Where/how to find a therapist

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I need someone I can talk to, but I've never done therapy before. How to know if a practitioner is genuine and not a rip off merchant? I've heard bad stories from people I know and am new to the whole thing. thanks

Look up BACP online- therapists have to have accreditation and register to be on their data base. You can search by issue and by type of therapy, eg find someone with experience dealing with eating disorders or anxiety etc- who uses CBT/ psychotherapy, analysis, EMDR. If you don't know what kind of therapy you want, just maybe look for people with experience of the issue and see what they say about themselves and who appeals to you.

As the above poster said, make sure they are registered with BACP.

Therapists will often do a first session at half price/ lower price then their usual sessions. You could book a few to try them out and see if you click with the therapist. They should never be offended if you just go to one session and it doesn't feel right - it's normal.

Also, make sure you don't write off therapy entirely if your first session with your first therapist isn't what you expected - different therapists will have different approaches and styles. It can take a while to find the right one for you, and when you do find the right one, it can take a few sessions to 'settle in' to it.

https://www.bacp.co.uk/search/Therapists

Thank you so much, both of you x