“Family is not an
important thing.
It's everything.”
Michael J. Fox

"Stop seeking out the
storms and enjoy the
sunlight"

Gordon B. Hinckley

"A good laugh heals
a lot of hurts"

Madeleine L’Engle

Hello!

My name is Alaina Gomes and I am the Founder of Guiding Lanes. I am an Antiguan born and raised Counselling Psychologist who has a passion for mental and physical health. My interest in mental health led me to pursue a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in Psychology degree at York University in Toronto, Ontario in Canada, and shortly after a Master of Science degree in Counselling Psychology, with distinction from The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus in Barbados.

During my time in Canada, I was trained in Suicide prevention and Art and Play Therapy, which are skills and techniques I utilize regularly in my practice. While in Barbados, I assessed and provided therapeutic interventions for people at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Dodds Prison, the Barbados Family Planning Association Clinic and Youth Outreach Department, as well as The Barbados Women’s Shelter for women who have been abused.

When I returned to Antigua, I started working with Integrated Health Outreach Inc, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, to implement a Social Emotional Learning Programme in the public Primary schools for about 2 years.

I have partnered with CHATS Antigua to provide therapy for children who have various communication problems and have worked with the Department of Gender Affairs to provide psychosocial services to gender-based violence victims.

I am a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society with Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC), and a certified Child Behavior Specialist.

I hope this page brings you the comfort, confidence and assurance you need to start your therapeutic journey with me if therapy is what you need right now. If therapy isn’t what you need at the moment, I hope my website can be a haven of knowledge, through our blog posts, that will enrich your mind, strengthen your heart and nourish your body.

With guiding love,

-Alaina

Specialties

Anger Management

Recognize, accept and control your response to your emotions

Career Counselling

Choose the career path that’s best for you

Depression

Start feeling happy again by increasing your self-esteem, positive thoughts and activities

LGBTQ Counselling

Learn more about yourself and who you would like to become

Relationships

Strengthen the connection with your partner

Self-esteem

Increase your self-worth and confidence

Anxiety

Learn ways to relax and change your negative thoughts to positive ones

Suicide prevention

Remove negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts and behaviors

Life Skills

Equip yourself with the skills necessary to improve your work, family and personal life

Latest Blog Posts

What is the RIGHT way to grieve?

What is the RIGHT way to grieve?

Many of you would have selected this blog post because you thought, “Great! Finally, an article that tells me how I’m supposed to grieve when I lose someone I love”. Some of you might have clicked the article to see if this post is going to talk about the five stages of grief and guide you down each stage, step…

Stress from all angles and how to cope with it

Stress from all angles and how to cope with it

Stress is a common feeling that all of us have felt at some point in our lives. Right now, many of us are feeling extremely stressed due to our regular stressors, like work for example, but many of our stressors have now been amplified and also include the stress that comes with trying to go about our daily lives during…

Does what we eat really affect our mood?

Does what we eat really affect our mood?

When we received a call or message from a loved one we usually feel happy or excited. A breakup may cause us to feel sad, or someone running into the back of our car by accident might cause us to feel upset. We know that events, people, situations, stress, and our environment affect our moods daily. But do we know…