Ruth Gillies

Tuesday- evening online
Wednesday- afternoon and evening online or F2F
Thursday- all day F2F or online

Hello, I’m Ruth. I’m a person-centred counsellor based in Edinburgh, with a particular interest and experience in grief, loss and the changes and transitions we find ourselves navigating through life.

I believe there is no right way to feel, cope or respond when life becomes difficult. Grief, relationships, identity, endings, beginnings and everything in between can leave us feeling a little less sure of ourselves and the life we thought we understood. Sometimes we know exactly what has brought us to counselling and other times, something just feels off.

Working from a person-centred perspective means keeping you and your experience at the heart of our work together. I want to understand what life feels like from where you are, rather than assuming I already know. I’ll be alongside you with warmth, empathy and curiosity whilst listening closely, asking questions and paying attention to what feels important as it emerges.

You may find yourself feeling conflicted about what you want or how you feel, or noticing a gap between what you know rationally and how you feel emotionally. Counselling can give us the opportunity to explore these experiences together and understand what they mean for you.

Much of my counselling experience has been within bereavement services, including hospice and charity settings. It’s work that has taught me a lot about grief, but also about relationships, identity and what it means to find ourselves living a life that perhaps looks different from the one we imagined.

I’m particularly interested in grief because loss rarely exists neatly on its own. It can change the way we understand ourselves, our relationships and our place in the world. There can be grief for what we have lost, but also for the routines, roles, possibilities and imagined futures that existed alongside them. Grief can change over time, and there is no set timeline or right way for it to unfold. I’ll meet you wherever you are in your experience of loss, whether it is recent or something you have been living with for many years.

You don’t have to be grieving or navigating loss to work with me. You might be in the middle of a big change, questioning something about yourself or your relationships, feeling anxious or overwhelmed, or simply needing somewhere to properly talk about what’s going on.

Whatever brings you here, we can start there.

I offer a free, informal 15-minute introductory consultation, giving us an opportunity to meet, talk a little about what has brought you to counselling and see whether working together feels right for you. You're also welcome to ask any questions .

If you decide to go ahead, our first full session will last 50 minutes and is charged at my usual session rate of £60.

I also offer a limited number of concessionary spaces for students at £35 per session, subject to availability.

During this session, we'll spend some time getting to know one another, discussing our counselling agreement and exploring what you might hope to gain from our work together. There will also be some initial paperwork to complete.

There's no expectation to share everything in your first session, or even to know exactly what you want to talk about. Some people arrive with a clear understanding of what's troubling them, while others simply know that something doesn't feel quite right.