Richard Whitelaw, BACP

Richard Whitelaw is a counsellor with six years of professional experience in the United Kingdom and a BACP credential. He focuses on practical ways to ease stress, anxiety, low mood, anger, grief and problems with self-esteem. His style is respectful and down-to-earth. He aims to make the first steps of therapy feel manageable and affirming.

He tailors conversations and plans to each person’s situation rather than using a one-size-fits-all method. Sessions are straightforward and aimed at helping people notice patterns, try small changes and find clearer choices when feelings feel heavy. He also addresses related concerns such as abandonment, attachment issues, body image, caregiver stress, and communication difficulties.

Richard works with control issues, impulsivity, guilt and shame, and the practical strains that come from money worries or midlife re-evaluation. He offers a calm space to talk through divorce and separation, loneliness, life purpose and men’s issues. The aim is to help people build clearer thinking and steadier day-to-day coping.

He uses client-centred listening alongside mindfulness practices to help people tune into their experience. Richard also draws on Internal Family Systems ideas to gently map inner parts and how they interact. Together these approaches support emotional awareness and practical steps forward.

People can expect a compassionate, straightforward approach with an emphasis on real-world change. He encourages small, manageable shifts and helps people try new ways of reacting to old problems.

How Richard’s approaches work online

Client-Centred Therapy focuses on listening and understanding your perspective. The therapist reflects what matters to you and helps you find your own solutions, which suits worries about anxiety, low mood and self-worth.

Mindfulness Therapy teaches simple attention exercises to notice thoughts and feelings without getting swept away. This can help with stress, anger and rumination by offering practical ways to pause and respond rather than react.

Internal Family Systems looks at different parts of your inner life and how they interact. It can make feelings like guilt, shame or self-criticism easier to describe and work with in session.

Finding the right mix of approaches is part of the process and will be decided together. The therapist will discuss your goals, needs and preferences and try different methods to see what helps most. This is a collaborative choice rather than a fixed prescription.

Online formats make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life. Video calls are close to in-person talking and allow face-to-face contact. Phone sessions use less bandwidth and can be helpful for shorter check-ins. Live chat and text-based messaging let you write when it suits you, which can be useful for ongoing reflections or when time is limited.