Choosing a Counsellor or Psychotherapist

As the profession of Counselling and Psychotherapy is currently not state-regulated there is a bewildering variety of qualifications and labels to choose from. When choosing a therapist these are some of the things you may want to consider:

- are they accredited with a recognised and respected organisation? If someone is not accredited or registered you have no guarantee that they have appropriate training or experience. You would also not have access to a regulated complaints system.

- what is their length and variety of training and experience? and do they have specific experience for my issue?

- do they keep up-to-date with Continuous Professional Development by doing new training?

- and lastly, when I sit in the room with them do I feel comfortable and able to talk to them about my problem? This is an essential. If you don't feel confident with the person you are talking to, then I suggest you find another therapist. I don't recommend 'shopping around' as it can be time-consuming and expensive. Make an appointment with someone who appeals to you and have a session or two with them. If it works out, then there is no need to see anyone else.