Fluent*Field

therapeutic counselling

Alex Hannay MBACP | York & Harrogate UK

© Fluent Field 2022

about counselling.

The pandemic has heightened the feeling for many of us that we may need support coming to understand ourselves and how best to meet the challenges life can bring.

  • Bereavement

  • Loneliness

  • Anxiety

  • Creative Block

  • Parenthood

  • Self-Esteem

  • Impact of Past Events

  • Shame

  • Carer Fatigue

  • Professional Change

  • Grief

  • Depression

  • Relationships

  • Life Transitions

  • Loss

  • Guilt

My name is Alex Hannay. You can find more about me here. With regular therepeutic counselling I support people dealing with these challenges in the York and Harrogate area and online across the UK.

We each have our own particular blend of resources and limitations, specific to us and unique as a fingerprint.That's why therepeutic counselling at Fluent Field doesn't provide 6-step plans, workbooks or programmes. It's open, free-flowing and exploratory.It takes the time to clear a regular safe space in which to unpack the events, relationships and emotions that you bring with you to this moment.To think about your feeling and feel your thinking. To talk, to laugh, to be tired, angry, uplifted or simply just to take the time to be. With compassion, empathy and without judgment.Effective therapy will help support you in the short-term but also, from making safe but powerful contact with your self in the presence of another, enable your own individual potential for long-term growth.

where & how.

Face to face counselling is provided in York & Harrogate.
Quiet, private rooms give clients the opportunity to step outside of their everyday routines and focus on themselves without distraction.Remote counselling is provided for clients across the UK.
Secure video conferencing can provide effective therapy when clients can access space and privacy at home.Telephone counselling can be offered where accessibility is a concern or technology could get in the way, coming between therapist and client.Sessions last for 50 minutes at £55 per session.

current availability.

  • Day (Harrogate/York)

  • Evening (Harrogate/York)

  • Weekend

How to start?I understand reaching out for help may feel difficult.
Contact me here and we'll arrange to speak on the phone to get to know each other a bit better. Then, if you wish to proceed, we'll book a first appointment.

How long does counselling take?The number of sessions is tailored to your requirements and discussed in initial assessment. 10 sessions is a good guide for focused short term work. Many clients wish for long term counselling, enabling a deeper exploration of their selves and sustained support as they move forward.You may extend or reduce the number of sessions as you go, according to your need.

about me.

Dr Alex Hannay
Dip, MBACP

BACP Reg Member 391465

My therapeutic practice allies an understanding of how the past informs us in the here and now with a strongly empathetic relationship building based on years of experience working in palliative care.I began Fluent Field to bring that experience working with bereavement, grief, carer fatigue and difficult transitions to meet a wide set of needs. I've worked with clients on issues such as anxiety, professional change, parenthood, depression, loneliness, the effects of the pandemic and the ongoing impact of damaging events and relationships in their past. I've also had clients who simply value the time to reflect and come to know themselves better in a calm, restorative space.I have worked with adults of all ages, from those navigating their early twenties through to clients well into their eighties, reflecting on the changes in perspective those different stages of life can bring.

As an MBACP I am a registered member of the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy).From your point of view, this provides assurance that I have been trained to a high standard and continue to work in a professional and ethical manner according to their code of conduct.

I am an Integrative Therapist, using a core model of Transactional Analysis.This means I place you at the centre of your own counselling using a flexible range of approaches to best meet your particular needs rather than embark on a particular set course or program.

I was trained at the Northern Guild of Counselling and Psychotherapy, accredited by both the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

As an MBACP I have an extended DBS check, am fully insured, registered as a data controller with the ICO and undergo regular supervision to ensure safety and standards for my clients.

I began work in palliative care to bring my experience as an oral historian, helping people reflect on their lives, to an area of front-line need. My doctorate is in cultural history, considering the complex ways in which individuals and communities draw different meanings from their shared past.

getting in touch.

To make an appointment or simply talk further about what can be offered, please leave your details below.All messages are securely transmitted and treated in confidence.

telephone.

thank you

I will be in touch shortly.Please check your Spam / Junk mail if you haven't had a reply within 24 hours.I look forward to speaking with you soon.

client confidentiality policy.

