Kelly Richardson, BACP

Kelly Richardson uses a person-centred, integrative approach that puts the client at the heart of the work. She offers empathy, honesty and a non-judgemental presence to help people talk through stress, anxiety, grief and low mood. Kelly holds BACP which stands for the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Kelly combines practical coping strategies with longer-term exploration. Some people come for short-term help to manage anxious thoughts or work stress. Others want to look deeper at patterns that keep returning or to process bereavement and loss.

Before training as a counsellor, Kelly worked for many years with the police and maintained an interest in health and fitness. That background led her to study counselling at the University of Hull and Leeds Beckett University, and to adopt a holistic view of mind and body.

She has worked with loss and bereavement at Cruse Bereavement Care and supported people with anxiety and depression as part of an NHS Improving Access to Psychological Therapies initiative. Kelly has eleven years' experience and she continues to update her skills through regular training.

Kelly is an affiliate counsellor for several Employee Assistance Programmes, providing support for work-related stress. She also sees private clients in her practice A New Horizon and works via online formats. Her sessions aim to help people build coping skills, improve self-esteem and make practical changes that fit their lives.

Using client-centred and CBT approaches online

Kelly commonly blends client-centred work with cognitive behavioural therapy. Client-centred therapy focuses on creating an accepting, empathetic space so people can reflect and find their own answers; it helps when someone needs to feel heard and understood. Cognitive behavioural therapy looks at unhelpful thoughts and behaviours and teaches practical ways to change them, which can be useful for anxiety, low mood and work stress.

Finding the right approach is part of the process and Kelly will work together with each person to decide what fits best. She will listen to goals and practical needs, suggest options, and adapt methods as the work progresses so the plan stays relevant to the client's life.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text-based messaging. Video calls are helpful for more conversational sessions, phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited, live chat suits brief check-ins, and messaging can fit around work or childcare. These formats offer flexibility and make it possible to continue therapy from different places and at different times.