Deborah Ritchie, BACP

Deborah Ritchie is a counsellor with four years of professional experience in the UK. She holds BACP accreditation, which means she is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Deborah supports people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression and relationship concerns. She also helps with grief, motivation, addictions and issues around intimacy and sleep.

Deborah regularly works with neurodiverse people and has experience in college counselling for those aged 16 and above. In that setting she covered family relationships, gender and sex identity, self-harm and trauma. Her background includes short-term and longer-term work, so she adapts to each person’s needs.

Her approach mixes practical strategies with a focus on what matters to the person in front of her. She draws on cognitive behavioural ideas to spot unhelpful thoughts and uses mindfulness and acceptance-based tools to manage overwhelming feelings. Attachment-based and client-centred ways of working shape how she builds trust and hears each person’s story.

Deborah is familiar with challenges that come from chronic health issues, caregiving and major life changes. She listens for what’s getting in the way and helps people set small, achievable steps towards better day-to-day coping. Sessions aim to be straightforward, practical and respectful of each person’s pace.

To begin, Deborah asks people to complete a short matching questionnaire and then schedule sessions according to her availability. She presents therapy as a collaborative process and encourages people to talk about what they want from counselling.

How Deborah’s approaches work for online counselling

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, often called ACT, focuses on helping people notice painful thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them. It encourages deciding what matters most and taking small steps that match those values. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, looks at how thoughts, behaviours and feelings link together and uses practical exercises to change unhelpful patterns. Both approaches can help with anxiety, depression, stress and coping with chronic health challenges.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. Deborah will explore your goals, needs and preferences and suggest a blend of methods. Together you will choose which tools to try and review what helps most as therapy progresses. The process is collaborative and paced to suit each person.

The biography does not list specific online formats, so please confirm the available session options before booking. Online counselling can make it easier to fit sessions into a busy life, reduce travel time and allow quieter check-ins during a work break. It can also let people use mindfulness exercises or workbook tasks between meetings. Registered or accredited professionals and therapists often combine these practical benefits with the same therapeutic techniques used in face-to-face work.