You’ve decided you would like to talk to someone about issues that are troubling you. That decision alone can take a lot of courage. Finding the right therapist is therefore crucial for you to work through your issues and start to feel better about yourself, your life and your direction. In our experience, you can tell you’ve found the right therapist when you spot these four signs:
You feel safe
This is the number one sign that you’re with the right therapist. If you’re going to open up and talk about your innermost fears and desires, you need to feel safe. A therapist can help create that feeling of safety by offering a consistent, confidential and caring space for you to explore your troubles.
You can speak your truth
From that feeling of safety comes the ability to speak your truth. By this we mean the freedom to say what’s really going on for you, even if those thoughts don’t feel great. It’s often when you’re able to name something difficult or troubling that it no longer has any power over you.
You feel heard and understood
It can be terrifying opening up to someone new for the first time. You may fear the therapist will judge or criticise you. But a trained professional will be able to show empathy, to walk in your shoes and help you understand yourself a little bit better. A therapist will truly listen. Feeling truly heard can be an empowering experience.
You are creating the life you want
Your therapist may help you with coping strategies for current challenges. He or she may work on childhood issues that are still causing unhelpful behaviours in the current day. Or you may be working through some relationship dilemmas. Whatever your main issue is, the important thing is that you therapist is accompanying you on this part of your journey to a more whole, fulfilled you.
How to find a therapist
At The Awareness Centre we aim to help you choose a therapist who’s right for you. We have more than 100 therapists working with us, offering sessions seven days a week to individuals and couples.
If you have a specific issue you would like specialist support with, our website covers the types of issues we work with at TAC. These range from anger management, depression and anxiety to work issues, pregnancy-related issues, sex and relationships, addiction, trauma and abuse. We also offer support for LGBT clients, and we provide multilingual counselling in more than 25 languages.
It may difficult for you to work out if you need counselling, psychotherapy or psychology. We’ve provided some brief definitions on our website, to give you an idea of the differences and similarities. However, experience suggests that the healing is in the therapeutic relationship rather than the qualifications or approach the therapist takes.
Choosing a therapist can also involve ‘gut instinct’. You may get the sense that a therapist is ‘right’ for you from their photo, or how they’ve described themselves. All our therapists have provided up-to-date profiles of their experience, approach and specialisms, which will help you in your search for the right therapist.
We aim to make therapy available to all, which is why we offer low cost counselling (session fees starting from £20) if you’re on benefits or a low incomes, as well as private therapy, which can be covered through private healthcare.
If you would like some help in deciding which therapist is right for you, just call our friendly and knowledgeable Front of House team on 020 8673 4545 and they can talk you through your options. You can also email [email protected] to take the first step in getting the help you need.
