First Timers Guide to Starting Counselling or Psychotherapy
Counselling, Psychotherapy and other talking therapies have a long proven track record of helping people overcome a multitude of distresses, issues and psychological struggles. However for anyone who has never gone to therapy before, the thought of it can in many cases be anxiety provoking which can delay people getting the help they need to improve their lives.
So let’s start with the bad news… more of a warning to those attending therapy for the first time. Currently in the UK, there are no regulations around who can call themselves a counsellor, psychotherapist or therapist. Although there are regulating bodies such as the BACP, UKCP, NCS and several others, there is no legal requirement for a therapist to belong to any of these regulating bodies. It is a sad fact that there are many “get rich quick” courses out there that claim to teach a person to be a therapist in a day.
In actual fact, proper practitioners will attend at least three to four years of training at a minimum of Diploma level from a recognised Institute, University or College which includes many hours of supervised volunteer placement work with clients and attending their own private therapy sessions to resolve their own issues and experience and to gain perspective of what it feels like to be the client in the room.
So as a starting point, when you first begin looking for a counsellor, therapist or psychotherapist, ensure that you check their qualifications, ask them how long their training was and what it entailed and check which accrediting body they belong to (and double check this on the accrediting bodies’ website). A standard session length is usually 50 minutes for most therapists and the fee they charge should reflect their qualifications, experience and how many years they have been practicing for. Trust your instincts when searching for a therapist. Don’t just go for the cheapest or closest. All the therapists in our team are fully qualified, accredited and appropriately experienced. You can also search for a therapist on the BACP, UKCP, Counselling Directory and Psychology Today websites as they have strict guidelines around who they accept as members.
The Initial Session
Once you have found a therapist who you believe would be a good fit for you, I always suggest arranging a short five to ten minute phone call before agreeing to book an initial session. Speaking over the phone rather than on email allows you to hear their voice, their tone and the words they choose, all of which will help you to gauge how you feel about working with them. A phone call also allows you to ask questions, seek reassurances and starts to build the connection between you which is so important in any therapeutic relationship.
So what can you expect in your initial session? Depending on their modality, different therapists may work in slightly different ways, but essentially the initial session is a time for the therapist to find out more about you and determine if they have the experience and the ability to help you. They focus not only on the issues which have brought you to therapy and the outcomes you would like from the treatment, but also on you history, family, relationships, career, etc. so that they can get a proper overview of who you are and where you are coming from in life. In the initial session, you can expect more of a question and answer dynamic but it is worth asking your therapist how they work and what the dynamic will be like going forward. Will they be passive and just let you talk? Will they be interactive, asking questions and pointing out problem areas and awarenesses? Will the be instructional or psychoeducate? Check that your therapists ongoing approach feels right for you.
The initial session is also another opportunity for you to assess how comfortable you feel with your therapist. There are so many factors which can affect that connection between you at both the conscious and unconscious level, but you will instinctively know when you feel at ease with a therapist.
If they haven’t done so already, towards the end of the initial session, the therapist should briefly go through their work contract, also known as terms and conditions. This should cover aspects such as confidentiality, cancellation policies, session lengths, frequency, costs, timings and endings. They should give you a copy of these terms and conditions for your records.
If you feel that you would then like to go ahead with further sessions with this therapist, they will book you in for regular weekly slots. Most approaches will go for one session per week on the same day and the same time with the session length set at 50 minutes. Some approaches will give you an hour session length and others (particularly psychoanalyses) will offer more than one session per week. Most reputable therapists would not go for a session of less than once a week initially as it is important to build trust, rapport and momentum in the early stages of the work.
Your ongoing sessions will continue with the same therapist (unless you decide to switch at any point) until you feel that you have gained all you can from that experience. Sometimes this can be as short as 10 weeks, other times it can be many years.
Coming to therapy can feel daunting and scary, but that is a good thing because it means you are challenging those aspects of yourself which have kept you trapped in the past. Finding the right therapist is one of the most important factors in how successful your therapy will be but at the same time, there are many wonderful therapists out there!
If you’d like to book an appointment with any of our Counsellors, please visit our “Find a Therapist” page. Alternatively for general enquiries, please contact our lead therapist and practice manager Gareth Sammer.
West London Counselling, Psychotherapy & Hypnotherapy Services are here to provide professional therapeutic support online via Zoom, over the phone or face to face at our any of our therapy practices in Acton, Chiswick (High Road), Chiswick (South), Ealing (North), Clapham, Ealing Broadway, South Ealing, Hanwell, Kew, Putney & Fulham, Richmond upon Thames and Southfields.
We have a catchment area of Acton, Barnes, Boston Manor, Brentford, Chelsea, Chiswick, Clapham, Dukes Meadow, Earls Court, Earlsfield, Fulham, Greenford, Grove Park, Gunnersbury, Hammersmith, Hanger Lane, Hanwell, Holland Park, Hounslow, Isleworth, Kew, Mortlake, Montpelier, Northfields, Notting Hill, Park Royal, Parsons Green, Perivale, Putney, Richmond, Shepherds Bush, Southall, South Ealing, South Kensington, Tooting, Turnham Green, Twickenham, Wandsworth, Wembley, West Brompton, West Ealing, West Kensington, White City, Wimbledon and many other areas in West London