Introduction:
I have thought pretty long and hard about writing a review on therapy/counselling/psychotherapy, not least because I recognise that if I do write a review and let members here know what I do for a living I might get a lot of people contacting me via the guestbook, with questions that I can't or would not be prepared to answer. Also, I can only 'touch' on the subject here.
However, I also recognise that a lot of people have a lot of misconceptions about the therapeutic world, as portrayed by TV therapists, and the constant reporting on celebrities 'in therapy'. So I guess I see this as an opportunity to put a few ideas out there for folks to have a considered view about therapy, and what it is all about, well, not 'all', but a fair overview.
At the moment, pretty much anyone in the UK can call themselves a therapist, or counsellor, or psychotherapist, however, thankfully that is very soon going to change. Only people registered with the HPC (Health Professions Council) will be able to use said titles after 2009 (though this date may well 'slip'), and to use these legally protected titles after this point will become a criminal offence.
What is a therapist/counsellor/psychotherapist?
Basically someone that has had sufficient training in a model of therapy (or more than one model) to be able to practice as such. The difference between the titles is very difficult to be exact about however, for the sake of ease here, generally psychotherapists would be qualified at Masters level or above, though not always, likewise, counsellors may well be trained at this level, 'therapist' is a more generic term, though as I have said this is all pretty interchangeable and much is dependent on either how the therapist chooses to define/describe themselves, or how their place of work chooses to describe them, so for instance, I would prefer just to be called 'therapist', yet the NHS Psychology Department where I do some part time work insists that I am called a 'psychotherapist'.
People qualified will have studied one or more 'types' of therapy, and there are hundreds.
Types of Therapy:
As I have said there is hundreds of types of therapy. Psychotherapy really started with people like Freud and Jung, though clearly ever since people could talk, talking has proved helpful sometimes. Freud and others similar to Freud were interested in the unconscious thought patterns, things that happened in early childhood that 'shape' the way people are and so on. That by the way is a very simplistic view here, people write 20,000 word dissertations on this stuff so I'm not going to do much more than give you 'headlines'. Below are some other 'headlines', many of the types of therapy below also have 'sub' sections, or offshoots.
Some of the other main types of therapy include:
Person centred, as developed by Carl Rogers, which is very much about unconditional positive regard (for the client) leading to the right conditions which will allow the person to reach their full, real potential in and out of the therapy room.
Behavioural approaches, such as CBT where the therapist will explore, with the client, some of the 'mismatch' between what the client wants, or thinks they want to do, and the actions that they are undertaking.
Cognitive Analytic Therapy.
Psychodynamic.
Gestalt.
Transactional Analysis.
Art therapy.
Hypnotherapy.
Narrative Therapy.
Solution Focused Brief Therapy:
This is my 'core' model, the one that I have trained in and practiced for the last 16 years. It was developed in the early 80's in Milwaukee, USA by a bunch of folk from the Family Therapy Centre, specifically Steve de Shazer and Insoo Kim Berg. The premise of this type of therapy is that we recognise that everyone has a preferred future, there are always exceptions to any problem, and doing more of what works means one is ding less of what does not work. We start from the premise that everyone is competent in certain ways and we seek to build on that competence and strengths base where possible. We also believe that we are not experts on people themselves, that they have more knowledge about themselves than we will ever have. We do not diagnose or analyse and do not find 'theories' of dysfunction to be helpful. SFBT sits within a group of therapies that are aligned to Post Modern or Post Structuralist, social constructionist views. Feel free to read more, as I have said, just a headline here. Try, as a first stop, the United Kingdom association for Solution Focused Practice (UKASFP). http://www.ukasfp.co.uk/
So which type is best for someone?
There is the question that most people do not think to ask, instead just trusting that any therapy will help. The truth is, however loyal you are to your model, any talking therapy is better than no talking therapy, and there is a huge amount of evidence to back this up. The model of therapy that one utilises can only be worth about 15% of the outcome from therapy, though clearly different therapy and therapists suit different people. So someone looking to delve into their childhood trauma would not be suited by Solution Focused therapy for instance.
What is more important, according to the research is: Therapist/client relationship or how you and the therapist get on. Also important is placebo or hope factors, so if you think therapy will work, then there is a good chance it will. External factors also play a part, if you are unemployed and depressed because of it, and you get a job your mood might lift, that has got nothing to do with therapy!
If you are going to get therapy you should check a number of things first:
1. What do you want to get out of it
2. What sort of therapy might help you (research this)
3. Is the therapist qualified
4. Is the therapist insured
5. How much will it cost
6. Is confidentiality ensured
7. Is the therapist a member of a professional body
Good, experienced therapists will be a member of a professional organization, bound by a code of ethics, with the facility to complain if you are not happy with the service you get. They may or may not display certificates, or have letters after their name, if they do, feel free to check them out, ask the therapist what the letters, qualifications are, go to the internet and have a look, a genuine therapist won't mind at all.
Some of the organisations that are most reputable are listed below:
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
http://www.bacp.co.uk/
United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
http://www.psychotherapy.org.uk/
United Kingdom Association for Solution Focused Practice (UKASFP)
http://www.ukasfp.co.uk/
British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies.
http://www.babcp.com/
British Psychological Society
http://www.bps.org.uk/
So how does one become a therapist?
Training, practice, reflection.
The minimum needed to become a full member of say the BACP (and please check their website) is two years training, 150 hours supervised placement, regular clinical supervision. To become accredited one would need: 450 hours of training, generally at post graduate level, 450 post qualifying hours of practice, 1.5 hours of supervision per month for a minimum of 3 years, be able to describe your theoretical model, be able to show reflection on your practice, be able to show continuing professional development and be able to show your own level of personal awareness in relation to your role as a therapist.
To use 'counselling skills' one needs much less training, and there are lots of people at work that use these skills daily, so do not be put off by the amount of stuff needed to practice as a 'therapist'.
Look up local courses, think about the type of therapy that appeals to you in terms of learning, think about how long you are prepared to train and how much you are prepared to pay, for instance:
I started my therapy training in 1992 with a 20 week, one evening a week course, then over the next few years did many 2, 3 and 4 day courses, in 2000 I started an MA in Solution focused therapy which was two years p/t taught with a further 3 years to undertake independent research and write a dissertation, as well as doing placements in organisations. You will need to read many, many books and depending on the type of therapy you train in, may need to be conversant with many theories.
In summary:
If you are seeking therapy, remember, therapists cannot 'cure' you, we only seek to help you help yourself, through a number of methods which might be understanding what makes you you, what influences your thoughts or actions, or simply getting you to recognise what is working for you, at least some of the time, and do more of it.
Remember to get someone who is qualified, insured, and a member of a professional body.
If you are seeking to become a therapist, it is a great way to earn a living, very rewarding, and the training is long and arduous, and can be quite expensive.
If you want to know more about me, the type of therapy I practice, or any other links related feel free to 'Google' me, I have a website but cannot give that out here as I use it for commercial purposes.
Thanks for reading,
Paul Hanton MBACP
BA (Hons), MA (SFBT)
Also posted on Dooyou.
Psychotherapy & counselling, a brief overview. 
Excellent review xx