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(c) danielbrezina.com, Flickr
(c) danielbrezina.com, Flickr
Introduction.
Finding a counsellor can be a straightforward process if you know of some helpful things to look for.
A current problem (2010) is that counselling and psychotherapy is not yet governed by UK law. Anyone can advertise themselves as a counsellor or therapist without actually having any professional training, appropriate qualifications or any actual experience. Unfortunately, this means that the client seeking therapeutic treatment can be quite at risk.
This post describes how to find a suitable therapist – and offers some topics to check out with your potential therapist. At your first meeting, most – if not all – appropriate therapists should not be phase by you asking these questions.
Read: “How to get the best out of your therapist”Search a Professional Body
An easy way to find a suitable therapist is to use a professional therapists’ body that offers a “find a therapist” type of service. The therapists listed may have had to pay for an entry, but would also have had their qualifications checked before being allowed to pay for an entry in the list. It’s a good place to begin searching for a therapist.
- British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
http://www.bacp.co.uk/seeking_therapist - British Association for Psychotherapy
http://www.bap-psychotherapy.org/ - The British Psychological Society
http://www.bps.org.uk/
… however, if you wish to find your own therapist – or you would like some advice on what to check out about your potential therapist – then read on.
Finding your Own Therapist.
Finding your own therapist can be easier when you want to find a counsellor with specific criteria. Sometimes professional bodies do not include such criteria. Use search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing to begin your search – and then refer to the information below about what you might want to check about each potential therapist.
Qualifications.
Does the counsellor has a recognised qualification in counselling.
Diplomas and Degrees – check that the qualification included actual supervised practice (eg 100 hours counselling practice to achieve the qualification). Having a qualification in the theory of counselling without any actual practice may be insufficient for your needs.
Certificates in counselling may not include any actual practice to gain the award if they are just certificates of attendance.
Membership of Professional Body.
Is the counsellor a registered member of a professional body? Do they subscribe to a recognised code of ethics or an ethical framework for their therapeutic work? Is there anyone to whom you could report your complaint if you needed to?
Special interest/experience.
Does the counsellor have any special interests or special experience in working in particular therapeutic areas?
Theoretical approach.
There are different forms of counselling and psychotherapy – and whilst it’s the relationship between therapist and client that is shown to matter, some approaches might suit you better than others.
See Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_psychotherapies for information on therapy models.
Who does the counsellor work with?
Does the counsellor state what types of person they can work with (eg adults, couples, young people, children, elderly etc).
“This is how I work”.
Does the counsellor give you an idea of how they work therapeutically?
Fees.
Do you understand what the therapy will cost?
Supervision.
Counselling supervision is a formal meeting in which the counsellor meets with a qualified supervisor (or another counsellor) to review their clinical work. Sometimes their professional development and their personal development is reviewed too – depending on the counsellor’s needs. A supervisor is not a managerial role, but more of a professional service designed to support the counsellor.
Is the counsellor taking regular supervision? Some therapists’ professional bodies require the therapist a minimum amount of supervision every month (eg 90 minutes).
Continual Professional Development.
Does the therapist make you aware that they attend CPD (a form of contining their training and experience throughout their practice). Some professional bodies, such as the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy, require that the counsellor obtain a specific number of CPD hours per year.
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