In my work as a therapeutic counsellor, I, Dr. Alex Hannay act as a data controller. I am responsible for collecting and for processing the information that you have provided to me. Processing includes the organisation, retrieval, consultation, use, storing and destruction of information and its disclosure to other parties.When you provide me with information about yourself and your family, this information is protected and securely stored.The main reason that your data is used by myself is so that a service can be provided to you. This service will be managed through a contract that we each sign. The key legal basis I use for the processing of the data is that it is a necessary part of the contract referred to above. I also ask for your consent to do so.In some circumstances it might be necessary for myself to share the information that you have disclosed to me with further individuals or organisations. Reasons for doing this include, but are not limited to:

  • as part of my duty to protect a child, a vulnerable adult, yourself or the public

  • for the prevention and detection of a crime

  • if I am required to do so by a court of law

I may also use some of this information for other reasons, such as to:

  • maintain records

  • respond to any enquiries you make about the services I have provided

  • investigate complaints

  • meet my statutory obligations

  • ensure the accuracy of my records

I keep information about you strictly confidential. This means that I store it securely and control who has access to it. I never use or share it for marketing purposes.I will only share such information as necessary, and where I am satisfied that the other individual or organisation is entitled to receive it.If you believe that information I hold about you is incorrect, or if you have concerns about how I am handling this information, please contact me.If you wish to have your personal information deleted, please let me know and I will take reasonable steps to remove it unless I need to keep it for legal, insurance, auditing, internal risk management or archiving purposes.If you would like further information then please contact me.Dr Alex HannayYou can also refer to the Information Commissioner’s Office website. Their website explains your rights in relation to the information we hold.

website privacy statement.

This website is operated by Dr Alex Hannay, BACP member 391465 (‘We’).We comply with data protection legislation and are the registered ‘Controller’ with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) – reference ZA501871. We regularly review our privacy notices and this notice was last reviewed and updated in February 2022.When needed we may change this privacy notice. You should check this page from time to time to ensure you are happy with any changes.What information do we collect through this website?We will collect the following information:

  • Name

  • Contact information including email address and phone number

  • Sensitive personal information related to enquiries

Why do we collect your information?We need your information:

  • To respond to enquiries for counselling and therapy

  • To understand your needs and provide you with a quality service

  • For internal record keeping

  • To improve our products and services

  • To customise our website according to your interests

We will:

  • Only ask you for the information that is necessary

  • Protect it and make sure nobody has access to it who shouldn’t

We ask that you:

  • Give us accurate information

  • Tell us as soon as possible of any changes

What is our legal basis for using your information?We will use your information because you are asking us to do something on your behalf (e.g. provide counselling or therapy services) or where we need to, we will have asked for your explicit and informed consent. We will only use your information for the purposes described and as set out in this privacy notice.Sharing and ReportingWe may use your information to create reports and statistics that are anonymous and cannot be linked back to you (e.g. number of clients served in a particular time period).We may be required or permitted, under data protection legislation, to disclose your information without your explicit consent, e.g. if we have a legal obligation to do so, such as law enforcement, regulation and licensing, criminal prosecutions and court proceedings.We will not sell or lease your personal information to third parties under any circumstances.CookiesA “cookie” is a string of information which assigns you a unique identifier that we store on your computer. Your browser then provides that unique identifier to use each time you submit a query to the site. We use cookies on this website to, among other things, keep track of services you have used, record registration information, record your user preferences, keep you logged into the website, and track the pages you visit. Cookies help us understand how the site is being used and improve your user experience. To understand more about Cookies and how we use them, please read our Cookie Policy.Links to other websitesThis website may contain links to easily enable you to visit other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave this website, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information that you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy notice. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy notice applicable to the website in question.Controlling your personal informationYou may amend your personal information at any time or request full deletion of your information by contacting the website controller.StorageWe will keep your information securely with our email provider, Ionos. All reasonable measures at security are taken, including all transmissions being encrypted, two factor authentication and strong passwords. Your data is also stored on our local storage. Again, all reasonable security measures are taken to protect this data, including encryption, strong passwords and personal authentication.How long will we keep your personal data for?We will only keep your personal data for as long as is necessary and then when we no longer have a need for it, we will securely and confidentially destroy it from site backups. This will be after the expiry of the statutory retention period of six years.Further processingIf we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Privacy Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice explaining this new use prior to commencing the processing and setting out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and whenever necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing, if we start to use your personal data for a purpose not mentioned in either this Privacy NoticeYour rightsTo find out about your rights under Data Protection law, you can go to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice, want to exercise your rights, or if you have a complaint about how your information has been used, contact the website controller, Dr. Alex Hannay.