My approach to therapy is underpinned by my love of nature, by my commitment to social and climate justice, and by my belief in the collaborative nature of growth and healing.

A woman - Ruth Coates, Psychotherapist - is smiling while sitting on a colourful chair, holding a book, in a cozy indoor setting with a window in the background.

Hi, I’m Ruth

I have been fortunate enough to work in the helping professions for around 25 years, 15 of those as a practicing counsellor and psychotherapist.

My experience spans varied roles in the mental health and social justice sectors, supporting individuals, groups and families experiencing homelessness, stigma, unemployment, postnatal depression, and sexual trauma.

I bring the strong values and passion from this sector to my private work, and I continue my charitable and community commitments through my work with Groundswell Scotland, a surf therapy organisation based in East Lothian. I bring an active anti-racist, gender inclusive approach to my work and continue to learn and unlearn in these areas.

My approach

I believe my role as a therapist is to help you find your own voice, and to support you in reconnecting with your own sense of aliveness and autonomy. My approach is centred on the belief that you are your own expert, and that our greatest power often lies in our unspoken truths.

  • A woman walking on a sandy beach with trees in the foreground and a cloudy sky above.

    Person-Centred Approach

    My initial training is in the Person-Centred approach, which I completed in 2009. While I have undertaken many varied trainings since then and so bring an eclectic skill base to my work, I stay faithful to the core person-centred belief that it is the relationship that heals. I bring warmth, honesty and sensitive curiosity to my work so that you come to trust in being wholly accepted, just as you are.

  • Two pairs of hands reaching towards each other, one with an engagement ring, against a blurred outdoor background.

    Relationality

    I am interested in the ways we are shaped by family, culture and environments, and I am deeply curious about how we develop meaning in our lives. We each have a unique individual lens on the world to include our relationship with ourselves and others. In therapy we share a growing understanding of how this self awareness both helps and hinders us.

  • Collaboration

    I am highly experienced in the therapeutic support of others, and you are highly experienced in your own life. In that way, you are the expert you seek, and we collaborate to create a unique therapeutic relationship that supports you in your growth and exploration.

  • Close-up of two hands reaching towards each other with sunset in the background.

    Socially Conscious

    I am steadfast in warmly welcoming people of all identities, outlooks, and orientations, with long experience of working with those who live with the trauma of marginalisation and exclusion. I recognise my part in creating an anti-racist, feminist, gender-inclusive world, and continue to learn and unlearn in these areas through reading, courses, and conversation. I promote and encourage personal and collective growth, and am deeply respectful of the challenges that may bring, whilst being equally committed to my own personal and professional development.

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The Therapy Hut

Some time ago I envisioned a therapeutic space that somehow connected privacy and containment with the wild expressiveness of nature. I am so interested in the interplay between the worlds of our outer and inner experience, that it felt right to seek a therapeutic space that meets clients at this threshold.

Walking along the local harbour one day, I saw my future counselling room - on wheels! The shepherd’s hut was lovingly made by JaneR Designs, based in my home of Dunbar. It made its way from the harbour to the woods that edge the John Muir Way, just outside the town.

I have been meeting clients at The Therapy Hut since late 2020, either for sessions indoors or as a base for walking therapy.

This is a place of quiet sanctuary that changes with the seasons, sharing space with the trees, plants and wildlife that surround it. You’re so welcome to join me here.

How to find the Therapy Hut

From Dunbar, join the A199 from the Beltonford roundabout, Foxlake is approx 0.5 mile from there on your right.

Or from the North, take the A1 Southbound toward Haddington. Then take the A199 exit toward Haddington / East Linton / Dream / Gullane. At the roundabout take the 2nd exit onto the A199

Continue for approx 11 miles (follow the brown Visit Visit Scotland signs to Foxlake). About 0.5 miles before Beltonford Roundabout, turn left into Foxlake.

The Therapy Hut is through the trees to the right of the wooden gates to Foxlake. The what3words location is ///belief.brotherly.attends