Is there a recognized qualification I should look for when choosing a counsellor?

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There is only one Relate counsellor locally, and we have been to her previously and not found the sessions to be too helpful.

I have made the decision that we really need counselling, together or separately, to see if we can work things out as I can't continue as we are.

How do I go about finding a good counsellor - it's not really something you can do by word of mouth, unfortunately, so where do I look? And is there a qualification I should look for, or questions I should ask? Do I phone and have a chat to see if we get on, or just make an appointment.

I don't think dp will give it a go for a third time, so I need to make sure that this counsellor is the right one.

Thanks.

Yes BACP- British association of counsellors and psychotherapists. they should also be accredited.

most counsellors won't chat for long beforehand- they will ask you to make 1 appt and see how it goes.

BACP has a website so you can search by postcode.

Thank you, I shall take a look now.

There are lots of good counsellors who aren't BACP accredited though- accreditation is a bit of a racket to get fees off people tbh, but it certainly does guarantee a certain standard of professionalism. I'm just saying that it doesn't necessarily mean that a non-accredited counsellor is crap.

The main thing is that you have a good rapport with the person you see, so you should meet them before you commit to a course of sessions.

Alarmingly enough anyone can set up as a counsellor without qualifications. It is unregulated.

BACP is the best place to look, as others have said.

They should be qualified with at least an Advanced Diploma- that is what the BACP uses as it's baseline.

A good place to look for couples therapists is here
bscpc.com/

If you have been having trouble with a solo therapist and can afford it, look at working with dual therapists, this helps when one side feels that the therapist is siding against them.

whoops, that was the professionals page, the find a therapist is here:
www.couplepsychotherapy.co.uk/

Thanks Eurostar - it says mainly in and around London, but we are West Wales so not sure there would be any counsellors near us.

I've found a few on the other site to contact tomorrow, hopefully one will feel right.

Thanks for your help. 'See a counsellor' is given as advice so often, but it's so important to get the right one, and I had no clue where to start.