About counselling & psychotherapy

The terms counselling and psychotherapy are used interchangeably. Both describe an opportunity for you to explore issues, feelings or experiences which are causing you distress. 

You and your therapist develop a relationship which is built on trust and confidentiality. It is within the frame of this alliance that you will begin to address the challenges you are facing. The therapist is there to help you find ways of being more yourself and to discover the unique way in which you are able to overcome the problems you are faced with.

Therapy is usually a weekly commitment, although some therapists offer twice-weekly sessions. The regularity of the sessions gives a sense of structure to the process, allowing trust to develop while moving at a safe pace.

Research into the effectiveness of therapy points towards the strength of the relationship between client and therapist as the central factor in its success, regardless of the therapist’s approach.

There are many different approaches to counselling and psychotherapy and this can make it confusing when trying to choose a therapist. For this reason, we suggest you read through the individual therapists’ profiles on Our therapists page in order to get a sense of what you might expect when working with them. You can read more about the different types of therapy as listed on Counselling Directory.