Vanessa Richards, BACP

Vanessa Richards is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom who helps people facing midlife challenges, stress, anxiety and relationship strain. She supports people dealing with grief, depression, addiction, parenting pressures and the kinds of life changes that can come in midlife. Vanessa works with people who are coping with trauma and abuse, low self-esteem, ADHD and compassion fatigue. She brings five years of experience and is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, BACP.

Vanessa uses a straightforward, relational style in sessions. She focuses on listening first and building a trusting connection. That allows her to work with people on practical skills, emotion regulation and clearer decision making. She draws on approaches such as client-centred work, cognitive behavioural techniques, dialectical behaviour tools, emotionally-focused ways of working and motivational interviewing.

Her background includes experience supporting people through depression, stress and trauma in both the NHS and the private sector. She also has clinical experience connected to cancer care from earlier work alongside patients and families, which informs how she talks about illness and caregiving stress.

Sessions aim to be collaborative and outcome-focused. Vanessa will help people set goals, try out new ways of handling problems and review progress together. Her approach is practical, gentle and rooted in building a working relationship that feels useful.

To begin, prospective clients complete a short questionnaire and schedule sessions according to therapist availability. Fees vary with location and use a subscription that can be cancelled at any time.

Therapeutic approaches online and how they help

Vanessa uses client-centred work which focuses on listening and creating a collaborative, non-judgemental relationship. This approach helps people feel heard and decide what changes matter most to them.

She also draws on cognitive behavioural therapy, which looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and actions and teaches practical techniques for managing anxiety, low mood and unhelpful thinking patterns.

Dialectical behaviour therapy skills are part of her toolkit too, offering practical strategies for emotion regulation, distress tolerance and clearer communication when feelings feel overwhelming.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative task. Vanessa will discuss what matters to each person and try methods that match their goals and preferences. She reviews progress and adapts the way she works as needs change.

The practical benefits of online therapy include fitting sessions around work or family life and reducing travel time. The biography does not list specific session formats, so confirm current options before booking. Registered or accredited professionals often tailor session length and scheduling to suit quieter times of day, shorter check-ins or longer therapy blocks depending on what a client needs.