’t seen it yet, you might want to pause here and come back once you…

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Ready to Make a Change? Book an Initial Consultation Today

If you have any questions at all about therapy or would like to make an appointment, get in touch. I will usually be able to respond to you within 24 hours.