Kathleen Richardson

I work face to face in Ealing  and online wherever you are during the day and evening.  We can swap between the two as needed.

As a person-centred counsellor  I will work with you according to your needs, your pace and your comfort level to help you get the support you need.

Chosing a counsellor from a directory is a somewhat random choice necessitating a leap in the dark, trying to guess from a photo and some words whether a counsellor could be the right one for you. A free introductory phone call gives us both the chance to find that out before committing to a session. I would encourage trying a number of counsellors before making a decision.

We build a relationship together that enables you to explore what you need from therapy and how you might achieve these changes. Seeking counselling is reaching out for a helping hand, wanting to change and recognising that you cannot do it all on your own.

It's not an easy journey and is rarely pain-free but my role is to accompany you and lessen the burden.

Do look around my website for more details of me, the person-centred approach I follow, and how it all works.

I work with individual clients, both short and long term.

The first few sessions are about establishing a relationship, and getting used to the process, especially if you are new to counselling. You may be able to open up straight away or you may struggle to say anything. You choose the pace, how you start each session, how much you share.

Counselling can seem to meander. It does not go in a straight line but can jump all over the map of your life in what might feel like a random pattern that may become less random as connections are discovered. Trivial things can lead to deeper truths.

We will periodically review how counselling is working for you and whether it’s meeting your needs. This includes discussing whether you’re ready to end. Endings can be abrupt due to a change in circumstances but benefit from being planned and worked towards. Sometimes you need to take a break from therapy and come back when you’re ready for the next stage.

Before we start therapy together, we will have a telephone call of around 20 minutes getting a feel for each other so that we can decide whether we can work together and whether we want to. 

This is not therapy, just an introductory conversation. Feel free to ask any questions and share any concerns. If you’ve been to therapy before you might like to talk about how that was for you and what you are looking for this time. Everything we say in this conversation, as well as the mere fact that you’ve made contact is completely confidential. A full privacy notice is available on my website.