How to Find Private Psychological Therapy Safely

If you are currently searching for a psychological therapist to help you with sensitive, emotional issues, you may have already discovered that there is a lot of information out there, which can feel somewhat overwhelming and confusing.

Whilst you may know that you are seeking therapy to improve your well-being, the process of trying to find a suitable and available therapist can be very anxiety provoking. Accessing therapy is a big investment, both financially and in terms of your time, so naturally you want to take steps to ensure you are getting the best kind of help for you.

The sheer amount of information, marketing and guidance out there these days can be somewhat off-putting, so here I have tried to put together a helpful and informed summary of some of the key issues, particularly in terms of what credentials and registrations you should be looking for.

Therapy Is All About Relationships

I can’t in all honesty begin without addressing this point. Whilst all good therapy is supported by evidence and research into its effectiveness, what still holds true is that the most important predictor of good outcomes in therapy is the relationship between therapist and client. Qualities of therapists that can’t really be measured, such as confidence and belief in the process of the therapy being delivered on the part of the therapist, a genuine desire to help and guide but not to tell people what to do and an openness to different ideas and perspectives are all known to bode well for therapy outcomes.

Different therapists suit different people. My style as a therapist might be helpful to some, but really not at all in line with what others might feel comfortable with. Therapy is about making changes (often uncomfortably so) so it’s important that the relationship feels like a safe base from which to do that. If you are feeling uncomfortable or unsure about anything within the relationship, being able to raise and discuss it is crucial to supporting a good therapeutic alliance. All good therapists are very happy to talk this through and (if necessary) support clients to seek an alternative therapist who might feel like a better fit.

Obviously nothing feels completely safe to begin with, so a relationship needs time to develop, and sometimes therapy raises conflicts and dilemmas between you and your therapist which need to be resolved. However, the evidence is that if there is not a sense of trust and collaboration in therapy, it is a lot less beneficial.

So it is important to check out that therapists, like all professionals, are well qualified and competent, but it’s also important to feel comfortable together. If you can, try to have a brief initial discussion over the telephone/online to see how you feel with them. Also, do carefully read the profile of any therapist you find online – we try as much as possible to give a good sense of ourselves and how we work to help you make an informed decision.

Professional Regulation

The field of psychological therapy is, thankfully, increasingly well regulated. However, we are still on a journey, and some professional groups offering psychological therapy are more well-regulated than others. In recent times, there have been stories in the media about therapists appearing online and offering therapy which falls below the standard that we aspire to. This has happened particularly as a result of the Global Pandemic, with more services that refer to themselves as ‘psychological therapy’ appearing online and on social media in increasingly unregulated ways. The consequences of this can be significant, with clients reporting deterioration in their mental health and feeling traumatised by the experience.

Psychological professionals are regulated by national bodies that ensure they are appropriately trained, skilled and experienced to work effectively with you. It is important that any therapist you choose is registered and regulated by a professional body.

The Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) is the regulating body for a number of psychological professions, including Clinical Psychologists, Counselling Psychologists and Arts Psychotherapists and has the power to take action if any particular therapist is found to be failing to meet expected standards. It is seen as an offence to use the title of these professions if one is not appropriately trained and qualified. However, the list of regulated professions does not extend to all psychological therapists (for example CBT therapists and counsellors).

Organisations such as the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists (BABCP), for CBT therapists) The UK Council for Psychotherapists (UKCP) and the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists) (BACP) are responsible for accreditation and good practice and have processes for checking the skills and qualifications of their members.

A number of other professional regulating bodies exist for other types of psychological profession (there are too many to list here!) so if the therapist you find is not registered with those mentioned above, it doesn’t mean they’re not regulated. However, it is strongly recommended that you check whether they are registered with a recognised regulator before agreeing to commence therapy.

It’s important to highlight that for many types of psychological therapist there are no real regulations regarding what training or experience is required for them to practice (such as life coaching or hypnotherapy). This doesn’t mean therapists in these fields are not tremendously skilled and responsible, but it is important to check out their training, accreditation and experience before commencing any course of therapy.

What ‘Type’ of Therapy Should I Have?

There are numerous theoretical models of psychological therapy, and many more interventions based on those models. No model is better overall than another, but all recognised therapies should be based in research evidence, often for specific conditions (for example CBT for anxiety, or EMDR for trauma). It’s often helpful to view models of therapy as frameworks on which to hang certain experiences and emotions to make sense of what’s happening and identify paths towards change. Sometimes a number of different frameworks will fit and work well for someone. Some other issues are quite specific and lend themselves more to one particular model.

Models of therapy are theoretical ideas and concepts that can be overwhelmingly helpful in supporting people to make changes in their lives, or they can simply just not make sense for that person or presenting issue and another model might be more useful.

Number of Sessions

The point is that models of therapy are not ‘things’ that can be prescribed to ‘make something better’ or go away, as is the perceived view of medication. We often hear about a specific number of CBT sessions being ‘prescribed’ in order to resolve anxiety for example. Whilst there is research out there that provides a guide as to how many sessions is sufficient to help on average to help someone to achieve significant relief from anxiety, this number will be different for everyone.

Many people will need some guidance and support from the person assessing them in deciding on the best fit of therapy model for them and how many sessions are likely to be required. The ‘one size fits all’ approach definitely does not apply to psychological therapy. You may be offered an initial number of sessions, but this does not mean that should be rigidly stuck to.

Good Enough Therapists

Like any endeavour based on relationships, the best any therapist can be is ‘good enough’. There is no perfect therapist out there, and as long as a therapist is adequately trained and experienced in the type of therapy they are advertising, they are likely to be good enough. No therapist has THE definitive answer to emotional and psychological distress. Yes, there is an art to effective psychological therapy, but there is no such thing as a perfect therapist! The following points might help you to consider whether the therapist you are considering is ‘good enough’.

A good enough therapist will:

Be open, compassionate and approachable
Be clear about their own boundaries, as well as the boundaries/rules around therapy
Have clear terms and conditions for you to sign up to
Talk to you about confidentiality and its limits
Tell you how they store your personal information
Work collaboratively with you, rather than telling you what to do
Listen carefully and compassionately
Set clear goals with you at the start, that mean something to you and regularly check in with you as to how you are progressing towards these.

A good therapist will not:

Tell you what to do
Share a lot of personal information or talk about themselves too much
Share your personal information outside of agreed boundaries
Demand that you participate in certain activities to continue in therapy
Criticise you for finding things difficult
Offer services they are not qualified to carry out

Useful Search Tools

There are a number of ways of searching for an appropriate therapist. Here is a list of some of the useful directories that can support you in finding a therapist:

Psychology Today (www.psychologytoday.com)
Counselling Directory (www.counselling-directory.org.uk)
British Psychological Society (www.bps.org.uk)
BABCP (www.babcp.com)
UKCP directory (www.psychotherapy.org.uk)
BACP (www.bacp.co.uk)

If you have private medical insurance, your insurer should have a list of approved psychological therapists for you to choose from. If you can’t find anyone on their list with availability, you may wish to try the above directories to find someone and discuss whether they could apply to become an approved clinician for your insurer.

If you’d like to read more, here’s a link to a fabulous new resource produced by highly skilled and experienced psychological therapists exploring this issue in more depth.