This Psychotherapy section provides general information on various forms.

If you are looking for a therapist it is very important to go with what feels right as well as checking out the person or organisation you approach. All professional psychotherapists should be happy to show their qualifications, insurance, and be able to provide you with some background information on the way they work as part of a pre consultation discussion.

Psychotherapeutic approaches have many forms, from pure cognitive therapy, to the purely spiritual form. Most are somewhere between the two extremes or poles.

Many people ask what the difference is between psychotherapy and counselling and to answer this with absolute clarity is tricky. There is a degree of crossover between the two, although as a general guide, counselling tends towards being short term with a focus on resolving specific issues. For example career counselling or bereavement counselling.

Psychotherapy tends to help people deal with longer standing issues, possibly of a much deeper and personal nature. This work tends to be longer term, but very much depends on the individual, their past and present circumstances, and the issues involved. The form psychotherapy takes can also affect the time involved.

For example one my seek help with a recurring problem with relationships which keep going wrong, or perhaps issues around perceived irrational fears with no apparent explanation but which may be deep seated and/or compounded by early life experiences.

Being haunted by the past or having feelings of general dissatisfaction with life can have a serious impact, psychotherapy can help each of us lead a more settled and fulfilling life by helping us to understand, accept and overcome.

For many of us, making the first steps towards seeking professional help can be one of the hardest things to do. So many judgments can arise such as; Am I mad? What will people think? how much will it cost, and can I afford it? or even thoughts like "It opens a can of worms I don't want to see", and of course there is the general fear many of us have of the unknown.

Here we hope to be able to provide a general guide to some of the psychotherapies available in a clear and concise way together along with a brief history of Psychotherapy.

The cost of psychotherapy varies considerably but as a general guide a one hour session costs between £30 and £75. Many forms are available on the NHS but tend to be short term.  Beware of anyone offering therapy free of charge unless they are undergoing professional supervised training.

According to The United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
Psychotherapy is the provision by qualified practitioners of a formal and professional relationship within which patient(s)/client(s) can profitably explore difficult, and often painful, emotions and experiences. These may include feelings of anxiety, depression, trauma, or perhaps the loss of meaning in one’s life. It is a process which seeks to help the person gain an increased capacity for choice, through which the individual becomes more autonomous and self determined. Psychotherapy may be provided for individuals or children, couples, families and groups.

MORE