ADVICE
Founder of talking therapies service bids fond farewell to colleagues and clients
Retiring – Alliance Psychological Services cofounder Anne Drummond .
IT ’ S BEEN GOOD TO TALK
WORDS : DAVE ROBSON PICTURES : STUART BOULTON
Since 2004 , Alliance Psychological Services has delivered vital counselling and therapy services to children , young people and adults across Teesside .
But what does success look like for this trusted Stockton-based service ? According to co-founder Anne Drummond , it ’ s fairly simple : “ That people feel better for having come in and talked .”
Speaking to Tees Business on the eve of her October 31 retirement , it ’ s clear that a desire to make a difference and help people has motivated this former civil servant and HR adviser with a linguisitics degree who , she freely admits , almost fell into therapy provision by accident .
After having her two children , in the mid-1990s she trained as a breast-feeding counsellor for the National Childbirth Trust – “ I was the Teesside breast-feeding lady ,” she smiles – on top of completing a generic counselling diploma .
Later , a friend told her a GP practice in Tennant Street , Stockton , needed a new therapist , so she applied and got the job .
In what Anne describes as a “ serendipitous moment ,” it emerged that one of the GPs had been asked to take the lead on commissioning talking therapies for the new Primary Care Trust , so Anne , along with some therapist colleagues , began discussions .
By 2000 , the plan they devised saw them delivering a primary care counselling
Home – Anne outside Alliance ’ s home in Yarm Road , Stockton . service across the new Stockton PCT area under the PACT label ( Psychotherapy and Counselling Therapy ).
Anne recalls : “ We had a really good , well-delivered service with wellqualified professionals . But we had no base , administration support , structures or management – we were a group of 15 , then 25 therapists who needed better organisation .”
Within two years , they had a base at 20 Yarm Road that they still occupy , and that enabled them to brand Alliance as a limited company in 2004 .
In 2010 , they expanded again , taking over a former solicitor ’ s office just two doors along , at No 24 .
Two of the three original directors , Anne and Leanda Kane-Fidgeon , are still in post . But for Anne , it ’ s now time to bid farewell to a service which , under her guidance , has made a positive difference to the mental health of thousands of Teessiders .
With 230 staff now on the payroll , the therapies Alliance offers cover three main categories : NHS adult psychological therapies , children , young people and families , and workplace wellbeing .
Over the years , there ’ ve been peaks and troughs – including the difficulties caused by austerity measures and , of course , Covid , which put increased demand on services at a time everyone was feeling the strain .
But while she ’ ll be sad to go , she knows Alliance is well-placed to continue successfully delivering those crucial services .
She said : “ I ’ m leaving a really healthy business . We have a range of contracts across all our service areas that are doing well and our big primary care contract , the Impact service , was a five-year contract that gave us security and stability , and it ’ s
expected to roll on for another few years yet .
“ It ’ s still all about working with our local communities . It could be our friends , colleagues , families , neighbours who use the services , so it ’ s really important we get them right .”
She admits she won ’ t miss the “ tricky decisions , the contracts , or the Thursday morning budget meetings .” Colleagues and clients , however , are a different matter .
She said : “ You ’ d expect to have lovely people in a talking therapies environment , and we do – I ’ ll miss that social element .”
Retirement will at least give her time for creative arts , walking and even learning the cello – as well seeing her first grandchild when he or she is born next year .
She will , however , keep her work registration open – just in case .
She said : “ It ’ s very strange for me not to have appointments in my diary ! It ’ s hard to stop doing something that has been helpful for people .
“ It ’ s been a challenge to juggle all the different roles , but it ’ s been a lovely experience too .”
For more about the services Alliance offer , visit alliancepsychology . com .
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