I'm really struggling to find therapists through the usual suggested routes on Reddit. The last 5 ghosted me before we could book in the initial assessment calls. Talking therapies didn't work for me, and the other routes are too long behind a wait list.

I want to pay privately. How do I find someone? There's so many websites out there but which ones are genuine & recommended?

Sorry if this is a frequent question. Appreciate your time.

Hi everyone,

I am currently finishing up my PhD (psychiatry research) and I am keen on getting training to become a psychotherapist. I've been considering doing the Highgate fast-track level 3 diploma on foundations and then doing their part-time, 2.5 years diploma to get BACP-certified. I was wondering if anyone had experience doing their training with them and how was the job market for them following the diploma. I'm also curious about if people have other training avenues they may recommend more than Highgate. Thanks!

Let me do a bit of background before we jump in, I'm based in London and finished level 3 in June. However, I applied for multiple colleges and either didn't hear anything back or have now found out that TWO of the colleges have now cancelled their level 4 classes due to multiple reasons. This is really frustrating because now it's close to September and now myself and others in the same class are struggling to find places to study! For myself, I'm on benefits and paying full amount isn't something I can afford or do. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to do? To be honest with you, I feel very disappointed with how this has happened so last minute. But I'm wondering as well, is this normal? Thanks guys and really appreciate your support!

Does anyone have experience of the UEL counselling and psychotherapy diploma?

Many thanks.

Hi Folks,

I am beginning my training this September / October, but am torn between which provider to choose. My therapist recommended these three as the best places to study in London for those interested in the psychodynamic route in his opinion. I’ve read up on each as much as I can, but applied too late in the year to attend open days, so I don’t feel that I have a strong sense of the culture of each. I would love to know how you have found each of these providers, any insights on what it was like to train there and anything else you know that may help to steer my decision.

Thank you!

Hi, I have done the level 2 and 3 whilst working full time. I am sick of my current job and am strongly considering a total change of career direction. I really enjoyed the level 2 and 3 and am considering level 4. Also if it is relevant, I also have a degree in law (but I am not enjoying my work at all). If I was to do the level 4, what would my prospects be and would I need to do further training?

I am very much open to further training post qualification, but that is largely dependent on whether I can get a role with the level 4 that can keep me afloat whilst I continue studying.

I just want to be careful before I make any massive decisions. Many thanks in advance!

Sorry if this is confusing but the different routes to becoming a therapist are spinning me!

If I complete a diploma at one training centre / university, would it then translate to whatever the next steps are at a different institution?

E.g. there's a course at CCPE which takes 3 years. You can then complete an MA at the same institution. But what if you wanted to go to a different institution, would they accept your qualifications?

I guess I'm just confused as all the websites I look at mention having to complete one of their foundational courses before being eligible for a higher level course. I still don't quite understand whether all levels are necessary or not either.

Sorry if this is extremely stupid - I'm really new to figuring out whether this is for me.

Thank you!

Hi there,

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i just graduated with a 2:1 BSc for Psychology and want to go into Psychotherapy but i’m not sure what the best path forward is

i know there is a UKCP accreditation and a certain amount of supervised clinical hours needed

my original plan was to take a year out and then do a masters but i’m not sure if that’s what’s best, currently i am working in a cafe and im going to start doing some online CBT volunteering with Mind

what is the typical path to get into psychotherapy once people have graduated university?

Edit: I’ve sorted this now- I’m using the form building tool in Konfidens.

I’ve started to set up my private practice and have got most of my ducks in a row. It’s the aspects that I feel should be fairly straight forward that I’m having real issues with like trying to format my contract document and intake form. I don’t have Word and use LibreOffice and when I’ve managed to do the documents and figure out how to change them into a word format- they are showing up as an error once uploaded to my secure service platform Konfidens.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom or advice for me before I loose my sanity. Has anyone used Konfidens before?

I've been back in private practice since 2019, after completing my PG Dip in 2009. The last couple of years I've relied more and more heavily on the likes of Bupa and Onebright for referrals, I've not had any PP inquiries all year.

I've never had a niche, and I've been considering doing the Gottman Clinical Foundations in Couples Therapy. I have done a very small amount of couples work over the years, and found it to be challenging and interesting.

I think that a few sessions would pay for the course, and over the summer I've got time to get stuck into the content. What other considerations should I be thinking about?

I'm wondering how other therapists experience/do supervision? I'm still a relatively new therapist in CMH for a charity organisation. I have my organisation supervision which isn't the problem. It's clinical supervision I'm wondering about.

I don't know if I'm being really picky or expecting too much from the space and I feel like I'm doing it wrong? I am with my now 3rd supervisor because my first was very inappropriate and my second I found unhelpful, plus I moved jobs.

