How do I find a good CBT therapist?

[Antalya1]

Without sticking a pin in the yellow pages and hoping for the best?

After bouts of depression for the last few years and hoping on and off ADs, I now know that the AD's won't fix the problem and CBT is going to be the best long term option.

Over the last couple of months I've really struggled badly and went back to the doctors, after prodding from friends, to explain how I'm feeling and have been put back on the ADs.

I asked about CBT as I know the events that set of these depressive episodes really shouldn't be happening if I had better coping mechanisms and better self esteem.

My doctor has asked me to write examples down of times and events that have sparked off depression but she also said the waiting list is long, 6 - 9 months. So I wanted to look at the option of paying for this privately but I don't know how to go about finding a good therapist (in the Manchester area) and also what sort of price they charge.

Any guidance in the right direction would be really helpful.

Hi, apart from personal recommendations or looking up individual therapists websites in areas you can get to the only other thought I have is to look at:
www.cbtregisteruk.com/

• this is the cbt register. Not all practitioners are registered here, but it is a start for you.

If you find someone you think might be helpful you could book an initial session - phone or person and ask:

• what their qualifications are, code of practice is
• how they work, timings, costs, record keeping etc
• anything else

ie interview someone to see if you click. Partly it is how you get on with someone as much as anything else.

Cost wise, I guess much depends on area you live in, their expertise and demand. I paid £45 for counselling, someone here I know is having cbt and paying £40 a session for a fixed amount of sessions.

do you have private health insurance? if so it should be covered.

Suggest that you google BACP (British Assoc of Counsellors and Psychotherapists) and it will direct you to someone in your area.

However most therapists pratice a variety of different therapies, and sometimes use a mixture, dependent on the person's individual problems. CBT can be affective but it isn't a magic bullet. It is about the "here and now" and doesn't look beneath what may be causing the trouble. The complete opposite of CBT (in my view) is psycho-analytical theory which only really looks at the past and your childhood, their belief being that everything stems from childhood.

There are also CAT therapists (congnitive analytical theory) which is a combination of the "here and now" and the "then and there" (your past life especially your parenting experiences and childhood)

The most important thing in my view is that you find a therapist with whom you feel comfortable, is empathetic and someone you can trust with your innermost thoughts.

You may need to try 2 or 3 before you find the right one for you. Most experienced therapists will suggest a preliminary meeting to see if you can work together. You must not continue with a therapist who you do not trust, or don't feel comfortable with (I did this for 3 months - stupid of me)

You mention self esteem problems, so maybe this is related to your early life, I don't know. You can expect to pay between £35 and £50 per hour, and need to go weekly really so it's an expensive business.

Hope that you can get the support you need.

With the info you have given I would say that pure CBT is not going to necessarily provide what you want. If the underlying issues are connected with self-esteem you may need to delve deeper, with a psychotherapist. You can find these via the BACP or UKCP websites. You should be looking at between £35-50 per session.

The approach of the therapist (psychodynamic, integrative etc) is less important than whether you feel you can form a positive relationship with them.

Good luck x

Thank you so much for the responses, I had heard of CBT and thought that it may be the best option but I'll look into the others.

Finding someone that I can open to and tell them my innermost thoughts is very very frightening, I'm very wary of opening up a pandoras box and not being able to close it again. Even posting on here is incredibly difficult to do.

I think in the past I've had mild depression, however it really hit with awful panic attacks about 10 months ago after the end of a long-term emotionally abusive relationship. I reconised then that I really did need some help however I thought after a few months and really feeling so much better that I should come off them, and for a while everything was ok, but I think that I may have under-estimated the scars that were left.

The last couple of months have been difficult and I resisted going back to the GP, but I did last week and will start to take my AD's tomorrow. But I just didn't want to use them as a prop, unfotunatly I don't think I have an option at the moment.

It is scarey to tell a stranger about your life, your worries etc, but remember you only have to talk about what you feel able to at first. If you find the right therapist and over time you will I am sure feel more confident and able to talk about things that seem frightening. YOu won't be telling a therapist anything they havevn't heard before you know, even though everyone's experience is individual to them and the way they react is different.

Take it steady and don't panic about having to "reveal all" that is for you to decide when the time is right. Not sure if you are the sort of person to write things down. I am and keep a diary (which I can tell anything to cus it's private) but it helps get it out of my head. Maybe in preparation for therapy you could try writing down some of the things that have happened in your life and what scares you now.

Doesn't mean you have to tell someone but it might be a start to facing matters that have harmed you and for which you need support. I think you are right to go back on the ADs to treat the symptoms and to find a counsellor/therapist to look a little beneath the "top soil"...........telling someone doesn't make it go away but it helps you to understand it more and find ways of dealing with it when it descends.