Richard "Richie" Long, BACP

Richard "Richie" Long is a counsellor based in the United Kingdom with a BACP accreditation and three years of professional experience. He helps people who are struggling with stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, trauma and abuse, grief, relationship and intimacy issues, eating concerns, and LGBT-related matters. Richie offers a direct but non-judgemental manner and aims to create a trusting therapeutic relationship.

He uses a mix of talking therapy and practical techniques to help people move forward. Sessions focus on clear goals and honest conversation. Richie can be straightforward when needed while keeping the pace set by each person.

Richie draws on client-centred work to place the person’s experience at the heart of therapy. He also uses cognitive behavioural ideas to spot patterns of thinking and behaviour that cause distress. Emotionally-Focused Therapy and psychodynamic perspectives are available for exploring relationship patterns and the impact of past experiences.

Solution-Focused Therapy features in shorter-term planning, helping people identify small steps that make a difference. His approach suits people who want a mixture of talking, practical homework and gentle challenge. He is open to discussing topics such as addiction behaviours, body image, attachment concerns, chronic illness, carer stress, adoption and foster care issues, and aspects of kink and alternative sexual culture.

Sessions are offered online by video, phone, live chat or text messaging. He works with people across time zones and supports international clients in English. Getting started involves a short matching questionnaire and scheduling a time that fits the client.

How Richie’s approaches work online

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on the person’s own experience and priorities. The therapist listens closely and helps people make sense of their feelings so they can choose change. This approach is useful for issues such as low self-esteem, grief and relationship concerns.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at the links between thoughts, feelings and actions. It uses simple exercises and behaviour experiments to reduce anxiety, unhelpful thinking and depressive patterns. CBT is often helpful for anxiety, stress and mood-related problems.

Emotionally-Focused Therapy helps people notice and express underlying emotions, particularly in relation to close relationships and attachment patterns. It can be useful when intimacy, trust or recurring relationship issues are causing distress.

Finding the right method is part of the process and will be explored together. The therapist will discuss goals, preferences and how different approaches might help, then tailor the mix of talking and practical work to the individual.

Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone, live chat or text messaging, which makes therapy easier to fit into a busy life. Video allows face-to-face conversation when that matters. Phone sessions work well when bandwidth is limited or a calmer audio-only check-in is needed. Chat and messaging suit shorter check-ins, notes between sessions or people who prefer typed reflection. These options give flexibility across time zones and schedules so work or caring commitments can be balanced with therapy.