Hand-picked for you
Reach comprises of Director Ruth Chapman, and hand-picked associates. We never use staff we don’t know. Our network includes other psychologists, counsellors, psychologists in training and a Consultant SENCo.
All of our practitioners have experience of working in a variety of settings and can offer a wealth of skill and expertise in applying psychological theory in order to deliver high quality assessments, training and intervention packages.
The Team
All Reach staff are hand-picked for their skills, personality and personal and professional experiences.
Ruth Chapman
Ruth created Reach Psychology with a passion to make psychological thinking and support easy to understand and stigma-free for people and places that ordinarily wouldn't use it. Those people and places have included reluctant adults and children, high net worth clients, schools, looked after children, social services, law firms, charities and even a film set. Ruth is known for her energy, her support-and-challenge style and her ability to connect with those anxious about all that psychological support entails. She’s a consultant, facilitator, supervisor, expert witness and therapist as well as responsible for the day to day running of Reach and raising her headstrong daughter. Ruth is an aspiring features writer and perpetual student; currently undertaking a remote learning course at the London School of Journalism.
Deb O'Keeffe
You’ll usually find Deb in a school counselling a young person or undertaking wellbeing support calls to staff or adult clients. Deb joined us with extensive experience supporting adults with diagnosed mental health difficulties and overcame her own barrier to learning (dyslexia) to gain a Degree in Counselling. She has first-hand experience of navigating the Special Educational Needs system as a mother of a child with significant disabilities, now thriving at University. Deb is one of the busiest members of the team. To relax, she escapes to the coast in her caravan and enjoys time with her family.
Victoria Mantle
Victoria has taught in Early Years, Primary and Secondary settings and is an experienced SENCo who knows the SEN Code of Practice to a tee and was in one of the first cohorts to have completed the National Award for SEND Coordination. As well as consultations, Victoria is able to undertake learning assessments of young people thanks to her British Psychological Society Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing. When not working for Reach, she’s a Pastoral Lead in a Primary School so is able to integrate her safeguarding, social emotional and mental health, behaviour and learning needs knowledge and works to support parents and professionals to make sense of it all. A mum of two boys, she’s otherwise in mud, washing mud from clothes or planning their next muddy adventure.
Mary-Claire Booth
Mary-Claire is an experienced Educational Psychologist who has worked with a number of local authorities and directly supported young people in schools. She brings a solution-focused and systemic, consultation-led approach to Reach. Managing chronic pain and being part of a military family, Mary-Claire also brings a significant understanding of the many additional challenges families can face. When not supporting schools and families for Reach, you might spot her walking her rescue dog or playing in the park with her daughter.
Beth Watkin-Bloxham
Beth is our behind-the-scenes super organised guru, responsible for all things accounting. Despite hailing from a jargon-led finance background, Beth personifies the Reach accessible approach and always demonstrates compassion and empathy to the team and our clients and is always keen to achieve a practical solution. When not getting her kicks from a spreadsheet, Beth supports others to take steps in tackling practical tasks which have felt insurmountable through her business Tidy-Up. Never a dull moment with three young children, you’ll usually find Beth craving time to read a good book or relax with friends and family.
Laura Buzzing
With over fifteen years of experience working with children and families as a qualified teacher and pastoral lead, a strong background in positive behaviour management and counselling skills, Laura is ideally placed to provide home-school collaborative work. She's already training others, visiting lecturing and holds her own case load (supervised by Ruth). When she's not working on her thesis, you'll find Laura's love of music manifesting in an 80s sing-a-long.
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
