About Richard
Richard West is a licensed mental health counselor in Washington. He focuses on helping people who are feeling overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, depression, or trauma. He also supports those facing addiction, grief, anger, relationship and intimacy concerns, and major life transitions.
Richard works in a straightforward, respectful way. Sessions begin with a short conversation about what matters most to the client. He then tailors the approach to fit each person’s goals and pace.
Background and approach
Many clients use practical exercises between meetings to test what feels helpful. His background includes nine years of clinical experience in settings that brought repeated exposure to mood concerns, trauma, and substance challenges. That experience shapes how he listens for patterns and offers tangible tools.
He describes his role as one of support and guidance rather than judgment. Richard uses several approaches to meet different needs. He draws on client-centered work to follow the client's lead, cognitive behavioral tools to reshape unhelpful thinking, and mindfulness practices to build calm and focus.
He also incorporates emotionally-focused ideas when relationship or attachment issues are central. People who choose him often want practical steps alongside thoughtful conversation. He encourages small experiments and clear goals so progress is easier to measure.
He speaks English and sees clients who live in Washington.
How his approaches translate to online sessions
Richard blends client-centered work, cognitive behavioral techniques, and mindfulness in online sessions. Client-centered work means the conversation follows what you bring up and focuses on your priorities, which helps when dealing with stress, grief, or relationship concerns. Cognitive behavioral techniques give concrete steps to change unhelpful thinking and behavior, useful for anxiety, depression, and addictive patterns. Mindfulness practices teach simple attention and breathing exercises that can reduce reactivity and improve focus.Choosing the right approach is a team effort. The therapist will talk with you about your goals, try techniques together, and adjust the plan based on what helps. That collaborative process makes it easier to find methods that fit your lifestyle and preferences.
Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. Video works well for deeper conversation and visual cues. Phone sessions can be a better fit when bandwidth is limited or a shorter check-in is needed. Live chat and text messaging offer flexible, ongoing contact between sessions and can be useful for brief coaching, updates, or practicing new skills. These options make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into a busy life.
Frequently asked questions
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Specialties and expertise
Top specialties
Also works with
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Anger management
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Avoidant personality
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Cancer
- Career difficulties
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Parenting issues
- Phobias
- Post-traumatic stress
- Postpartum depression
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Relationship issues
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self esteem
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Smoking / vaping cessation
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Traumatic brain injury
- Trichotillomania
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Experience
- 9 years
- Licensed
- Washington
- Languages
- English