Rate Ruth Barrett

I am a qualified person-centred counsellor with a Master’s in Clinical Counselling and hold Accredited Registered Membership of the BACP (British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists).

I am a warm, caring and reliable counselling professional with a deep sense of personal and professional integrity. My formal therapy training is Person-Centred (Humanistic) with a particular interest in Complex Trauma, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and early life Attachment.

Alongside private counselling, I have experience of working with a charitable organisation based in Chester, providing counselling to clients, children and families facing challenging issues, working with clients from NHS, local authorities and social services.

Beyond counselling, I have a background in education, teaching for over twenty-five years, primarily working with young people in the 11-18 age range. My experience in education has given me a greater understanding of the significance of childhood adversity upon individuals. I am a certified CBT therapist with a special interest in resilience and personal growth across the life span.

If you are wondering whether to begin counselling, perhaps you have experienced the loss of a loved one, a challenge or an obstacle life has thrown up, counselling and psychotherapy can offer a safe, non-judgemental place to talk and be heard.

I work with people from all ages and backgrounds, in a variety of ways, and tailor my approach to the issues they bring, to help them find ways forward in their lives.

I work with the person, not solely the issue, and have experience of helping people with loss and bereavement, childhood trauma, relationships, sexual abuse, anxiety, depression, disordered eating, phobias, and obsessive compulsions. I work using a variety of psychodynamic models, from integrative, person-centred, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Attachment approaches to counselling. These are well-established counselling theories with many years of research behind them.

I offer an initial session, and then you decide whether you feel therapy is something you wish to embark upon, and we can move forward with a block of fixed sessions, or perhaps more open-ended work.

Whatever the reason for getting in contact, you will be met with compassion and empathy, and the space to explore your feelings and thoughts at your own pace.

Please get in touch if you would like further information about counselling and the way I work.

Session content is held in the strictest confidence. There are some exceptions to this, in the event of safeguarding concerns regarding children and young people. Or where there is evidence that you or others are at risk of serious harm. In this case I will need to break confidentiality.

As part of my commitment to ethical practice, I am a Registered and Accredited member of the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy), and work in accordance with their Ethical Framework.

I have regular formal and confidential supervision in accordance with BACP requirements with a qualified counselling supervisor to ensure the quality of my work and that I am working in the best interests of each client. I am fully insured and undertake required CPD (Continued Professional Development) each year.