How to choose a counsellor

What the registers mean

Most counsellors here are members of the BACP, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the largest professional body for counsellors in the UK; others belong to the NCPS or are registered with the HCPC. A member agrees to work to its Ethical Framework and can be complained about to BACP if they do not. Accredited membership is a further step that requires supervised practice hours and an assessment of the work.

What it is not is a licence. There is no UK register a counsellor must join before they can practise, and nobody here is described as licensed. BACP, NCPS and HCPC are memberships and registers, and the words that fit them are registered, accredited and qualified.

Checking a registration

Every profile on this directory prints the body, the membership number and when it runs to, exactly as the counsellor lists them. We do not verify any of it. The BACP register and the HCPC register are both public and free to search, and a number that does not come back is worth asking about. Browse counsellors by register if you want to start there.

Counselling, psychotherapy and coaching

Counselling and psychotherapy overlap so much that many practitioners hold both titles. As a rough guide, counselling tends to be shorter and focused on something happening now; psychotherapy tends to run longer and look further back. Coaching is a different thing again: it works on goals and performance, it is not a mental-health service, and coaches are not covered by these registers.

Ways of working you will see listed

These are the approaches most often named on this directory. Naming an approach is not evidence of training in it; ask directly how someone uses it.

• Client-Centred Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Solution-Focused Therapy
• Psychodynamic Therapy
• Mindfulness Therapy
• Trauma-Focused Therapy

Structured approaches such as CBT and solution-focused work set clear goals and often suggest things to try between sessions. Person-centred and mindfulness-based work is more open and gives you room to think out loud. Psychodynamic and attachment-based work looks further back at patterns that keep repeating. Most counsellors combine them, and the combination matters less than whether the person makes sense to you.

What to compare on a profile

1. What they work with. Every profile lists it. If what you are carrying comes with something else - a bereavement, a separation, work that has become unbearable - look for someone who names that too. See everything counsellors here help with.
2. How they work. Read the approaches, and then read the biography, which tells you more. Does the way they describe their work sound like someone you could talk to?
3. Registration. Body, number and expiry are on every profile. Check the number if it matters to you.
4. Experience. Years in practice is background, not a ranking. Newer counsellors often have more room in the week.
5. Language. If English is not your first language, the languages line settles it quickly. Browse by language.

What a first session is for

Nobody can tell in advance whether a counsellor suits them. The first session is where you find out: whether you feel able to say how things really are, and whether the response makes you want to come back. Changing counsellor after a session or two is normal and expected, and a good one will not take it personally.

Cost

Costs are shown on the partner platform before you commit to anything. If cost is a concern it is worth asking about reduced-fee options; many counsellors keep a few lower-cost places. Your GP can also tell you what NHS Talking Therapies offers in your area, which is free.

If you are not safe

Counselling is not an emergency service. If you are in crisis you can call Samaritans free on 116 123 at any hour, and if you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999.