Ilkay Alici, BACP

Ilkay Alici welcomes people seeking help with relationship strain, anxiety and stress, trauma and abuse, grief, parenting worries, low self-esteem, and difficulties with sleep or eating. She also supports those facing bipolar disorder, depression, addiction, ADHD, and issues around intimacy and communication. Ilkay works in English and Turkish and practises with a person-focused style. Ilkay uses a Client-Centred approach that places the person’s experience at the centre of sessions. She also draws on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to help spot unhelpful thinking and build different habits. Mindfulness techniques are offered to help ground attention and reduce rumination. Across 14 years of practice she has worked with a broad range of life challenges, including adoption and foster care issues, abandonment, attachment concerns, and carer stress. Her background includes supporting people through chronic illness, body image and grief, and helping those coping with career change and compassion fatigue. Sessions aim to be practical and down to earth. Ilkay focuses on clear goals and small steps the client can try between meetings. Conversations tend to be warm and non-judgemental while keeping attention on what the person wants to change. People who choose Ilkay usually look for help making daily habits more manageable and understanding the thoughts that maintain distress. She encourages collaboration so the work fits each person’s life and pace.

How Ilkay’s approaches translate to online work

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening and helping people feel heard. It aims to build a trusting relationship so the person can talk openly about what matters to them and decide on goals that feel right. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts and behaviours keep problems going. It breaks things down into small steps and uses practical tasks to test new ways of thinking and acting, which can help with anxiety, low mood and unhelpful habits. Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention practices. These help reduce overthinking and bring focus back to the present moment, which can ease rumination and stress. Finding the right approach is part of the work. Ilkay will discuss goals and preferences together and adapt methods so they suit the person. This collaborative process means techniques are chosen to match the client’s needs rather than imposing a single method. Online therapy can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, for example by reducing travel time or allowing a shorter check-in during a lunch break. It can also help when quieter surroundings or avoiding video are preferable for a session. Please confirm the current session options before booking so you know which formats are available.