How Do I Find the Right Therapist For Me? 

Deciding to start therapy is a huge step forward towards improving your mental health and well-being. But once you’ve made that decision, it’s common to feel unsure about what to do next. As a UK-based therapist, I often hear how overwhelming it can be to figure out how to find the right therapist. Where should you look? What should you be looking for? In this blog, I’ll cover all these considerations and hopefully leave you ready to find your ideal therapist so that you can start taking the steps forward that you want to.

Making Sure the Therapist Is Properly Qualified 

The first and most important step is ensuring that the therapist is suitably qualified to practice. In the UK, the titles of therapist, psychotherapist, and counsellor aren’t protected. This means that anyone can call themselves one of these titles without having undertaken a suitable level of training. 

To protect yourself, you can check that the therapist is a member of one of the main UK professional bodies. These are the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy), UKCP (UK Council for Psychotherapy), and NCPS (National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society).

Members of these bodies will meet training standards, have a minimum level of experience, and adhere to ongoing ethical and professional development requirements. 

Most therapists will openly advertise their membership numbers, and you can check that these details match those on the professional bodies’ online registers. For example, my BACP membership number is 397861.

What Are Your Preferences? 

Now that you’ve checked your therapist is qualified, it’s time to think about your own preferences and needs. This step is all about finding someone who’s a good fit for you.
 

What do you want to work on in therapy?

Many therapists specialise in a particular area. For example, I focus on supporting women through pregnancy and postpartum. Choosing someone with relevant experience means they’re more likely to understand your challenges and offer the right kind of support.

As we know though, life is messy and very rarely do challenges come in neat boxes! Specialist therapists will also have general training so you can still discuss and work on things outside of their speciality. 

What type of therapy might suit you best?

There are many approaches to therapy, and all the different names and terminology can get overwhelming. Look out for my future blog breaking down the main approaches to therapy, but for now, also check out this nice overview. 

You don’t need to become an expert in all the different approaches. Just having a general idea of what might (or might not) feel like a good fit is helpful. Most therapists will be trained in a range of approaches and will be able to draw upon these as best. You can read more about my approach to therapy here.

Consider the practicalities of how you want to work.

Different therapists set up their practice in different ways. Some practicalities to consider are:

1. Would you prefer online or in-person sessions?
2. Your availability for sessions, and whether this is the same or different each week 
3. How often you would like therapy—weekly, fortnightly, or something else?

You can find out more about how I structure my practice here. 

Where To Look For a Therapist

So, you’ve got an idea of what you’re looking for in a therapist. Now, where to look for this ideal therapist? 

A popular starting point is directories. As well as the directories of the main professional bodies (BACP, UKCP, and NCPS), there is Counselling Directory and Psychology Today. These platforms let you filter by location, issues, therapy type, and more. 

Many therapists—myself included—also have a presence on social media, where you can get a feel for their approach and personality. And of course, there is always Google. It’s a useful way to explore therapists in your local area or those who specialise in the kind of support you’re looking for.

Your Relationship With the Therapist 

Hopefully you now feel more confident in taking those next steps in finding a therapist. There’s just one final—and crucial—point to keep in mind.

Out of all the factors that influence how effective therapy will be, one consistently stands out as the most important: the relationship you have with your therapist.

Therapy is most successful when you have a strong, positive, and productive relationship with your therapist. Of course, these types of relationships take time to build—but some things you may want to consider during early interactions are: 

• Do I feel supported by this person?
• Can I imagine trusting them over time?
• Could I eventually feel comfortable being open and honest with them?

I wish you all the best of luck on the next stage of your journey. If you’re experiencing any of the many common challenges that come with the transition to motherhood and you have any questions about working together, you can reach out to me here. I also offer a free, no-obligation 20-minute initial call to discuss how I can support you. You can book that here.