When searching for a therapist or counsellor, the first decision to make is where you want to go to access counselling. This blog post looks at the different channels for accessing counselling and what to consider when choosing a therapist/ counsellor.
The options vary from free, to low cost, to moderate cost. We will look at counselling via the National Health Service (NHS), charities, employee assistance programmes (EAPs) and private counselling. While I want to inform people about the available options, this blog post mainly focuses on private counselling.
Free and low cost counselling
First, let’s have a look at the free and low cost options which are available through the NHS, charities, and EAPs. Free counselling can be accessed via the NHS, Charities offer free or low cost counselling, and EAPs offer counselling which is usually paid for by your employer or university.
NHS
Free counselling via the NHS allows for support to be more accessible for people, especially for those on a lower income. You can be referred through your GP or through self-referral. This can be especially ideal for short term counselling for those with mild to moderate counselling needs.
However, as the client, you often do not get to choose your counsellor. You will likely have an initial assessment call or fill out a questionnaire and subsequently be matched with an available counsellor based on your availability, your presenting issues, the severity of your presenting issues, the modality which the assessor feels is most appropriate, and a few other factors.
Another point to consider is that it often operates on a time-limited model with a limited number of sessions available for each client. This is often somewhere around 6-12 sessions, and is due to funding and the aim of providing counselling to as many people as possible, while reducing the waitlist.
However, many clients may want more sessions than this, and there may be a certain amount of time the client is required to wait before they can access counselling through the same channel again. A long waitlist may mean that the client is waiting months for support and in some cases their circumstances may have changed by the time they are finally matched with a counsellor. There is also the possibility that a previous counsellor they built a relationship with may not be available when they return.
Similarly, there is not a lot of flexibility in terms of when you attend counselling and how often, as free counselling often follows the traditional format of a weekly session at the same day and time each week.
Charities
Counselling is often also available through charities, such as mind for general counselling, cruse for bereavement counselling, relate for relationship counselling, and victim support for victims of crime and witnesses of crime.
Some of these counselling services may be free to access, while others may require a small payment. These are excellent sources of support for people as they reduce waitlists and make counselling more accessible, but similar to the NHS services, there is often a waitlist, counsellors are assigned to you, and sessions are often (but not always) time-limited.
Employee assistance programs
Many workplaces and universities offer free counselling for their employees or students through something called an employee assistance program. Typically, the company or university will pay for the counselling along with other benefits associated with the program while the employee or student can access this support anonymously and for free. Again, this is often time-limited, and usually the client cannot choose the counsellor. It may be worth asking your employer or university about this as many companies offer this but do not say much to promote it.
Private counselling
Counselling research shows that the relationship between the client and the counsellor is one of the most if not the most important factor determining the success of therapy. Ideally you as the client will want to have some form of connection with the counsellor, feel that you click with them in some way, and feel at the very least that you can trust them.
With private counsellors, you can choose someone who is a certain age or gender or has certain experience or qualities that you are looking for (if these things are important to you). Private counsellors often offer a free initial phone call which allows you to get to know them a little, ask questions, and see if you might be a good fit.
Private counselling often allows for a more flexible approach to scheduling sessions, as many private counsellors are open to weekly, biweekly or even monthly sessions depending on the situation. Some people may even have ad hoc sessions depending on what suits them and their counsellor. They are also much more likely to offer open-ended counselling, allowing for sessions to go on for far more than 6-12 sessions if needed, allowing trust to be built and getting to explore and address deeper topics that you may not have time for in short-term counselling.
How to choose a private counsellor
There are many ways to choose a private counsellor. One of the popular ways is to search via an online directory. Some examples of well-known directories are; Counselling directory, Psychology Today, the BACP directory, NCPS and UKCP. There are also some more niche directories for specific types of clients, such as Pink Therapy for LGBTQIA+ clients, Association of Christian Counsellors, or the Black, African and Asian Therapy network.
Within these directories you can often search for counsellors by searching for someone in your area, or a problem that you are facing (eg. anxiety, low self-esteem), or a modality such as person-centred counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy. You could even search for the format of sessions that you want, for example online, in person, or telephone.
Looking at a counsellor’s profile will help you determine how they work and some counsellors will have links to their own websites or social media which may give you more information about them and help you to get a sense of who they are.
Check that their qualifications are at a minimum level 4 and that they are on an accredited register (such as with the BACP, NCPS, UKCP etc). This ensures that they are trained to an appropriate level and that they work in accordance with an ethical framework set out by their professional membership body. You can verify that they are on an accredited register through the Professional Standards Authority.
As mentioned above, many private counsellors offer a free introductory phone call in which you can learn a little about them and how they work and ask questions. So try speaking to different counsellors, research different modalities and get a sense of what may work for you.
To recap, free and low cost counselling can be good for improving access to counselling and enables more people to receive support. However,
- It is often time-limited
- There is usually a waitlist
- It doesn’t allow you to chose your counsellor
- Not a lot of flexibility in when you have sessions or how often
With private counselling,
- It is often open-ended
- You can often get an appointment within a week
- You can choose your counsellor
- You have more control in how you work
- There is often more flexibility in when you have sessions and how often you have sessions
To check out my blog post on person-centred therapy, click here.
To enquire about my availability or ask a question, click here.