Can I get an independent assessment to decide which type of therapy would be appropriate?

[mulranno]

Can this be done privately? Would really like to understand what type of therapies there are and what would best address my needs....also can you do intensive therapy ie every day for a few months rather than the usual 2 year stint ... Or would this be considered looking for a quick fix

I'm a mental health nurse so no expert in therapy, just thought I'd share my thoughts. Dependant on what your specific issues are so to speak there will be NICE (national institute for clinical excellence) guidelines on what are the most evidenced based therapy for your needs. There are many diiferent therapies as you will be aware and some are definatley more appropriate for some problems/ people than others. I'm not sure how things work privatley but if you were to be referred into the NHS for therapy then you would be offered an initial assessment and then a formulation would be made as to 1. are you suitable therapy and 2. which therapy can be offered. Dependant on where you live will dictate what is availble on the NHS in your area. Be aware waiting lists even for assessment can be very long- in our local area it is over 2 years and has been at 3 in the past. I am aware that some of the psychologists in our team also offer private assessment/ therapy and we sometimes provide lists of private therapists to be people who are unhappy to wait for NHS treatment so you could ask your GP to speak to your local mental health team for a list of private therapists?

Yes you can - I assume you have been seen by an NHS clinician and possibly received a diagnosis? If you agree with their opinion, you can research experts in that specific field and approach them for an independent assessment.

I wouldn't rush therapy. It takes time to mentally process change and much of the 'work' that is involved in therapy is the processing and thought that goes on between sessions. I'm not sure it would be a good idea to do it so intensively.

In my personal experience (nearly two years of therapy to deal with sexual abuse and other trauma, complex PTSD) you do most of the work in between sessions, thinking through and working through what has come up.

So doing lots of session quickly seems a bad idea to me

I didn't answer the second part of your post. You can't cram therapy.