Where to find a therapist, psychotherapist or counsellor
Where can you find a good or recommended therapist?
When it comes to finding a therapist (counsellor or psychotherapist), knowing where to find someone can feel like a daunting task - investing in the time to look, deciding what kind of therapy you might like, cost, location & reputation are all factors to consider. In order to help, I’ve listed directories or services that might help you in your search and the most common search terms.
Counselling Directory
Amongst the therapy world this is a coveted directory, due to only accepting qualified and accredited therapists. They’ll let you search on location, type of session, model of therapy and more. Each of the therapist profiles includes key information such as experience, costs and the type of issues they work with.
Psychology Today
Also well-known due to only accepting registered counsellors, Psychology Today is the US standard directory for therapists. Offering some of the same functions as Counselling Directory, it unfortunately gives psychotherapists a limited space to explore how they might help. That said, they do include all the relevant details and also have listing for specialist groups in your area - such as addictions, grief and compulsive eating groups.
Membership organisations
Counsellors can voluntary sign up to a membership body in order to abide by their code of ethics and to be part of the Professional Standards Register (I’ve a separate blog post about finding a professional therapist). The most popular are the National Counselling Society, UKCP & BACP.
Harley Therapy
Being the UK’s premier platform for allowing clients to book directly into a counsellors schedule and allowing clients to rate and review their therapist. I’ve used the site as a professional, the service I received was always prompt and professional (I occasionally take bookings this way and my personal reviews are here). But it does mean you can read reviews about any counsellors you might be considering.
‘therapy near me’ & other google search terms
In addition to the type of therapy you might want or your reason for seeking therapy, if you’re looking to find an in-person therapist then a quick Google search for:
therapy near me,
private therapy near me or
counsellor brighton (or your own location if somewhere else in the world)
Will bring up a Google map of your closest or most conveniently located therapist. Is location important? Yes! If you sign up for a gym membership that’s a 30 minute drive away then the likelihood is it will take a lot of motivation to get to the gym! The same principle applies with therapy. The more friction or obstacles you put in the way of getting to your therapists office then there’s a probability you’ll use it as a reason not to go - especially if you’re doing some deep process work, are tired or stressed or you’re really angry at your therapist! Having a therapist that is nearby to you means that if you leave a session with an ‘Aha!' moment or you feel exhausted, then you don’t have to travel too far to get yourself home (assuming that home is a space where you are safe and have privacy).
Hopefully the above has offered you some guidance around potential places to find a therapist. In addition to the directories, I’d consider asking friends for a recommended therapist. Perhaps they’ve heard of someone or know a therapist themselves. Personal recommendations for a counsellor can sometimes take the dilemma out of the equation when you’re looking for support with your mental wellbeing. I hope you find a good fit & please leave a comment below if there’s anything you think I’ve missed out or if you’ve another resource that may be of use to others.
