Dr Ruth Bagshaw
I am Dr Ruth Bagshaw, an HCPC registered clinical and forensic psychologist. I am an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, as a chartered clinical, coaching and forensic psychologist and applied psychology practice supervisor. I have extensive experience in mental health and wellbeing, and psychological therapies. I am able to offer a number of psychological therapies for understanding and reducing mental health symptoms and challenges to wellbeing, including anxiety, panic, phobias, depression, post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, bereavement, emotion regulation difficulties, coping with age related changes, relationship and interpersonal difficulties, eating distress, coping with physical health conditions and pain.
I am trained and experienced in the use of NICE recommended diagnostic assessments for autism and ADHD in adults. Note: I do not offer assessments to children under the age of 18 years.
I have been involved in psychology for over thirty five years and still have a passion for sharing psychological knowledge and skills to empower people to use psychological principles in their own lives to enhance their own wellbeing and to thrive. I originally trained as a clinical psychologist in South Wales in the early 1990’s. Since that time, I have worked in a number of adult mental health settings, providing psychological therapies, supervision, training and clinical leadership. I was the clinical lead and an Approved Clinician under the Mental Health Act for an NHS medium secure mental health inpatient service, working with individuals with complex mental health and emotional needs and distressed and distressing behaviours bringing them into contact with the criminal justice system. I then moved into higher education, before returning to the NHS. I am now solely working in private practice.
I see psychological therapy and coaching as two ways to share with people the knowledge, skills, and insights that psychology can add to people’s repertoire of strategies for enhancing and maintaining their wellbeing, focusing on what matters for them; what they want and need to thrive in life and to embrace and navigate the challenges they face along the way.
Over the years I have trained in a number of therapies, which means I am able to work flexibly with people depending on their needs and preferences. Some therapeutic strategies are specific to the particular need of the person, based on evidence of what works for particular problems, for example post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder. I always consider the evidence for what works when planning therapy, and how I can integrate this with what the person wants to achieve and the ways of working therapeutically that suits their preferences.
The core of what I offer is based on being able to establish an empathic and compassionate therapeutic relationship with a client – being curious about and open to understanding each person’s lived experience on their own terms, providing a safe, structured and authentic relationship that supports a person as they work through the issues they seek to address and to achieve the goals they set themselves. Being candid – open, honest and transparent- is important to me as a therapist as my aim is always to share with clients the knowledge, skills and insights that they can take forward beyond the end of therapy or coaching to continue to develop and thrive in the direction of what matters most to them, on their own terms, in their own way.
