Allene Hatherell
Psychotherapy & Counselling
About Allene
Psychotherapy shaped by professional experience & real life
I'm Allene, an integrative psychotherapist based in Glasgow, working with adults online across the UK.
I've been working therapeutically with people for more than 25 years, but the route that brought me here hasn't been particularly straightforward.
I originally trained as a nurse and midwife before life took me overseas. I lived and worked in Germany, Singapore, Indonesia and China before returning to the UK in 2009. Along the way, I studied psychology and women's studies, completed a Master's in Counselling Studies and eventually trained in CBT, EMDR and other therapeutic approaches.
My work has taken me from crisis support and international schools in Shanghai to Rape Crisis, the NHS, private practice and teaching counselling and psychotherapy. Today, I bring that breadth of experience into my work with each individual client.
A little bit about me
I don't believe therapists arrive in the room without a history of their own.
I was adopted and spent part of my childhood at boarding school. I've lived in several countries, raised a family, experienced bereavement, changed careers and continued studying throughout adult life. I'm now also a grandmother. Some chapters have been wonderful; others have required rather more navigating.
I'm also late-diagnosed AuDHD and dyscalculic. Receiving that diagnosis later in life gave me another perspective on experiences I'd carried for many years. It also reinforced something important to me professionally: there isn't one correct way to think, learn, communicate or make sense of the world.
My own neurodivergence doesn't make me an expert on somebody else's. It does mean I understand personally what it can be like to discover, later in life, that there may be another explanation for things you have previously found difficult.
When I'm not working or studying, I'm usually reading, travelling when I get the chance, walking my dogs or simply enjoying some quiet time.
Why I became a psychotherapist
I have always been interested in people's stories: what happens to us, what we carry with us and how we make sense of our experiences.
My career began in nursing and midwifery and gradually moved towards counselling and psychotherapy. Over the years I've worked with people experiencing trauma, abuse, anxiety, depression, major life changes and circumstances they perhaps never expected to face.
More than 25 years into this work, I'm still learning. I still undertake training, read, reflect, receive supervision and occasionally find myself wondering whether I'm "good enough" to take the next step. I've come to think that curiosity is an important part of being a therapist. I don't want to reach a point where I assume I have people figured out.
Experience you can trust
25+ years' experience
Across psychotherapy, counselling, NHS, third-sector, education and private practice.
EMDR practitioner
Trained in EMDR for trauma and PTSD, with ongoing monthly EMDR supervision.
BABCP accredited
Accredited CBT psychotherapist since 2017.
Clinical supervisor & educator
Former counselling and psychotherapy lecturer, with COSCA supervision training.
Explore my approaches: CBT | EMDR | Neurodivergent therapy | Sandplay | Supervision
Still curious
I don't consider training something that ended when I qualified. I continue to undertake professional development, clinical supervision and further study. I'm currently training in Jungian Sandplay, an approach that has allowed me to explore another way of understanding experiences that aren't always easily expressed through words.
My own experience of the Sandplay process has reminded me that therapy can continue to surprise us, even after decades of working as a therapist.
Away from the therapy chair
I love my work, but I'm also have interests outside the therapy room. I love travelling and have been fortunate enough to live in several parts of the world. I'm an enthusiastic reader, a dog walker, a mother and grandmother, and I value the quieter parts of life too.
Despite spending a considerable portion of my life studying people, I don't expect anyone who comes to therapy to arrive neatly packaged with an explanation for how they feel. Sometimes we simply start with what's happening now and work it out together.