Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I know what kind of therapy I need?
- How can I find out if a therapist is properly registered to practise?
- I have heard that CBT is supposed to be very good. Will it help me?
- I have looked at some websites that are full of testimonials from people saying how much they have been helped. How do I know these are genuine?
- I don’t want to have to spend weeks or months working through therapy – surely it would be better just to have a few sessions of Hypnotherapy?
- I have tinnitus (noises in the ear(s) and/or head) and I have been told that nothing can be done. Is this true?
FAQ 1
How do I know what kind of therapy I need?
A
Most people don’t know what kind of therapy is best for them. A therapist will not know what kind of therapy is the most suitable for you either until an assessment (also called an initial Consultation) has been carried out.
Some therapists are trained to use only one approach such as counselling for example, and it could be that you – and/or the problems that you want to address – are not best suited to one single therapy approach. It is often the case that a combination of therapies is helpful.
Finding a therapist who is not only qualified but registered (see FAQ 2) to use at least two to three different types of therapy is a good place to start. Following that, do not commit yourself to a full course of therapy until:
- You have completed a full assessment with the therapist
- You feel comfortable about working with the therapist
- You are happy about the recommendations that the therapist discusses with you at the end of the assessment, and you understand fully why those recommendations are being made
Always remember that an assessment is not only for the therapist to assess your needs; it is also a time for you to assess whether you feel comfortable about working with that particular therapist.
FAQ 2
How can I find out if a therapist is properly registered to practise?
A
All bona fide therapists and counsellors have to be registered with a professional registration body in order to practise. Therapy and counselling is not covered by Statutory Regulation in this country, so this means there are many professional registration bodies that counsellors and therapists can be registered with.
It is worth taking some time to check registrations before committing to working with a therapist. Most registrations can be checked on-line these days and so it only takes a few minutes to confirm that a therapist is registered with the registration body they claim.
When a therapist or counsellor is registered, make sure that you can see there is a proper Code of Ethics that registrants have to abide by. This should be easy for you to find on the registration body’s website. If you are unsure, it would be worth a phone call to the registration body to make sure.
FAQ 3
I have heard that CBT is supposed to be very good. Will it help me?
A
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is a well researched and evidence based form of psychotherapy, and does help many people with many different sorts of problems for example, anxiety problems and depression.
The way CBT works is that you learn to identify “negative automatic thoughts” that lead to experiencing a “negative emotion” causing a “negative behaviour”; by identifying the “negative automatic thoughts”, and then through challenging them, you are able to change the negative emotions that have previously caused you problems. Negative thoughts come from our core beliefs that have become ingrained in us over usually many years.
CBT is one of the “short term” or “solution focused” therapies, and in general, a course of CBT will consist of between 6 and 20 sessions, depending upon the complexity of the issues that need to be worked on. CBT is used very successfully by many people to address many problems.
CBT is NOT however, a panacea for all problems and it does NOT suit everyone. Indeed, there are newer, equally well evidence based cognitive therapies that provide deeper insight and take a much more personal approach into exploring feelings and bringing them into focus so making them available to address and change, such as MBCT (Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy).
FAQ 4
I have looked at some websites that are full of testimonials from people saying how much they have been helped. How do I know these are genuine?
A
The short answer is that you can’t tell if they are genuine or not. In the majority of cases, they probably are, however, there has been a recent change made by some of the professional registration bodies (including UKCP and those registration bodies linked to them) that has stopped therapists from using testimonials on their websites and advertising materials. One of the reasons for this was because there was no way for the public to know that the testimonials were in fact genuine.
FAQ 5
I don’t want to have to spend weeks or months working through therapy – surely it would be better just to have a few sessions of Hypnotherapy?
A
Hypnotherapy is not a quick fix and in fact, when carried out properly, is unlikely to take less time than any other short-term psychotherapy. Just as therapists and counsellors have to be registered, so do Hypnotherapists. The UK government had some concerns over the regulation of Hypnotherapists and backed the CNHC (Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council) to include Hypnotherapy in their register from December 2010. Rigorous checks are made by the CNHC before a Hypnotherapist is included on their register.
Just as with other types of therapy, Hypnotherapy is suitable for some people and some problems, but not all.
FAQ 6
I have tinnitus (noises in the ear(s) and/or head) and I have been told that nothing can be done. Is this true?
A
If it was true, then the Department of Health would not have produced a Commissioning Pathway for Tinnitus. Therefore, it is not true that nothing can be done for tinnitus. There is no medication that “cures” tinnitus, however, as with many “incurable” conditions - diabetes for example – there is effective treatment. Unfortunately, effective help can be difficult to find. It is a specialist area of work, carried out most commonly by Hearing Therapists and some specially trained Audiologists.
Treatment includes psycho-education (understanding what tinnitus is, what drives it and why), cognitive therapy, the use of relaxation techniques and, where appropriate, hearing aids or white noise generators.
