Matthew Ritchie
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Adverse Childhood Experiences.........
"Twenty years of medical research has shown that childhood adversity literally gets under our skin, changing people in ways that can endure in their bodies for decades. It can tip a child’s developmental trajectory and affect physiology. It can trigger chronic inflammation and hormonal changes that can last a lifetime. It can alter the way DNA is read and how cells replicate, and it can dramatically increase the risk for heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes—even Alzheimer’s."
- Nadine Burke Harris (The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Trauma and Adversity)
About me........
I am a Pluralistic Counsellor which means I can draw from different modalities and theories that are unique and tailored to meet the needs of my clients in ways that are helpful to them.
My counselling room is situated on Kirkcaldy High Street and can be accessed via the entry door to the Cupcake Coffee Kirkcaldy coffee shop. After you enter the building my room is located at the end of the corridor on the right-hand side. There are no access issues.
What can you expect from me?
Firstly, you can expect to be treated with respect. I will work with you in ways that promote the highest standards of trauma-informed care and practice. This means placing confidentiality and safety at the very heart of the work I undertake with clients.
I can offer counselling in my newly refurbished counselling room, which is located on Kirkcaldy High Street, and has been designed and decorated to reflect the highest standards and key principles of trauma-informed practice and care. We can also meet in the digital space via Zoom, Microsoft Teams or WhatsApp (online) if you prefer. I provide an environment that is safe for you to explore your presenting issues. Although I am a pluralistic counsellor, my specialism and interest is in trauma-informed practice, particularly focusing on issues from childhood e.g. sexual, physical, emotional and mental abuse, sexual assault, PTSD, and CPTSD).
Training, qualifications & experience
- HNC Counselling
- HND Counselling
- BA Community Education
Member organisations
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred). Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA). Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision. Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training. All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
I volunteered as a Counsellor at FRASAC (Fife Rape and Sexual Assault Centre) in Kirkcaldy for just under two years. I have worked in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors throughout my working career supporting those who could be considered as some of the most vulnerable and traumatised people in society. This included work in Community Learning and Development as a Community Education Worker (Adult Learning, Youth Work, Community Capacity Building and Family Work), Social Work, Criminal Justice (Young Offender Strategy Team), Rights Work, Housing and Homelessness, work with Care Experienced Young People, Employability, and Fife Council’s Education Service.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£40.00 per session
Free initial in-person, telephone or online session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
Sessions are charged at £40.00 for 50 minutes.
When I work
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My sessions last for 50 minutes.
I am currently available for client work Monday - Friday from 9am - 9pm and on a Sunday from 9am - 9pm, in my counselling room or online.
Further information
I have an enhanced PVG (Protection of Vulnerable Groups) that enables me to work with children, young people, and adults. I plan to gain the required certification that allows me to offer counselling to children and young people in the future.
What approaches do I use?
I use a person-centred approach to establish and maintain a healthy working relationship with my clients, but can draw from a psychodynamic approach to explore how your past might be affecting how your life is right now. Talking is hugely important to my clients, but also gaining an understanding of how our bodies impact our thoughts, feelings, emotions and behaviours is important, too. This helps to establish a felt sense of safety during our counselling sessions and offers a foundation to explore your thoughts, emotions and feelings in a safe, empathic, supportive, and structured way. Being able to tell your story is important because it helps you to gain a better understanding of what it is that brought you to counselling in the first place. We will do this together.
Experience
I volunteered as a volunteer Counsellor at FRASAC (Fife Rape and Sexual Assault Centre) in Kirkcaldy for two years. I have worked in the statutory, voluntary and private sectors throughout my working career supporting some of the most vulnerable, deprived and traumatised people in society. This included work in Community Learning and Development as a Community Education Worker (Adult Learning, Youth Work, Community Capacity Building and Family Work), Social Work, Criminal Justice (Young Offender Strategy Team), Rights Work, Housing and Homelessness, work with Care Experienced Young People, Employability, and Fife Council’s Education Service.
Contracting
We will work together to complete a contract during your first session, which sets out what you can expect from your counselling sessions with me. This contract will be the foundation of the work we do. The foundation of this contract is to establish a safe environment for you to explore what is important to you and is in accordance with the BACP Ethical Framework.
Other information
I helped establish the Fife College Counselling Network committee and am still an active member of this group. We organise meetings, talks, and events that promote best practice in counselling. I can also work to support organisations to help them create and implement the principles of a trauma-informed work culture that benefits everyone. We do better when we all do better.
I attended a screening of the documentary film, Resilience (a film that highlights the findings of the Adverse Childhood Experiences study conducted by the American health organisation, Kaiser Permanente, between 1995-1997) in 2017, and since that time I have undertaken considerable research to understand the association between untreated childhood trauma and how this impacts people in their adult lives.
I have contributed significantly to the development of the Aces and Trauma Scotland Forum and the establishment of the Fife College Counselling Network Committee where I continue to play an active role.
I continue to read literature by leading practitioners in trauma work that include, Eugene Gendling, Dr Nadine Burke Harris, Stephen Porges, Pat Ogden, Bessel van der Kolk, Gabor Mate, Peter Levine, Deb Dana, Brene Brown, Dr Bruce D. Perry, Frank Anderson MD and others. This is a passion of mine and I see this as a central focus of my ongoing professional development.
I underpin my counselling practice by establishing an environment that is sensitive, supportive, safe, and trauma-informed. I practice in ways that are non-judgmental, anti-discriminatory, collaborative and empathic. I place safety at the heart of the work I do and I will regularly consult with you to review and evaluate your counselling sessions with me. I constantly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your counselling sessions so we can make changes as we go, if required. This is designed to ensure you are getting the best from your counselling sessions and are able to help shape the direction of your journey. You know what is best for you. We gain insight of the presenting issues when we review and evaluate your sessions together, making changes as you go, if required.
What now?
If you think I can help you, please contact me to book a FREE 30-minute consultation. You can email me or telephone 07763420309. Your enquiry will be treated confidentially.
The consultation appointment is not a counselling session, but a time to explore to establish if I am the right counsellor for you, and we can work together. If we establish we can meet the above, we will identify a suitable date and time for you to book your first counselling session with me.
I have an enhanced PVG (Protection of Vulnerable Groups) certificate awarded to me by Disclosure Scotland.
I charge £40 for fifty minutes. Payment should be made within 24 hours of agreeing each session. I will provide you with the payment details upon agreeing your first counselling session with me.
Matthew
