Finding a Therapist: What to Look Out For
Finding a therapist can feel like a daunting task. There are so many types of therapy and it’s likely that your local area will have lots of practitioners offering support. As many therapists are offering online sessions, there are even more options available, so it may be challenging to find the right therapist for you.
Here are some of my key tips for what to look out for if you’re looking for a therapist (please note that some of these tips only apply to therapists practicing in the UK, so the regulations may be different in your country, and that the focus of this post is on finding a therapist who is working with adults).
In this post, I’ll talk about:
What counselling and psychotherapy are;
Who can call themselves a counsellor / psychotherapist / therapist;
Membership registration for therapists;
Where to find therapists who specialise in working with particular issues;
Professional standards to check;
Following your instincts when choosing a therapist.
What are counselling and psychotherapy?
Counselling and psychotherapy appear to be quite similar on the surface, and the words are often used interchangeably, but there are some subtle differences between them.
Generally, counselling sessions focus on supporting people with issues that are affecting them in the present and don’t tend to delve into historical and early development issues. They will usually focus on helping the client to process the here-and-now thoughts and feelings, and exploring the impact that the issues are having in the present. An example might be a client who is feeling overwhelmed at work and who needs a space to acknowledge and process their feelings in a way that won’t “burden” the other person. Depending on whether or not there are other issues going on for them, it’s likely that counselling will be the right approach for them.
Psychotherapy sessions will usually go to a deeper level to get to the root of the issues that a client is seeking therapy for. This process is more about understanding the client’s development in childhood, as well as patterns in their behaviour and relationships. This can help a client to recognise what goes on for them when they seem to keep repeating the same experiences over and over again, and to understand why this happens so that they can respond differently. An example might be a client who keeps getting into relationships that “always end in the same way and I don’t know why”. It’s likely that there will be underlying historical issues that are manifesting in this way until they’re acknowledged and processed.
If you’re unsure which of these might be more appropriate, it’s a good idea to discuss it with any therapist you’re considering working with. They should be able to suggest an option that they think will be best for you, and give you an idea of how many sessions you might need, and / or a timeframe for the work.
Who can call themselves a counsellor / psychotherapist / therapist?
One of the biggest challenges about finding a therapist is identifying who has done practical training in counselling and / or psychotherapy. In the UK, the generic titles ‘Counsellor’ and ‘Psychotherapist’ are not protected, which means that anyone can use them, even if they haven’t done any formal training. There’s a lot of debate among therapists as to whether or not we should be regulated in the same way as other healthcare professionals, but that’s a post for another day!
There are some types of therapist whose titles are protected and regulated, and these are: Art(s) therapist, Play therapist, Music therapist, Drama therapist, and Psychologist (Counselling, Clinical, Educational, etc.). In order for these therapists to practice, they must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and you can check their registration status on the website here. If they are not registered with the HCPC, they are not licensed to use these titles, and if someone is using one of these titles without the appropriate registration, you can raise a concern with the HCPC.
Check if the therapist is registered with a membership body for the profession
As counsellors and psychotherapists are not regulated in the same way as many other healthcare professions in the UK, there is no legal requirement for them to be registered with any membership body. It’s important to be clear about the distinction between a '“regulatory” body and a “membership” body. Regulatory bodies have the legal authority to licence and regulate their members, and anyone who wants to use a protected title like the ones listed above must be registered with them. Membership bodies have no legal authority to licence or regulate their members in the same way, and joining them is optional for practitioners.
In some ways, this is empowering for clients because it means that there are more options about who to work with. However, I would say that the biggest drawbacks of working with a therapist who isn’t registered with a membership body are that there is no guarantee that they have met a minimum standard to practice safely and ethically, and if you have a complaint or concern about the therapist’s practice and behaviour, there is no formalised independent procedure to explore and address them.
There are lots of membership bodies that therapists can join, depending on the training they have had and the type(s) of therapy they offer. The main general ones, i.e. for therapists using any type of therapeutic approach, are the National Counselling Society (NCS), the British Association of Counsellors & Psychotherapists (BACP), and the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP). The minimum requirements that therapists need to have met to be able to join these bodies vary slightly, and you can find out more on their websites.
You can also find therapists on general directories like Counselling Directory and Psychology Today, which will show therapists registered to the site, regardless of which membership body they are (or aren’t!) registered with. There are options to search by area, as well as the issues you’d like support with.
For some specialist types of therapy and therapeutic approaches, there are specific membership bodies that therapists can join if they meet the requirements to do so. There’s CPCAB for CBT therapists, CORST for sex and relationship therapists, and Pink Therapy for therapists specialising in working with LGBT+ issues. If you are seeking support with any of these issues, the directories for these organisations are a good place to start.
Do they work with the issue you’d like support with, and have they done any specific training to do so?
This might seem like an obvious question, but it’s really important! As an example, I only work with adults (people aged 18+, as this is the legal age at which you are considered an ‘adult’ in the UK), so if you were looking for a therapist for your child, I wouldn’t be the right therapist to work with them. This is because there are lots of additional things to consider when working therapeutically with children, and as I haven’t specifically trained to work with them, I don’t feel it would be ethical for me to do so.
Therapists have a professional and ethical responsibility to work within our competencies. This means that we should be working with issues that we have training, experience and support to work with, not necessarily to a specialist level, but enough that we can support the client safely and appropriately. If we don’t feel we can offer this, we should refer the client on to another therapist or service for support.
Membership bodies that therapists can join usually have a minimum Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirement. This is so that we ensure that we are staying up-to-date with the latest research and developments in the field, and to enable us to expand our “therapeutic toolkits” to support our clients. It also introduces us to issues and areas of work that we might not have considered before, and this could lead on to further specialist training.
Professional standards to check
As a minimum, a therapist in private practice needs: to be registered with the Information Commissioners Office (ICO), which oversees the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); hold Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance, and undertake regular clinical supervision. They should be able to provide you with certificates for their ICO registration and insurance if you ask to see them.
Some therapists - myself included - also hold an enhanced DBS check, and subscribe to the Update Service, but there is no requirement to have this.
A therapist should be able to explain their confidentiality and safeguarding policies, provide a GDPR and Privacy Policy that sets out how they collect, store and dispose of data, and be clear about their terms and conditions of providing therapeutic services. This should include things like expectations around payments and cancellations, contact between sessions, and what happens if you don’t attend a session without providing any notice.
Follow your instincts
Gut feeling, instinct, “spidey senses”; whatever you call it, your instinctive response to a potential therapist will almost always be the right one.
If you sense any sort of discomfort or unease, it’s important to keep it in mind and remember that although it might be helpful to explore what this response is about, you don’t have to work with them if you don’t want to.
Equally, you might feel comfortable with the therapist straightaway, and find that it’s easy to talk to them. This is usually a good sign, and can help to overcome any anxieties you might have about starting therapy.
Keep feeding back to your therapist about how you feel about the therapeutic relationship, because this can really help if you notice you feel stuck or uncomfortable about something.
If you’re considering or in the process of looking for a therapist, I hope this post has given you some useful insights into things to look out for. The most important thing is that you feel comfortable with any therapist you decide to work with, so hold that as key in your search.
As ever, if you’re struggling with your mental health and think I might be the therapist for you, please feel free to get in touch. You can contact me using the form below, via email to emma@emmapooleytherapy.com or connect with me on Facebook and Instagram @emmapooleytherapy.