Michelle Richmond

My normal working hours are 9am to 8pm Monday to Thursday.

Admitting that you are struggling and need support from someone other than family and friends can be frightening. When you contact me, I will do my best to put you at ease and make things feel as safe as possible.  I will provide a non-judgemental, confidential space for you to talk and be listened to. 

I am committed to helping you work through your difficulties and learning how to start to make the changes you want. 

Talking things through with a person that fits with you can be lifechanging.

I am fully trained integrative counsellor and clinical supervisor for both in person and online work.  My core model of therapy is Person Centred Therapy although I will use other models including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) depending on the needs of my client. 

Person Centred Counselling is a talking therapy where the you talk and I listen. I will not judge what you say and I will not tell you what you should do. I may repeat what you have said to me or ask you questions to try and make sure that I have understood your words and how you are feeling. You may correct what you have said several times and tell me more. This way of working is focused on you and provides a pathway for self healing, greater understanding of yourself and self growth.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a talking therapy examining the impact of your negative or anxious thoughts about a situation on your feelings and your behaviour.  It includes using strategies and coping skills to help make the changes that you wish to make.

I offer face to face counselling as well as online and telephone counselling. I work from from a Counselling Centre based on the Wirral.

I have experience in a wide range of issues including depression, low mood, anxiety, self-esteem, stress, assertiveness and boundaries.  I am a dementia friendly counsellor and I am experienced in supporting carers of those living with dementia. 

My specialisms are working with grief, bereavement and loss.  I am passionate about supporting all those grieving and helping them move forward with their lives. I also want to help parents who have experienced pregnancy loss or the loss of their baby to get the right support.    

I offer an initial telephone consultation of approximately 20 minutes free of charge.  We will talk about why you think you need therapy, your expectations of therapy and what you hope to achieve. You can ask the questions that are important to you and I will do my best to answer them.

We will agree to a counselling contract.  We will have it in writing so that we know what to expect of each other and the counselling process.

In our first session, I will ask you some questions. The questions help me to make sure that I have the right skills and expertise to work with you and support you but they can also help you tell me what matters to you. 

My usual working hours are 9am-8pm Monday to Thursday.  

My aim is to provide my supervisee with a warm, safe space to talk openly about their client work.  I work on a one to one basis in person or online. When working in person, I am based in a Centre on The Wirral.

Supervision is not counselling but I am here to provide emotional support to my supervisee when they are struggling with an ethical issue or an issue that impacts their practice. 

My model of supervision is based on Shohet and Hawkins Seven Eyed Model where we focus on the client's presentation and how the supervisee is working with and could work with the client. 

This model is popular in counselling and psychotherapy but it is also used coaching and support work.

In supervision, my supervisee and I may explore various ways of working with their client.  We may also explore the supervisee's own feeling about the client and the wider context which may impact the client's world and the counselling work.  We may also explore the relationship between supervisor and supervisee and the impact of that on the supervisee's work.  

Supervision falls in to three areas.  The formative area is where I will share my experience with my supervisee to teach them ideas relating to practice.  I will also share my experience and knowledge relating to the law and safe practice.  The normative area is where I will ask my supervisee to explain and justify their working methods.  The restorative area is where I will support my supervisee if they are struggling with a practice related matter.