Did you know? There’s no regulatory oversight of counselling and psychotherapy in the UK.
There's already a lot of therapists to choose from. So, you might be seeking therapy or just about to start – which can already make you feel vulnerable – and be totally overwhelmed or confused about what to look for.
What do you need to know to make the right choice for yourself?
With the hope of demystifying the process a little for you – I’ve outlined 7 things that (I believe!) really matter below.
1. Credentials
Credentials are important. But here’s what you should know:
- Counselling is unregulated in the UK, ergo (in theory) anybody can call themselves a counsellor and set up in practice.
- Qualification to practice requires a minimum of a Level 4 Diploma in Counselling. Anyone with credentials below this (e.g. Level 2 or 3) will not have had sufficient, or even any, practice experience.
- Are they a member of an accredited counselling body? The main ones are: BACP; NCPS; UKCP. To become a member, they need to be qualified/trained and have had some practice experience.
- Being a member of a counselling body means that therapists need to adhere to ethical rules of practice. And if they don’t clients can make a complaint to that body.
- While qualifications are important, there's very little evidence to suggest that higher level academic qualifications are linked to competence in practice. A therapist trained to level 4 diploma is just as qualified to practise and could be a better fit for you, as somebody with a postgraduate degree or a doctorate.
Check that your therapist is qualified. But also note that there are still therapists who will not be effective even though they’re qualified. It’s also true that qualified therapists may not all be a good fit for YOU. This could be for various reasons including their approach or their personality.
2. Connection
Did you know? Qualification level, approach etc. is less important than how you relate to a therapist. Yes, research shows that a strong ‘working alliance’ is the most crucial factor in a successful therapy outcome.
If you don’t feel like your therapist is trying to understand you, collaborating with you, working in your best interest, and generally on your side, therapy will be less effective.
In this case you might want to consider another therapist.
And if you’ve had a bad experience with therapy in the past, I hear you. Like all professions there are some bad therapists – I’ve heard a few horror stories myself! But that doesn’t mean you won’t a find a therapist who ‘gets’ you. I’d hate you to give up on finding the help you need because of a bad experience.
Like many, I offer a free consultation. You can make use of these to get a sense of whether a person is somebody you could imagine working with.
But also – importantly – check they have the right credentials to be in practice.
3. What you want
You don’t need very specific goals, but a broad idea of what you might want from therapy can really help you to prioritise and get the most out of it, especially if there are constraints around how much time or money you can spend.
What can really help is to work backwards by considering your life problem free and asking: ‘what would be different?’
4. Your current issue
if you needed some help with a leaky pipe you’d go to a plumber!
Therapy’s a bit similar in that – though we’re trained as generalists – we can also specialise based on our previous experience and training.
You can look for a particular specialism when searching.
I specialise in trauma because I’ve worked for a few years in this area and have additional training. I also have lived experience of it, so I resonate with lots of what my clients have gone through. Of course, I don’t spend my time in therapy sharing that!
But it does give me passion and drive to want the best possible outcomes for my clients.
5. Their therapy approach
It helps to consider how therapy approach might help you to meet your goals but remember the working alliance too.
See the BACP for an A-Z of the different types of therapy.
It’s also useful to consider these alongside how you might like to proceed in therapy. For instance, CBT therapy is shown to be effective for issues like anxiety, but is also brief, structured, and requires homework.
My own approach is integrative with a special focus on trauma.
6. Their own therapy
This differs with training routes, but your therapist should usually have some experience of what it’s like to be a client themselves. To be a member of an accredited body this is a requirement (as it’s included within the training).
Why is this important?
I had 3 years of personal therapy while training. It was important because I had my own stuff to work through. And my own therapy meant that I didn’t take that into sessions with clients.
Therapy sessions are for you and working together on what YOU bring. Yes, there are times when your experiences might resonate with my own. But I’ll never make it about me. Nor should any other therapist.
7. Your expectations
I know from my own therapy that it’s hard work. At times it felt excruciating. But this is because therapy isn’t meant to be easy – It’s meant to challenge you.
It’s not always easy to know from the outset how long it will take for you to change or grow.
I do appreciate that it’s not easy to be client. And it’s important to realise that your therapist doesn't have the power to make you feel instantly feel better. But after a few sessions or as soon as you feel challenged – like it’s hard work – that’s usually because it’s working!
So what did you learn? In this blog I outlined how – in addition to qualifications – there are other things that really matter when choosing a therapist. Like whether you like the therapist, as well as your personal goals for therapy and what you’d like to focus on.
If you found this blog helpful, please also check out my blog on a similar theme:
Busting 6 common myths about therapy.
Reaching out for support is a big step and reading this blog is a good start. If you’re looking for therapy yourself, please visit my website where you can find full details of my services and/or book a complimentary call with me.