Richard Leah

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***I am unable to take new clients on until mid September. ***

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I have been involved in psychotherapy and human growth for forty years -working alongside people in the fields of psychotherapy, mental health, social work, education and the commercial world.

 I have seen over 300 clients, providing over 3,300 hours of therapy. I have also trained counsellors.

I don't claim, to be able to fix lots of categories of'problems'. I know what the labels are but I work with you - a unique human being.

I consciously embarked on my own exploration and journey back in my twenties.  I set out to explore as much of life as I could  -from working on building sites to nursing, from working with the homeless on the streets of London to working as a decorator in Amsterdam. I've been a bus conductor and a manager in a major software company.Like so many human beings I have had times of both great happiness and great sorrow and pain. All this comes together to create the person I am; the person, the therapist you will encounter on meeting me. At the same time I was receiving my own therapy -  including 300 hours of one to one and 1000 hours as a participant in group therapy

One never finishes the journey of course; the experiences and learning continue; although much older and wiser I still see myself as a fellow traveler. 

I charge half price for our first session - which I regard as an opportunity for you to decide if you wish to continue working with me. In that first session I don't pull out a clip board and ask lots of questions; I ask you where you want to start and we go from there. The session is one hour; I don't do that 50 minute thing  -and I don't cut you off mid sentence at the end; I'd rather we over- ran in order to finish a thought.  And I leave lots of  time between clients.

There is a current idea drifting around that one goes to a therapist to have her or him remove a problem - as one might go to a dentist. That's not how it works; it is often very hard work for the client to make the change in their life necessary to overcome their difficulty.

QUALIFICATIONS

Diploma in Counselling; Middlesex Uni and Harrow College: 2001 Certificate in Group Facilitation: Norwich. Brian Thorne ; 2003 Certificate in Brief Counselling. Dagmar Edwards 2005.      Year 1 institute of Group Analysis: Bedford: 2005 (not an approach I warmed too!) ............................................... Advanced Diploma Therapeutic Supervision: Warwick Uni : 2007

Accredited (MBACP) with #BACP. UKRC Registered Independent Counsellor. Member World Association of Person Centred and Experiential Psychology. Diploma in Social Work: CCETSW : Oxford Brookes University:1996 BA (Hons) Humanities: 1975