How to choose a counsellor or psychotherapist - types of therapy, good fit

[MotherOfDragonite]

Ok, I'll admit it -- I have no real clue what the different "types" of therapy are, or how to figure out what would suit me.

Psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Jungian analysis, counselling, psychodynamic psychotherapy, integrative psychotherapy...the list goes on!

I am not depressed and I don't have an urgent mental health need; I just want some space to talk and reflect on some of the patterns in my life (especially around relationships) with the hope of gaining more self-awareness and insight. Possibly also around self-esteem. I do know that I would like longer-term therapy as I think this would be more helpful for reflecting on the specific issues that I want to address. And I really want to find somebody who will be perceptive and challenging and make connections and ask me difficult questions. I just feel like I'm not quite getting there on my own, and there is a lot to think about and puzzle over.

Can anyone offer advice on how to choose the type of therapy, or the actual therapist themselves, that might be a good fit for me? What would you do if you needed to find a therapist?

I've been in psychodynamic therapy for the past 2.6 years with my current therapist, but he was the third I tried. I didn't feel like I got anywhere with the previous two. The main thing for me is the relationship. Feel free to email a few with any questions you might have and trust your gut instinct.

You can search for a therapist on the British counselling website and they also have an explanation of the types available .

www.bacp.co.uk/

Thank you, this is helpful. I have looked on the BACP site and one other that was recommended to me, but still find it hard to tell what might work best for me! I'll email and see what happens.

I think it’s not so much the type of therapy that matters as the actual therapist, a good therapist is a good therapist whatever their training. I’d recommend having a first appointment with a few, till you find one who feels right for you, and you’ll know when it does feel right.

Hi OP, you can also use the Counselling Directory website to find listings for local therapists, and most of them will provide some info about the therapeutic model they follow.

The BACP website has some pages dedicated to briefly describing the fundamental aspects of some of the most influential types of therapy. Worth reading if you haven't already.

And if you do some YouTube searches using the names of the models you mentioned in your original post, you may well find some useful clips of people describing the main points of each model.

From what you describe, you need person or client centred therapy/counselling - look for therapists who practice that or talk about humanistic ideas as basis for their therapy practice (Rogers).