How to choose a therapist?

[Needhelp4me]

Hi, I've struggled for many years and finally am seeking help.

I'm on Day 2 of 50mg sertraline. Ive contacted my GP and am on a 16 week waiting list for talking therapies.

I would like some private therapy. I suffer with general anxiety, social anxiety (bad stutter, shyness), childhood trauma, PTSD, low mood, low confidence, generally have felt unhappy for the majority of my life.

I dont really know what I'm looking for - there's so many different types of therapy/therapist out there, I feel rather overwhelmed just looking. I've no experience of any kind of counselling in the past.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling/england

Is where we found one for adult ds. You can check them against any registration they claim to have. He had several free introductory sessions before he found someone he clicked with.

Many will state the areas they specialise in too.

Accredited counsellors can be found here:

www.bacp.co.uk/search/Therapists

The Psychology Today is another useful resource:

www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling

Use the search function to find therapists that cover your main issues in your area. Read through their profiles and narrow them down to half a dozen or so. The way they present themselves and their writing styles can be useful indicators as to whether they may be a good fit.

Email them with a CONCISE and SUCCINCT summary of what you need help with - no more than the equivalent of a third or half of an A4 page. Evaluate their responses and arrange a phone call with the ones that look like a good fit. And go from there

@FlowerArranger @3teens2cats

Thank you for the advice. Much appreciated.

I will have a good browse this evening and start to make contact X

I found it daunting too OP so went to a therapy group/practice where there was an initial assessment and the person who did the assessment said he had someone in mind he thought I would work well with and he was right. Might try be something worth trying?
I hope it works out well for you.

@Crunchyautumnleaves thank you, that sounds a good idea x

I went on counselling directory. Filter the results by what you're struggling with (depression, ptsd etc and by location and price. So all results now are people you can both afford and get to.

After that I went by their pictures. Go with your gut feeling. Does this person look like someone I could open up to? The one I chose didn't have as many qualifications as some and no letters after his name but he looked kind and relaxed with warm eyes, as silly as that sounds and I really struck gold when I found him because he's been brilliant.

I agree with @Crunchyautumnleaves

A group practice will make that decision for you.

It also prevents you being in what I think of as a dangerous situation with one individual who bills you, takes all the money and has only one lens to view your situation from.

@nothingcanhurtmewithmyeyesshut thank you. Yes it seems I've been looking at qualifications rather than going with my gut feeling. That connection is more important than anything guess.

@Yummypumpkin thank you, already had 1 reply with loads of information about pay, terms and conditions, cancellation fees, consent forms etc....without hardly a mention of how they can help me

Consent forms? I don't think I ever signed one. I think it was a good 6 months before I even told him my last name! Though, to be fair, I was a major flight risk in those early days and in conjunction with being actively suicidal I think he was afraid to push me too much in case it sent me running.

We had a deal though that I couldn't just disappear. He would trust me not to do anything rash and I would trust him enough to reach out to him first if something was wrong.