Dr. Richard Mason, BACP

Dr. Richard Mason offers practical help for people feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, grief or life changes. He writes plainly and aims to make sessions straightforward so parents can quickly see if he might be a good fit. He has 25 years of clinical experience and currently practises in the United Kingdom. He is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

Richard draws on many years in NHS primary care mental health services and university counselling teams. He has worked in Merseyside and London and in higher education at the University of Liverpool and the University of Chester. That background means he is used to helping people cope with depression, low self-esteem, parenting strain, relationship worries and trauma-related problems.

His approach is pragmatic and collaborative. Sessions are often grouped into blocks of four, with a focused review every fourth meeting. This gives clear checkpoints to see what is helping and whether goals are being met.

Richard describes his view as pluralistic - he draws on different psychotherapeutic ideas rather than following one single system. He prioritises emotional wellbeing and everyday functioning over labeling with diagnostic terms, while not excluding diagnosis when it matters.

Together a client and Richard agree goals and how to work towards them. The plan may be short, medium or long term, and can change as life shifts. He aims to help people gain insight and practical skills so they can make choices about next steps.

Practical therapy approaches for online care

Dr Richard Mason uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques in a practical way. One common strand is a problem-focused approach that breaks difficulties into manageable steps and targets symptoms such as anxiety or low mood with clear strategies. This helps people learn coping skills they can use between sessions.

He also works from a pluralistic perspective, combining humanistic and more structured methods as needed. That might mean exploring feelings and personal values in one session and trying behavioural tasks in the next. This mix suits people whose needs change as therapy progresses.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. He collaborates with each person to agree goals and choose methods that match their situation and preferences. Together they review progress and adjust the plan if something is not working.

Online sessions make this flexible. Video calls let people use visual cues and longer conversations, phone sessions can fit into a short break and need less bandwidth, live chat works for focused check-ins and text messaging helps with ongoing support between meetings. These options aim to make therapy easier to fit around family life, work and other commitments.