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How do I find a Counsellor, Psychotherapist or Hypnotherapist who is right for me? |
| Posted on Mar 19 2010 |
How do I find a Counsellor, Psychotherapist or Hypnotherapist who is right for me? Here are 10 tips to help you to find a therapist you can trust.
1. The first and perhaps most obvious place to start is with the therapist’s qualifications. Did you know that currently in the UK there is no legislation for counselling, and as such anyone can call themselves a counsellor? The same applies for hypnotherapy, what qualifies that person to call themselves a hypnotherapist? It’s a frightening thought that anyone who has completed a basic counselling skills training course over one weekend, or a brief online hypnosis course, may be marketing themselves a therapist. By virtue of therapists usually being self-employed, including those who rent rooms in large therapy centres, there are less safeguarding measures and rules around experience and qualifications than, for example, in the NHS. Fortunately this is set to change within the next couple of years with new regulations coming out; however, until such time, you should always check what level of qualification the therapist holds and where they obtained it. Do your own research to satisfy yourself that they do hold the qualifications they say they do, that the establishment they trained with is reputable and the training was thorough and covered ethical issues. No respectable therapist should ever be reluctant to show you their certificates as proof of their qualifications. 2. When making enquiries, check that the therapist has regular supervision. Supervision is absolutely essential and any good therapist will ensure they have this in place. Supervision is when a therapist consults with another, senior, counsellor or hypnotherapist in order to examine issues brought up in sessions with clients. This helps to ensure the maximum efficiency of the therapy for you as the client and that the therapist is aware of any of their own issues, in order to prevent them from affecting you in the counselling session. Some counsellors would argue that their type of therapy does not require supervision as it does not focus on the relationship between therapist and client. Despite this, research has shown that the relationship between the therapist and client is one of most important factors in producing therapeutic change and in someone inviting you to change your beliefs, especially if you are vulnerable, and the process of supervision provides an important “safety net” for you as the client. 3. Check that the therapist belongs to one of the main accrediting bodies in their field, such as the General Hypnotherapy Register for hypnotherapists. Always check that the organisation they belong to has strict ethical guidelines, that it requires proof of training in order to become a member and that the body has a complaints procedure. Therapists tend to have strong feelings about which is best to belong to but the important thing is that that the body is responsible for ensuring its members are practising safely. 4. A good counsellor, hypnotherapist or psychotherapist will always be able to provide you with written material detailing how they work and with their experience and qualifications. If you call a therapist and they aren’t prepared to put into writing or point you to a website which explains further how they work, then it might be time to ask yourself why not, and look elsewhere. 5. All good therapists, even student counsellors or hypnotherapists in training, will make sure they have insurance and this can be a further way of reassuring yourself that the therapist holds some qualifications and is concerned with safe practice. You should never see a therapist who does not have insurance to practice in all of the types of therapies that they offer. 6. The therapeutic agreement is an important part of the therapy process. This is a contract set out between therapist and client which will ensure that the guidelines are set from the beginning. It is important for you as the client to have this agreement so that you are clear as to your rights. It is also important to know that information you disclose in the counselling or hypnotherapy session will be kept in accordance with the Data Protection Act. Other issues covered in the agreement or contract may be audio or visual recording, the cancellation policy, number of sessions and payment. 7. Beginning from the initial contact you make with the therapist and throughout the course of the therapy, the therapist should maintain boundaries and professionalism. In the same way that you are expected to attend regularly, arrive on time, and to give as much notice as possible for cancelling a session, so should the therapist. The therapy session should be conducted in a safe and private environment at all times. 8. Once you’ve found your therapist, there will inevitably be a process of getting to know them and how they work. Each therapist will work differently and there are no hard and fast rules. However, any counsellor, psychotherapist or hypnotherapist should be working with the latest research and be able to explain thoroughly when asked why they work the way that they do. Always make sure your therapist is happy to explain to you why they are working the way they are, and that they accept feedback readily. You should always feel able to express concerns or fears about what is happening. Therapy is not always an easy process for the client and sometimes they will ask you to do something which feels uncomfortable, however they should also be able to justify with examples of empirical, clinical evidence that their therapies are likely to be effective for your issue. Avoid therapists who rely solely upon their own feelings or interest in a particular type of therapy rather than proven research in the field. 9. The therapist should be professional from the outset, be friendly, empathic and warm but maintain a professional detachment. A therapist should not talk about themselves and their issues except very rarely where they feel an example from their own life might help you. A therapist is there to help you but not to be a friend; never will an ethical therapist try to engage in a relationship of any sort that is not a purely professional one. Equally, a therapist should not judge you. If any of these conditions are not met to your satisfaction, you should think about finishing the therapy and finding a different counsellor or hypnotherapist. Counselling, psychotherapy and hypnotherapy attract practitioners who are passionate about providing a good quality of care to their clients and there are many good therapists working in private practice; however, as in any profession, it also attracts some careless ones. Keeping these tips in mind when searching for a therapist to help you to work through your issue can help to safeguard you against those who may not be a credit to the profession.
10. Any counsellor, psychotherapist or hypnotherapist worth their salt will want to make sure that when you leave the therapy sessions having conducted a proper ending. Whether you have just one session or several, it is important that they terminate the sessions by drawing to a conclusion the work that has been done together. Sometimes it is necessary for a therapist to refer you to another practitioner and they should always explain this to you. For longer term or more severe issues it will be important for you to have follow-up sessions after periods of time to ensure that the changes you have made in the therapy sessions have been maintained. No good therapist will ever just cut off the therapy without a proper conclusion.
Last changed: Mar 19 2010 at 11:26 AM
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