Finding a Therapist/Counsellor
This document has been drafted with the intention of helping you find a therapist or counsellor who is best suited to meeting your particular needs and requirements. There are two main routes to obtaining further counselling or psychotherapy therapy should you feel you need this.
The first of these is through the NHS. To access the range of specialist psychotherapy and counselling services available through the NHS you will need, in the first instance, to contact your GP. After discussing your difficulty or problem with them, and if they believe it is necessary or right to do so, he or she will then refer you on to the appropriate person or service.
The second route to finding a therapist is via the private and voluntary sector. Psychotherapists and counsellors who work privately charge a fee; voluntary agencies may or may not. It is advisable to enquire about this when first contacting them.
The cost of private therapy may vary considerably, but a figure in the region of £25 to £35 per hour for an individual session (which will usually be about fifty minutes long) is the norm outside London. However, many therapists offer a sliding scale of fees, which takes into account an individual's ability to pay.
Which Therapist?
Though each has its advocates, at this point in time the available research evidence does not make a convincing case for the overall superiority or effectiveness of any one model or approach to counselling and / or psychotherapy. Choosing a therapist you feel comfortable with and can trust is, therefore, often as important as the particular kind of therapy they are offering. If you are seeking private therapy meeting a number of therapists for an initial interview before committing yourself to entering therapy is helpful in this respect.
Deciding which therapist, or which form of therapy is best for you is unavoidably difficult. Nevertheless, the following questions are useful ones to ask when choosing a therapist.
- What training and qualifications does the therapist have?
- Do they belong to an established professional body, and does that organisation have a code of ethics?
- How long they have been practising?
- Does the therapist receive regular supervision from a more experienced colleague?
- Does the therapist carry appropriate insurance?
- Finally, you may or may not wish to enquire whether the therapist has been in personal therapy. Most qualified therapists have been in therapy during their training.
Further information on choosing a therapist is available online
- Treatment Choice in Psychological Therapies and Counselling
- Understanding Talking Treatments
- Mental Health - Therapy and Therapists
Where can I find a therapist?
A recommendation by a person you know and trust may be one way of finding a suitable person, although there can be no guarantee that what one person finds helpful will be experienced as such by everyone. Other useful sources of information are public libraries, Yellow Pages, the internet or world wide web and organisations concerned with mental health issues such as MIND (Tel: 0114 2584489, www.mind.org.uk) or which hold registers of qualified counsellors and psychotherapists such as The British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies(www.babcp.org.uk), the Association for Cognitive Analytic Therapy(www.acat.me.uk), the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (Tel: 01788 550899, www.counselling.co.uk), the British Psychoanalytic Council (formerly the British Confederation of Psychotherapists) www.bcp.org.uk),and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (Tel: 0171 4363002, www.psychotherapy.org.uk).
In addition, a list of the names and addresses of local and national organisations specifically concerned with the provision of counselling and psychotherapy is to be found below.
CRUSE (bereavement counselling for adults and young people) - 0114 2493328 (Sheffield office), 01709 362744 (Rotherham office):
email : sheffieldcruse@aol.com
Relate (relationship guidance) - 01709 377644 (national HQ), 01709
377644 (Rotherham office to make an appointment):
email : Admin@relate/rotherham.fsnet.co.uk
Samaritans - 0114 2767277 or 0800 909090 (for crisis telephone contact):
SHARE Psychotherapy Agency - 0114 273 0200
http://www.sharepsychotherapy.org
Sheffield Alcohol Advisory Service (offers advice and counselling) - 0114 2587553:
email : SAAS@saasmail.freeserve.co.uk
Sheffield Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Counselling Service (a.k.a. Rape Crisis) 0114 2618990.
Sheffield Women's Counselling and Therapy Service (offers free counselling for women survivors of childhood abuse and to women in the criminal justice system) - 0114 2752157.
Survivors (Sheffield) (counselling for sexually abused men and male partners of victims of abuse or rape) - 0114 2796333.
Women's Aid (national helpline for domestic violence) - 08457 023467, (local contact number - 0114 2426887 or 2725581):
email : www.womensaid.org.uk