About me
Sometimes life can feel overwhelmingly painful and hard to navigate - especially alone. You may be struggling with anxiety, grief, depression, or simply feeling emotionally exhausted and confused. I offer a calm, compassionate, and confidential space where you can talk openly and feel genuinely heard. At your own pace, I will support you in expressing difficult feelings and exploring your experiences while working towards greater resilience and emotional wellbeing.
My therapeutic approach is grounded in warmth, empathy, and real human connection. I understand how heavy life can feel when we are experiencing emotional or physical distress, and I will meet you with sensitivity, sincerity, and care. Alongside my professional experience, my personal experiences have deepened my understanding of loss and pain and of the impact of trauma. I have helped clients through a wide range of issues including:
- anxiety and depression
- grief and bereavement
- family and relationship difficulties
- infertility and pregnancy loss
- acute and chronic illness
- surgery and medical concerns
- menopause and life transitions
- end-of-life issues and anticipatory grief
I also offer a reflective and supportive space for qualified counsellors wishing to explore the meaning, impact, and emotional demands of their therapeutic work.
Client Testimonial
'Through empathy and compassion, Ruth creates a judgement free environment where you can feel safe and comfortable enough to be as vulnerable as you desire. Her sessions, to me, are emblematic of a vast lake in the early hours of the morning, calm and still, yet deep and powerful. Through our sessions, Ruth offered her undivided attention, she said exactly what I needed to hear, exactly when I needed to hear it. However, contrastingly, she was completely silent exactly when I needed it most. All of which culminated in allowing me to fully express my emotions, my values, and wholeheartedly speak my truth.'
Professional Registration
I’m an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy – BACP and am bound by its ‘Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions’ (2018). In accordance with professional guidelines, I have regular supervision within a professional context.
Training, qualifications & experience
MA Counselling Studies - University of Chester; PgDip Counselling - University of Chester; BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies - MMU.
I am an accredited member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP Accred.) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
I have over 30 years' experience working with children and adults in education, health, and community settings. From 2006 until I relocated to Cumbria in 2015, much of my therapeutic work was with Macmillan, providing counselling to patients, carers, and nursing staff. I now maintain a busy private practice online and from my dedicated counselling room just outside Greystoke, Cumbria.
Alongside my work with clients, I have considerable experience training counsellors including as Programme Leader of the MA/PgD Counselling & Psychotherapy at the University of Cumbria.
Member organisations
school Registered / Accredited
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
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
The above are my specialisms but I am an established general counsellor and work with clients with a wide range of needs and experiences.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£50.00 per session
Concessions offered for
Additional information
For all my services I offer an initial (no obligation) 30-minute telephone or Zoom consultation free of charge. Thereafter (subject to annual review - January) my fees are £50 per 1-hour session.
I offer some extended sessions (up to 1.5hrs) at a total cost of £60. These sessions can be particularly helpful if you are unable to engage with therapy on a regular weekly/fortnightly basis. If you are interested please ask when booking.
I have a limited number of reduced fee sessions - currently full.
I accept payment by direct ‘bacs’ transfer only please
When I work
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Further information
If you live in the Penrith, Keswick, or North Lakes area of Cumbria and think you might want to explore counselling but are not quite sure, please feel free to drop me an e-mail or text to arrange an initial, no obligation/no fee, 'phone consultation (circa 30minutes).
This first appointment offers time for you to talk through what you feel you want from counselling, for us to discuss an initial working contract and, importantly, to see if we will work well together.
I welcome and respond swiftly to all enquiries and will happily answer any questions you may have. If you have not heard from me within a day or so, please check your junk folder and/or message me again. Thank you.
