- Years in practice
- 13
- Registration
- NCPS
- Languages
- English
- Focus
- Stress, Anxiety
- Focus
- Relationship issues
- Focus
- Self esteem
About Richard
Richard Gordon-Smith is a counsellor who helps people with everyday and complex concerns. He works with issues such as stress, anxiety, depression, relationship strain and parenting challenges. He also supports people dealing with addiction, grief, trauma and problems with sleep or appetite.
Richard trained in psychology and completed an Advanced Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling with the University of Manchester. He has 13 years of experience working in mental health and holds NCPS as a credential.
Background and approach
He describes his style as approachable and down-to-earth, offering a calm space where people can talk about what matters to them. In sessions he uses a mix of approaches to suit each person. He draws on client-centred work to build understanding and trust, cognitive behavioural ideas to tackle thoughts and behaviours, and emotionally focused techniques to look at feelings and relationships.
He also uses psychodynamic thinking to look at patterns that may have built up over time. Parents who feel overwhelmed or unsure about decisions often find practical support here. Richard helps people break problems into small steps and try out changes between sessions.
He also offers coaching-style input when clients want focused, goal-oriented work. People who prefer online contact can use video, phone, live chat or text messaging. Sessions sit within a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.
To begin, use the platform’s Start Therapy button and complete a short matching questionnaire to book a first session.
What Richard works with
Everything Richard lists, in their own terms. Parenting is the reason this directory exists; the rest shows what else Richard helps people with.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Parenting issues
- Self esteem
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Anger management
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Attachment issues
- BDSM, kink, and alternative sex culture
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Divorce and separation
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- Forgiveness
- Guilt and shame
- Infidelity
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Narcissism
- Phobias
- Polyamory / non-monogamous relationships
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Richard lists
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centred Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each counsellor names and does not check training records.
Approaches for online parenting and relationship work
Richard uses client-centred work to create a listening, non-judgemental space where people can make sense of how they feel and what they want to change. This approach helps when someone needs understanding and a steady space to talk through parenting worries or relationship strain.He also draws on cognitive behavioural therapy, which focuses on how thoughts and behaviours keep problems going and on practical steps to try between sessions. CBT can be useful for anxiety, low mood, sleep issues and everyday parenting challenges where small behaviour changes make a difference.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Richard will discuss options and tailor methods to your goals, needs and preferences. That choice happens together, so sessions can be more focused or more exploratory depending on what you want.
Online therapy offers flexibility for busy family life. Video calls let you read facial cues and have a fuller conversation, phone sessions need less bandwidth, live chat gives a quicker check-in and text messaging can fit brief reflections into a day. These formats make it easier to keep continuity of care and to fit sessions around work, childcare and other commitments.
Questions people ask about Richard
What concerns does Richard support?
He works with stress, anxiety, depression and relationship difficulties, plus parenting concerns and issues such as addiction, trauma, grief and self-esteem.
How would you describe his therapeutic style?
Richard offers an approachable, down-to-earth style that focuses on listening first and then trying practical steps. He aims to make conversations clear and manageable for worried parents.
What is his experience and background?
He studied psychology, completed an Advanced Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling at the University of Manchester, and has 13 years of experience in mental health work.
What credentials and region are listed?
The profile lists NCPS as a credential and the therapist is based in the United Kingdom.
Which languages are sessions offered in?
Sessions are offered in English and he accepts international clients.
What session formats are available?
Therapy is offered via video calls, phone sessions, live chat or text-based messaging to suit different needs and routines.
How are sessions charged?
Costs vary with location and therapist arrangements; sessions use a subscription model that can be cancelled at any time.
How do I begin working with him?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule sessions according to the therapist’s availability.
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