I’ll help you understand your reactions and symptoms and support you in expanding your capacity.
My work often sits at the intersection of medicine, therapy, and coaching - addressing the physiological connections that are rarely explained in full. So often there isn’t a root cause.
My speciality is understanding how nervous system signals drive physiology, so we focus on health and practical tools to help you regulate, and on coaching you to explore what is possible. Are you hoping to recover, or to recover and then perform at your highest level?
If you’re honest with yourself and open to the journey, you’ll find yourself approaching life differently — with more trust, ease, and self-connection.
I believe you can.
Build the confidence to trust yourself
I worked in sports journalism, running a small sports news agency for over 25 years. I was always intrigued by what separated the players who made it big from those who didn’t. It was rarely just talent or fitness. How did they cope at a critical moment? How did they fit into the team, speak to the media, and get on with the coach? Different coaches, different styles, psychologists became more involved - I was fascinated.
That journalistic instinct stayed with me: go to trusted sources, look for two sides of the story, and ask what else could be happening. It’s how I still approach this work - learning from the Polyvagal Institute’s ongoing education and conferences, from the SSP and RRP provider community, from my own lived experience, and from the clients I work with.
About me
I’ve had a few times when things fell apart - illness, career, family circumstances. Each time, I noticed the same thing I’d observed in sport. Pushing through often made things worse. Support, a change of pace, and a different perspective improved the situation.
Real change means shifting how you think, noticing how you feel, and finding resources that help when things get hard.
I My lived experience
The personal story that most shaped my practice is on the homepage — caring for a family member through Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, dysautonomia and POTS while keeping my own work and life together. What I learned then, and what continues to be confirmed through my ongoing study of Polyvagal Theory, is that conditions like these aren’t isolated problems with a single hidden cause. They reflect the body’s shared regulatory architecture responding to prolonged threat - the nervous system doing exactly what it’s built to do, even when that looks like exhaustion or shutdown from the outside.
That understanding is at the heart of everything I do.
My work
I help people work with their nervous system rather than against it - whether they’re rebuilding capacity after illness, recovering from burnout, or trying to perform at their best without running themselves into the ground. My work sits at the intersection of medicine, therapy and coaching, addressing the connections that are rarely explained in full elsewhere. An understanding of this is also what makes elite performance without burnout possible.
I am a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with the International Coaching Federation, a Martha Beck Master Coach, and a certified Safe and Sound Protocol and Rest and Restore Protocol provider. I continue to learn and stay up to date through the Polyvagal Institute’s ongoing education and conferences.
I work online from Cape Town, South Africa, and sometimes from the UK. My clients are worldwide.
Do you feel safe enough to be who you really are?
“Weekly coaching with Alison has helped me with my preparation for training and for matches, and my confidence as a player has increased. Discussing the things that happen around me and how to react has been valuable. It helps me not be distracted by them and I can stick to my path or my goal. Having somebody you talk to regularly gives that accountability. Sometimes you forget something that you said, so having somebody who can remind you what you did then or that this situation has happened before, I think that makes a big difference.”
– SP (Germany)
Thank you Alison for a professional and calm approach to my problems. It seemed to me that I was in a hopeless situation, but thanks to Alison I put all my emotions in order and learned that not always I need to be responsible for everything in everyone's lives. I highly recommend her!
- W (Poland)
I found it really easy to talk with Alison. She strikes a brilliant balance between allowing me to voice my thoughts and emotions, while steering the conversations in thought provoking directions. The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) course has really helped me to become more aware of my nervous system's abilities to self-regulate and co-regulate. Helping me better realise when things are bothering me, but i haven't consciously realised it yet. Its like my body was always sending me signals but i wasn't able to properly listen. SSP has allowed for more clarity and awareness, allowing me to better understand my nervous system and what i can offer myself to help heal and restore.
RP (South Africa)
I value privacy. All testimonials are purposefully initials only.
Ali has been invaluable in helping me navigate through many of life's turmoils and unpredictabilities. She's incredibly kind, caring, and patient, masterfully bringing my focus back from my rambling to what really matters, my own healing and wellbeing. Her ability to teach nervous system regulating tools, delve into past traumas, and facilitate the development of lasting metaphors is simply outstanding, and her presence in my life has helped me cope with some major life challenges. Thank you, Ali, for all that you do.
- BL (South Africa)
Coaching with Ali, together with my very close, long term friend, continues to be life transforming for me. Accepting, non judgemental, empathetic, listening, interactive, mutual, supportive, reassuring, skilled, experienced, equipping - are some of the many words that describe Ali and our coaching process together. I am most grateful to her and my friend for their significant contribution to my life. This process has been very valuable in helping me in my family and with my coaching of others.
AW - South Africa
If your brain and your nervous system are not on the same page, in the moment, your brain may win, but in the long run, your nervous system is going to win.
Deb Dana
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