Dr.ssa Alessandra Merizzi – Psicologa e Psicoterapeuta

I am a clinical psychologist and Gestalt psychotherapist. I deliver psychological counselling and psychotherapy. I mainly work with young adults and adults with different degrees of psychological issues and relational difficulties. I earned my degree in clinical and community psychology at the University of Padua and my diploma in Gestalt psychotherapy at the Italian Gestalt Society based in Rome. Since 2014 I worked as a Psychotherapist at the Manchester Gestalt Centre (MGC) and in November 2015 I have started working as an Assistant Psychologist at the Memory Service, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust in Oldham. I am a member of the most recognised British professional bodies (BPS-FPOP, UKCP and soon HCPC). Also I am an active EAGT (European Association of Gestalt Therapy) member. The Gestalt psychotherapy approach is holistic. In other words it sees the person as a whole, mind and body are inseparable. The therapist works therapeutically with the person exploring various levels of their experience: cognition, imagination, perception, senses and emotions. The focus is on the present moment (here and now) and the aim is to improve the person’s awareness on their self and interacting with the other. In this way the person can learn and understand more on their self and on relational dynamics. The person learns how to recognise those dysfunctional aspects that affect both their inner feelings towards their self and their external ways of interacting. Thus, with the psychotherapist’s help, the individual experiments with new modalities of interaction both in making contact with the other and staying with oneself. Finally, considering past and unclosed experiences that continue to affect the person’s daily life with feelings such as anger, sufferance and bitterness, in the therapy room the person has the opportunity of closing that unfinished businesses and elaborate those experiences to enrich their self and move on from them. During my professional practice I have been working with people suffering from anxiety, panic attack, phobias, eating disorders, history of trauma, depression, relational problems, obsessions, self-harm, bereavement. I mostly work with young people, adults and older people. I also offer couple therapy. I attend conferences both nationally and internationally, sometimes I actively participate in them running workshops. I keep my professional knowledge updated attending CPD courses also I organise CPD events at the MGC and NHS services. To get more information about my academic qualifications and working experience, please have a look to my website and/or my Linkedin page.