Mind Support - Mind Support 5 Layard Street

Richard’s journey to becoming a Therapist.

Richard has two grown up children, Rick and Josh, a grand daughter, Alexa, and a loving partner, Katrina, who is also the Practice Manager.

Apart from his passion for therapy and counselling, he has a life-long love of motorcycles. He also likes to get out on his mountain bike, and he also enjoys a game of tennis.

Before arriving in NZ in 2015, Richard spent 30 years in the Fire Service in Scotland, attending a huge variety of emergency incidents. During that period, he dealt with people suffering from all types and levels of trauma (note: trauma is not what happens to you, but how your mind and body react to what has happened to you).

While working as a Fire Officer/Instructor and gaining a qualification in Advanced Trauma in 1998, he came to believe there had to be a better way of helping casualties and colleagues to deal with their trauma. He began to look at ways to do that.

The breakthrough came in 2002 while attending a work-management course. It was here that Richard was introduced to the concept of Neuro-linguistic Programming or NLP. This teaches individuals to change negative thought patterns, and to manage trauma and pain. This led him to start the first of his NLP courses in 2003 and to further explore how pain and trauma could be reduced, or in some cases, eliminated.

In 2007, he completed his Bachelor of Science degree (BSc). In particular, this five year period of study, helped him understand the importance of evidence-based research.

He then returned to his NLP studies, but it was not until 2015 when he had a chance meeting with a Psycho-therapist from Nelson, who encouraged him to become qualified, that he decided to specilase and train to help others.

He also read up on the scientific evidence of guided visualisation and he decided to also complete his Master Practitioner in Clinical Hypnotherapy qualification, which he did in the U.K.

Since then he has taken (and still takes) multiple courses and development opportunities in mental health, and studies the works of those he considers to be some of the best therapists and counsellors in the world.

Having now moved to Ōpunakē, Richard’s aim is to help people whenever and wherever he can, at an affordable price, hence the opening of his business ‘Mind Support’.