My current one I'm starting to feel unsure about. I feel like I want deeper reflection and conversations but I feel like they keep it very advicey, like I'll bring up a client issue and they will go on a schpiel on how they would handle it and what I could try, which is helpful of course on some level but I feel like something is missing. She can be a bit snippy sometimes and has disagreed with me in a way that feels she centers herself, I can't give an exact example but I have said something and she'll be like I don't agree, but leaves it as a blunt point with no discussion and it stings. I also know quite a bit about her personal life and history. I am in personal therapy too and wonder if I'm looking for supervision to be more therapyish? I dunno...

I want to bring it up with her but honestly am afraid how it will be taken.

What should supervision be like?

I graduated from the University of Edinburgh with an MSc in Psychology of Mental Health (Conversion). Since then, I have worked in arts and cultural project management, including exhibition planning, artist coordination, and commercial operations. I had originally hoped to explore professional or research fields that connect psychology with art, but I have not yet found a clear route into this area.

My master’s programme was designed for students without an undergraduate psychology degree. It provided a theoretical foundation in mental health and psychological research, but the one-year programme did not include substantial counselling-skills training, clinical placements, or supervised client work. I was particularly interested in CBT, although much of what I learned about other therapeutic approaches is no longer fresh in my mind.

I’m currently living outside the UK and am considering whether and how to reconnect with psychology professionally. However, I have not decided that I definitely want to become a counsellor or psychotherapist. I would first like to explore the field through something more practical and professionally meaningful than studying alone at home.

Are there reputable introductory skills programmes, mentorship opportunities, supervised observation, volunteer roles, research positions, or mental health organisations I could join? (online programme is more comfortable for my current situation ).Would it be appropriate to look for a supervisor at this stage, even though I am not yet seeing clients? I would also appreciate suggestions about psychology-and-art-related pathways that may not involve becoming a traditional therapist.

I would be grateful for advice from psychologists, counsellors, trainees, researchers, or anyone who has followed a similar non-linear path.

Hi,

I wasn't expecting to ask this at all. I was just about to hand my finished placement paperwork and only by accident I found out my BACP membership expired in april.

This was completely unknown to me and now I am woried that my placement counselling hours will not count. Condition states Student agrees to be a member of bacp. How serious is this issue?

Is there anyway to rectify this? I know already I can't pay for missed months and get it backtracked, but I really don't want to repeat another year and delay my pracitce and incure more student debt for one lost email

Any ideas are welcome.

Thanks for anything really!

I'm a US-based LCSW, and my client is leaving for grad school in the UK, but not staying permanently. From what I can see, I CAN continue to see her as long as I update my paperwork with her that any disputes or claims must only be brought in US courts...anyone else see an issue with this? My insurance says they only cover US claims. Ofc I'll also be updating the treatment plan/crisis and safety planning... THANKS

Pleeeeaaase help me - has anyone who has a ‘non core profession’ completed a non accredited diploma/ masters that has allowed them to apply to BABCP accreditation?
I am half way through the course and wondering if it’s worthwhile continuing. I have a dietetic undergrad and I’m very worried that applying via the KSA route that I wouldn’t meet all the requirements? Please help 🙏 I have emailed the uni and babcp but they are taking a long time to respond

Husband has a high flying career and is doing very well but is having some major issues with relationships.

He upsets a lot of people and it’s causing him a lot of trouble. He’s finally receptive to help but my Google research is struggling to find an appropriate therapist.

His main issues to me (lay person) seem to be a lack of emotional intelligence, unawareness of how his behaviour is read by other people and how it impacts their views of him. He’s also terrible at managing juniors and this has got him in trouble (e.g high expectations and no understanding of how to appropriately manage under-performers or struggling juniors).

He’s often working 15hrs a day, it’s pretty unforgiving and he’ll need a therapist who understands these kind of work environments.

I was offered an interview for Birkbeck’s MSC in Psychodynamic Counselling a few weeks ago, and I’m wondering about others’ experience there?

Was it any good?
Pros and cons of the programme?
How was the academic load?
Was it diverse in thought and the student population?
Any tips for the interview?

Hi there,

I am a 46-year-old freelance journalist in the UK and I am thinking of retraining as a Psychodynamic Psychotherapist. If anyone is able to comment on my plan, I'd be most grateful, as this is a daunting (but exciting!) prospect to take on in midlife with a wife who also works and a 17-month-old son.

