Dr Ruth Collins PhD| DCounsPsych | CPsychol | AFBPsS

Counselling and Psychotherapy

Welcome. I offer a safe, supportive and confidential environment in which to explore personal and professional difficulties on both a short-term and long-term face-to-face basis. My areas of expertise include stress, anxiety, panic attacks, phobias, depression, insomnia and relationship difficulties.  I have experience of working in a wide range of clinical settings including the NHS. As well as maintaining a private clinical practice I work for the University of Oxford as a counsellor, clinical supervisor and research tutor. I provide counselling and psychotherapy for young people, adults and older adults. I work primarily as an existential psychotherapist but integrate my knowledge and expertise of both Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Mindfulness into my approach.

Qualifications

I have a Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology and also hold a Postgraduate Research Doctorate (PhD) in Experimental Psychology from University College London (UCL). I am chartered by the British Psychological Society (BPS) and am an Associate Member of the society (AFBPsS). I hold full membership of the BPS division of Counselling Psychology and am a Registered Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). I am additionally a member of the Society for Existential Analysis (SEA). I am a member of the British Psychological Society (BPS) Register of Applied Psychology Practice Supervisors, and provide supervision for trainee and qualified clinical and counselling psychologists, and counsellors.
I have a sliding scale of fees; please enquire.

Mindfulness

In addition to my clinical practice I am an experienced mindfulness teacher and run Mindfulness Courses in a variety of settings. I have been practising insight meditation since my teens but was more formally introduced to Mindfulness when working with Professor Mark Williams at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre (University of Oxford) and went on to train as an MBCT teacher with Mark and his team. I am a strong believer in the benefits of mindfulness and integrate it into all areas of my therapeutic work.

My teaching and personal meditation practice is supported by regular mindfulness-based supervision and mentoring from a qualified mindfulness teacher and supervisor. I adhere to the Good Practice Guidelines for Teaching Mindfulness-based Courses and am a registered teacher with BAMBA, a regulated directory of teachers who meet the UK Good Practice Guidance for Mindfulness-Based Teachers. I am additionally a Teaching Partner at the Oxford Mindfulness Centre.

Testimonials

I just wanted to say thank you Ruth for all your time, patience and support this year. You’ve really encouraged me to think about myself, my relationships and my life journey. There will no doubt always be challenges but as a result of your help I feel I am a stronger and more resilient person to embrace these. Mark

I want to say a huge thank you for all your help as at one point I thought I wouldn’t even finish my degree, I can’t quite believe that I have managed to come out the other side quite as successfully. I certainly couldn’t have done it without your support and the CBT techniques I learned. Emily

I was sceptical about the whole idea of counselling but it has made such a fundamental difference to the way I think! Stephen
I cannot express how much of a difference the counselling sessions have made to me. You have completely turned my life around and I cannot thank you enough for that. Maria