Where to find a good/appropriate therapist

[bm2021]

Just hoping those in the know can advise or point me in the right direction..

To briefly summarise; I’ve always struggled with self confidence/self doubt and have what I consider to be a slightly higher than average amount of anxiety. During a particularly tough period I did contact the talk services through the NHS but didn’t go through with it as I felt I would be wasting their time and people were in much greater need than me. The tough phase passed and only recently have I been struggling again. Nothing major or life changing but I lose sleep and socially isolate myself as a result.

I think I may benefit from some private therapy but it’s a bit of a minefield looking online. I’ve also encountered a couple of people who work as therapists before and they were both positively unstable in my opinion and not the sort of person I’d trust with my mental health 😬 what sort of titles, qualifications etc should I be looking for to find a suitable & effective therapist for the sort of issues I’ve mentioned?

Try looking on the ‘find a therapist’ sections of the BACP and UKCP websites (the two main counselling and psychotherapy professional bodies). There’s a wide range of therapy qualifications but in order to be registered with a reputable professional body, a person must have completed recognised training and have agreed to uphold and work to a code of ethical conduct.

Look at people’s profiles and make a note of therapists who you like the look of, then phone a few - it’s good to get a sense of someone by talking to them before meeting them.

portal.bps.org.uk/Psychologist-Search/Directory-of-Chartered-Psychologists

The BPS (British Psychological Society).

Agree with the PPs. If you are thinking about CBT which is an evidence-based approach that is particularly helpful with anxiety in all its forms, then make sure a therapist is BABCP accredited (this is the accrediting body for CBT). Lots of counsellors and such like think they can deliver CBT, and while they may be very good at what they are originally trained to do it’s better to seek out someone who is trained to post graduate level and has clinical supervision focussed on CBT babcp.com/CBTRegister/Search#/

Thank you for the responses, very useful!