The Clearing

Clarity before decisions.

A private place to work through what is going on.

Ask AltoSee how it works

Private. Free to start. No decision required.

Most decisions are not made badly. They are made too quickly, with only part of the picture in view, usually while something else is pressing.

The Clearing is somewhere to slow one thing down. You say what is going on, in your own words. Nothing is scored, nothing is graded and nothing moves unless you move it.

What happens when you use it

  • You say what is going on

    In your own words, typed or spoken. There is no form to fill in and no category to pick first.

  • Ask Alto asks the next question

    Ask Alto asks questions that help you slow the situation down and see what else may be connected. It does not give advice or tell you what to do.

  • You see what else is connected to it

    Work, money, health, love and family rarely stay in their own boxes. You can look at one part without pretending the others are not there.

  • You receive a handback

    At the end, The Clearing hands back what seems true, what remains uncertain, what you may be protecting and what can wait for another day. You can keep it if you want.

What is inside The Clearing

Privacy

Your writing is not sold or made public. You can delete material saved to your account.

What it is not

It is not therapy, it is not a crisis service and it is not a coach with a plan for your life.

Urgent support

If you are in danger or in crisis, please use urgent support instead. The page includes 999, NHS 111 and Samaritans.

Urgent support

Free access

You can start without paying and without an account. Free use is an allowance counted by use, not a trial with a date on it, so nothing expires while you are in the middle of something. An account is only needed to keep what you write.

Membership

Membership lets you continue using Ask Alto beyond the free allowance, opens the full set of sessions and workshops and gives you more ways to keep and return to what you have written.

  • £79 a year
  • £8.99 a month
See membership options

Membership continues until you stop it. Your access runs to the end of the period you have paid for, and nothing you have written is affected.

The book is a separate thing

The book is bought once and owned permanently. The Clearing is bought separately and neither one is folded into the other. If you own the book, it stays yours whatever happens to membership.

Read about the book

Questions people ask

Do I need an account?
Not to start. You can say what is going on and be asked the next question without one. An account is only needed to keep what you write between visits.
What can I use free?
The conversation with Alto, within a free allowance counted by use rather than by date. Nothing runs out in the middle of something.
How much is membership?
Membership is charged monthly or yearly, and the current prices are shown above. There is no other charge and nothing else is added at checkout.
Can I cancel?
Yes, at any time. Membership continues until you stop it, and your access runs to the end of the period you have already paid for.
What happens to saved writing if membership ends?
It stays yours. Writing saved to your account is not deleted when membership ends, it stays visible to you, and you can delete it yourself whenever you want.
Is The Clearing therapy?
No. It is not therapy, not treatment and not a crisis service. If you need any of those, please use them. Alto asks questions rather than giving advice, and one honest ending is that nothing needs to change.
Do I need to own the book?
No. The book and The Clearing are bought separately and either one works on its own.
Is my writing used for advertising or analytics?
No. What you write is never sent to advertising or analytics, never sold and never shown to other members. We count that something happened, never what was said.

There is nothing to set up.

Bring one thing. You can stop at any point, and nothing is kept unless you keep it.

Ask Alto