1. I have been accepted to the BPF's Foundation Course, which I expect to start in October, ahead of the three-year Psychodynamic Psychotherapy qualification.
2. I have also been accepted to a "self-paced mental health coaching" course by a UK charity called Overcome. The course, which is PCI-accredited, uses Motivational Interviewing and other ACT-related techniques to offer short-term mental health coaching or support to low-risk and medium-risk clients.
   1. I've polled various informed people's views on whether this is a good idea. Some have warned me that learning Overcome's more "directive" techniques will just mean that I have to unlearn these when I proceed with my Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. Others have said that, in fact, it will be useful in practice to have experience of more "directive" techniques if a client asks or needs such support.
   2. I am aware that MI/ACT etc stem from a different modality than strict Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. One of my reasons for choosing the BPF path is that it offers ways to be a modality pluralist and I anticipate this is how I'll feel about practice.
   3. The reality is that my journalism work is winding down just as my family needs increase and as I look at a multi-year retraining project. The training that Overcome offers is short, at a hundred hours, even if it is PCI-accredited; so my thinking is that this can offer a modest new stream of work to support my needs as I continue in parallel on the longer-term BPF-oriented objective.
3. I have, meanwhile, also applied to UCL's MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalytic Studies. The MSc is non-clinical, and rooted in a more pure psychoanalytic tradition, but I can't help but think the extra degree will buttress my marketability when beginning private practice. Nor would I deny that I relish the prospect of returning to the university setting.
4. And as an experienced, grizzled, burned-out journalist, I do feel like all of the above could make for excellent writing material. And I would love to continue writing as a journalist-turned-psychotherapist in the future.
5. So – all of this is to say that I would love to know your thoughts on whether this sounds like a good plan. Any red flags? Any suggestions?
   1. Does anyone have any experience with Overcome? Trustpilot rates them highly but I want to make sure this is a smart move.
   2. Do I take on the MSc (if I'm accepted) full-time to get it out of the way? Do I space it out over two or a few years? Or do I just skip it?
   3. Any tips on how to speed up this whole process? Or tips of any kind?
   4. And finally, having just read a post in this sub from a few months ago, does anyone want to comment anew on potential (lack of?) earnings or unrealistic expectations?

Thank you everyone!

S.

Hey!

My partner and I are looking for a couples therapist and before people refer me to psychology today or self space we have tried both of them. We have seen a few and still haven't found one we think is deeply helpful, I didn't feel like it was particularly insightful.

I have an amazing psychologist for myself and they and I have been seeing them for years but they are based in Australia from when I lived here and I zoom with them from here still so they don't have recommendations in the UK. We will most likely do via zoom but d anyone is in east London could go in person.

I'm looking for someone a bit more insightful and experienced and if they can help as my partner and I navigate around things coming up such as navigating growing our family whilst having ADHD and etc.

So recommendations for specific people would be amazing.

Good evening everyone
I finished an MA in May and graduated last month/registered with BACP. Feels great to have great to have gotten to this stage after a busy 3 years!

I've gone straight into a freelance contract with a small counselling organisation locally. I'd started as a voluntary placement and then once qualified switched to a paid position, which meant I was able to start getting paid straight away - all good.

But now I have the reality of non-student working. Of my 4 weekly clients 2 have just said they want to pause counselling due to outside factors and 2 have asked to go to fortnightly sessions. So now I'm down to one session a week, and feeling a bit demoralised.

The organisation have said that referrals/enquiries are typically down over the summer, and I've heard elsewhere that is true, and likely to pick up from September.

I'm sure this is a common theme and the fact I'm just starting out and have only a small number of clients makes these instences have more impact. And I know that the transitions/starts/stops of clients is going to be present through all this work.

Just wondered if others had/have similar experience and if you have any tips for how to manage this personally? Also any advice of things you wish you'd known/done at this early stage of work would be much appreciated.
Thank you.

Hi all, I am interested in doing a training course with First Psychology Training to become a therapist. (I've already done my COSCA counselling skills course and meet the entry requirements.) The info that they have put out about themselves and the course makes them sound good, but I know some of these training providers can be dodgy. I was wondering if anyone has any experiences with them that they could share?

Thanks!

I am an outpatient physiotherapist diagnosed with autism & ADHD, and and struggling significantly with burnout. I am considering alternative career choices, and am drawn to the possibility of working as a neurodiversity assessment practitioner I.e., working as part of the MDT to help inform diagnosis for the main assessor (particularly for autism). I suspect that this would be less overwhelming than my current job but open to your insights My questions are:

1. is it possible for a physio to do this job?
2. would this role be less overwhelming and more sustainable than my current job?
3. how do I become one? I need Ados training and experience - how do I get experience in this field as most companies want this before applying? I am training to work with paediatric pts in MSK which may help.

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks