Denise Richards, BACP

Starting counselling can feel daunting, and Denise Richards aims to make that first step more manageable by offering a calm and supportive therapeutic space. She accompanies people through a process of self-discovery, helping them explore the emotions, thoughts and patterns that shape their present experience. In the therapy room Denise creates an environment where clients have the freedom to be themselves while together they gently uncover underlying feelings, memories and behaviour patterns from both past and present.

Her work often involves helping clients understand how those patterns have influenced their lives and learning practical ways to unpick and respond to them differently. The process can bring a wide range of emotions - tears, anger and laughter among them - and Denise remains alongside clients as they work through each layer of that experience, using a compassionate, steady approach.

Denise works with people facing issues such as anxiety, domestic abuse, depression and trauma, always aiming to listen without judgment and to support clients as they consider where they are, who they are and where they want to go next. As an integrative counsellor she tailors her methods to each person rather than using a single fixed model. Her core qualifications include a Post-Graduate Diploma in Humanistic Integrative Counselling, a Diploma in Humanistic Integrative Counselling and a Certificate in Humanistic Integrative Counselling, and she is a registered member of the BACP - the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

She has completed development training in areas such as road traffic victims, psychiatry and psychodynamics, time-limited counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy and working with children and young people. Denise's therapeutic experience includes roles supporting adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, work with women affected by multiple forms of abuse, support for trafficked women, counselling disadvantaged young people, school-based counselling for 11 to 16 year olds and private practice with clients of varying ages.