Ruth Richards, BACP

Ruth Richards is a BACP counsellor with 16 years of practice in the United Kingdom. She works with adults on issues such as stress, anxiety, anger, depression, grief and relationship difficulties. Ruth also supports people dealing with parenting challenges, career strain, compassion fatigue and the effects of trauma and abuse.

Ruth prefers a straightforward, down-to-earth style. She listens without judgement and adapts the pace of sessions to what each person needs. People come to her to reconnect with themselves, to process past hurts, or to learn practical skills for everyday pressures.

Her work is integrative, which means she draws on several approaches rather than using one single method. That allows her to mix techniques that suit the issue at hand and the person in the room. She offers both short-term and longer-term counselling depending on the goals people bring.

In session she helps people identify patterns that keep causing problems and sets realistic steps to change them. That can include practising different ways of handling difficult emotions, improving how someone communicates, or finding new strategies for coping with life changes. Ruth describes this as a collaborative process that asks for commitment and honest self-reflection.

Her additional focus areas include attachment issues, adoption and foster care, neurodiversity such as autism and Asperger syndrome, chronic illness and caregiver stress, body image and codependency. She accepts international clients and conducts work in English.

How her approaches translate to online work