Dr. Richard Mason, BACP

Dr. Richard Mason is a psychological therapist and senior accredited personal development coach with 25 years of professional experience in private practice, the English National Health Service (NHS), and higher education counselling services. He is registered and accredited with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), a UK professional body that sets standards for counselling and psychotherapy, and holds Senior Accreditation with the European Mentoring & Coaching Council (EMCC), a European organisation for coaching and mentoring standards.

He has worked across Merseyside and London and within university counselling services at the University of Liverpool and the University of Chester. Over the years he has supported adult clients of all ages, from diverse cultural backgrounds and a range of gender identities, focusing on emotional well-being, day-to-day functioning, and practical ways to manage issues such as anxiety, depression, grief, relationship concerns, and life changes.

Richard practises from a pluralistic perspective, combining humanistic and more medicalised approaches to draw on a wide range of therapeutic techniques. When working together he and the client agree a clear approach and set expectations around outcomes, while recognising that therapy does not guarantee a specific cure. He emphasises pragmatic responses to life challenges and the development of skills that support long-term well-being.

Sessions are commonly organised in blocks of four, with regular reviews of progress and outcomes. This structure is intended to empower clients to use new insights and to make active choices about whether to pause, continue, change direction, or conclude therapy. Work with him can be short, medium, or long term and is framed as a collaborative relationship between two adults with shared aims.

Evidence-based approaches and online practice

Richard adopts a pluralistic, integrative approach that draws on a range of evidence-based techniques to meet each client's needs. Pluralistic therapy involves selecting methods from different therapeutic traditions and tailoring them to the person in front of him - this flexibility can be especially helpful for people facing complex or multiple issues such as anxiety, depression, or coping with life changes.

Alongside this, he uses humanistic, person-centred elements that focus on emotional experience and the therapeutic relationship, helping clients explore grief, self-esteem, intimacy-related concerns, and family or relationship difficulties in a respectful, empathetic way. As a senior accredited personal development coach, he also applies goal-focused coaching techniques to support clients who want practical strategies for change, decision-making, or personal development.

Finding the right approach is a collaborative process. Richard works with each client to identify preferences, goals, and practical needs, and together they decide which combination of techniques is likely to be most useful. Registered professionals and therapists remain adaptive as circumstances change.

Online therapy via video, phone, live chat, or text-based messaging offers flexibility for different schedules and communication styles. It makes it easier to fit sessions into work, family, or study commitments and can increase access to consistent support, whether the focus is short-term problem solving or longer-term personal development.