Samantha Richards

My values

Taking the step to seek psychological support can be a daunting prospect. Understanding this, I work with clients in a collaborative manner, enabling a safe and helpful environment, so the client feels comfortable enough to share some of their life struggles. I am passionate about adapting psychological therapies so that they are accessible and meaningful. I value a non-stigmatising approach to understand mental health difficulties and see difficulties within a multi-layered context. A strengths based approach is integral to my way of working. As a therapist, I support my clients to understand and work through their difficulties, with the aim of lessening their struggle and enabling them to work towards their individual goals, thus thriving in their journey beyond therapy and ultimately increasing their quality of life.

Tailored Counselling Solutions 

Why do people choose to have therapy? People look into therapy for a variety of reasons including psychological, emotional, personal or relational difficulties. I am passionate about understanding each person as an individual and tailoring therapy to their unique needs. I have trained in a breadth of psychological models, which allows me to adapt therapy appropriately by selecting the aspects that will be most helpful to you. 

What to expect from your therapy sessions

I strive to provide a safe, contained and confidential space on a weekly basis in which you can share the difficulties you want to work on, at a pace, you feel comfortable with, so we can work together towards understanding and change in the direction of your values and objectives.

The first session is the assessment and will be slightly longer than a normal session at 80 minutes. This is to give enough time to explore your reasons for coming to therapy, what solutions you have tried in the past, what helped and what didn't help. At the end of this session, I will make some recommendations around what may be the most helpful route for you.

After the assessment session, the sessions will be 50-55 minutes. Each person I work with is very different so it is difficult to predict how many sessions will be needed. From a personal therapeutic perspective, my aim is only to work with a person for as long as it is helpful to them and to empower the person to leave therapy with the skills they need.