Loraine Richardson

I am able to take on new clients from 1 April 2025.

My therapy hours are:

Durham:

Monday and Wednesday (12 noon - 7 pm)

Hi - I'm Loraine, an integrative therapeutic counsellor. Making the decision to have counselling and choosing the right therapist can feel daunting, and you may want to take your time deciding which counsellor might be best for you. 

To help you to decide whether we might be a good fit, I offer a free 30 minute face to face chat, where we can meet each other and you can ask questions about me and my approach to counselling, and we can talk about how we might work together. 

My approach

I trained in an integrative way and my approach aims to keep you at the heart of our work together. I draw upon the person centred model and integrate elements from other counselling models, such as Gestalt, Transactional Analysis (TA), Attachment Theory or CBT - we will regularly discuss what is helpful, and what best suits your individual needs as we move through your counselling journey together.

Creative interventions

Although our therapy sessions will be generally focused on talking, sometimes clients find that introducing a creative element can be helpful - such as using a sand tray, nesting dolls, shells or stones, or drawing and journaling. Creativity can help when words may not be enough, or where a client feels 'stuck' or is struggling to express thoughts and feelings which might be out of conscious awareness. It can also provide an opportunity for further discussion or bring deeper understanding to a client. Do please ask me about working creatively, if you would like to find out more. 

After our initial free 30 minute meeting, you may want to take your time to reflect upon, and think about, whether you think I am the right counsellor for you, so after we meet, I will wait for you to get in touch to let me know if you would like to begin sessions. 

First Session

Counselling sessions will last for 50 minutes. In the first session we will talk about what brings you to therapy, what you are hoping to get from counselling, and I will ask you some questions to help me to best understand your needs. We may agree an initial amount of sessions, or you may prefer to go week by week. It is usually helpful to commit to a regular time slot, either weekly or fortnightly, where possible. You might choose to set goals for your therapy, or you may prefer to use the sessions to express and explore thoughts and feelings about what is on your mind at present - or to make sense of something that might have happened in the past, or may be coming up in the future.

Reviews

We will regularly review your counselling journey together, which will provide the opportunity to discuss progress, and to adapt or change the approach, if this is felt to be helpful. You may also wish to change or re-establish goals (if this is how you choose to work in sessions). We might agree additional sessions or work towards an ending, if you feel you have obtained what you need from therapy - at the moment, I am offering time limited and short term therapy, which is usually around 6 - 10 sessions.