The Specialist You’d Choose
An LGBTQ+ couple choosing a relationship counsellor is one of the most important decisions the couple can make.
Every counsellor brings different qualifications, experience, therapeutic models, and personal styles to their counselling sessions. While many therapists are capable and dedicated professionals, not every practitioner offers the depth of specialist knowledge, relationship-focused training, or dedicated understanding of diverse partnerships required for complex dynamics.
For couples seeking thoughtful, experienced, and specialist guidance, Dean Richardson MNCPS (Accred/Reg) offers several qualities that distinguish his practice from online general counselling services.
What Should You Look for in a Couples Counsellor.
Reviewing a Counsellor
Before choosing a couples counsellor, it is worth looking beyond whether they simply offer relationship counselling or describe themselves as LGBTQ+ friendly (or an “ally”).
Consider whether the counsellor has:
- Specific couples-counselling training and experience working with a couple’s relationship itself, rather than primarily with individuals.
- Genuine experience with LGBTQ+ relationships, rather than LGBTQ+ clients being simply one of many groups they accept.
- A clear therapeutic approach that explains how they work with relationship difficulties and conflicts.
- An understanding of LGBTQ+ relationships and their particular circumstances, so you can discuss your relationship without having to educate your counsellor about its fundamental context.
- Appropriate professional qualifications, supervision and accountability.
- A style that suits you both, particularly whether you want a counsellor who tells you what to do or one who helps you understand your relationship and make your own informed decisions.
Important Considerations
The list above is a useful set of considerations for any counsellor you are thinking of.
They can help you make an informed choice about who is best placed to work with your particular relationship (rather than, say, choosing the cheapest fees, the most good-looking man, or the counsellor who was recommended by another couple with the assumption that their problems are the same as yours).
Dean Richardson – a Specialist in LGBTQ+ Relationship Counselling.
Postgraduate Diploma in Couple Counselling
Most counsellors complete their initial professional training to qualify them to work therapeutically only with individuals.
Such practitioners who attempt couples work will lack the specialised framework, comprehension, and approach required to navigate intricate relationship dynamics; working effectively with a couple, for instance, requires the counsellor to treat the relationship itself as the client.
For example:
Asking open questions of an individual can be therapeutically helpful (e.g. “How do you feel?” ,”When did you first notice your distress?”). But such questions are unhelpful to a couple’s relationship: how does one ask a relationship: “how does it feel?”.
Instead, a couples counsellor uses different approaches that are more effective with relationships, such as Circular Questioning †: an interviewing technique that asks the couple to reflect on the interactions, reactions or relationships between themselves and their partner. Circular questioning intends to reveal, helpfully, hidden patterns within the relationship system that the couple may later work to address.
Individual counsellors are not taught therapeutic relationship approaches.
† Click for more information on Circular Questioning in Couple Counselling.
Postgraduate Qualified
Dean’s postgraduate diploma trained him specifically in integrated Systemic and Psychodynamic Couple Counselling. This qualifies him to work with couples and their relationship dynamics.
Rather than listening to two separate stories, he works with the interaction between partners, the patterns, behaviours, communication styles, and emotional processes that develop within the relationship itself.
His approach encourages couples to become curious about what their behaviours are communicating, helping them gently disrupt unhelpful loops and understand the true function of their conflict for lasting change.
As a gay couple therapist, Dean brings lived insight, personal continued professional development focusing on queer relationships, and an affirmative, non-pathologising approach. This offers couples a non-judgemental space where sexualities and gender identities are naturally understood rather than treated as problems to solve.
Having decades of specialism in remote video therapy, Dean has honed a distinct practical ability to identify and highlight unrecognised relational patterns between LGBTQ+ partners, helping long-distance or cohabiting couples untangle longstanding battles constructively. His depth of hands-on experience allows him to act as an insightful, objective facilitator who respects the unique nuances of diverse relationship structures.
Dedicated Expertise in LGBTQ+ and Diverse Relationships.
Many counsellors list LGBTQ+ clients among a broad array of groups they work with, but Dean has built his entire private practice around these connections. For just over one and a half decades since his postgraduate diploma, his work has focused specifically on helping gay, lesbian, bisexual, mixed-sexuality, transgender, non-binary, and polyamorous relationships (including throuples and other intimate relationship structures) navigate conflict, disconnection, and change.
Deep Specialisation
This deep specialisation means that gay couples spend zero time explaining their identities, relationship structures, or unique pressures to a counsellor. Therapy begins from a position of profound understanding, creating an environment where diverse partnerships feel genuinely recognised rather than merely accepted. His gender-agnostic approach ensures clients are met with deep competence and a non-pathologising space.
Decades of Proven Experience.
Counsellor Dean live on video
Experience matters. Now in his 27th year of counselling practice with extensive experience devoted to relationship work, Dean brings a seasoned, steady hand that easily recognises subtle interactional patterns partners may have overlooked for years.
Assuring IT Experience
Furthermore, his background gives him a distinct edge in digital practice as an ex-IBM engineer contributing to his reliable experience of delivering secure online therapy via Zoom, Teams, and WhatsApp. This flexibility allows couples to attend sessions consistently from wherever they are, even if partners are temporarily logging in from separate locations.
A Collaborative Style and Plain English Communication.
Some people imagine counselling involves an expert telling couples how they should live their lives. Dean deliberately avoids this authoritative position. Instead of presenting himself as the person with all the answers, he approaches therapy with collaboration and curiosity, helping couples discover solutions that genuinely will belong to them.
Simple Communication
Furthermore, he believes relationship counselling does not need to be filled with clinical psychological jargon. Dean communicates clearly, naturally, and directly, explaining complex relationship processes in plain English that couples can easily understand and apply in everyday life.
Independent Practice and Professional Accountability.
Independent Online Counsellor
Many counselling services operate through large online platforms or commercial agencies where clients have little choice over their therapist. Dean works independently, meaning the therapeutic relationship develops directly with the person selected from the very beginning, ensuring total continuity.
An Accredited Counsellor
Dean was professionally accredited by his first professional membership body back in 2009. Now, as an Accredited Registrant (MNCPS (Accred/Reg)) with the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society (Registration: NCS15-02454), Dean maintains monthly professional supervision, undertakes continuing professional development, and practises strictly within a recognised ethical framework.
Making your Informed Choice.
The Right Choice for Your Relationship
No counsellor can be the right therapist for every couple. The most successful journey begins when partners choose someone whose background aligns with their needs, and in the first few sessions they find working with him to be straightforward.
If you are seeking a specialist in LGBTQ+ couples counselling who:
- Holds specialised postgraduate qualifications in systemic and psychodynamic relationship counselling;
- Focuses deeply on LGBTQ+ and diverse relationship structures rather than treating them as just one of many groups;
- Brings over 26 years of practical counselling experience;
- Works collaboratively and transparently using plain English;
- Prioritises understanding the underlying dynamics of relationship conflict rather than assigning blame to one partner or the other; and
- Offers an independent, professional practice with flexible online video access,
…then Counsellor Dean Richardson MNCPS (Accred/Reg) represents a distinctive choice.
Ultimately, relationship therapy is an investment in your future together, and partnering with someone whose therapeutic practice embraces relationship processes could provide a strong foundation for meaningful and lasting change in your partnership.
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