Counselling directories

When considering how to live a good life, any self-help resource that doesn’t mention mental health is not considering the full picture. To that end, I wanted to mention how to get an accredited counsellor in the UK. If you are able to pay for sessions (which can be anywhere between about £30 to £60 a session usually, although if you have limited income a lot of counsellors have a few discounted slots in their schedules), then all you need to do is to go to the BACP website. BACP stands for British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, which is the main accreditation body for counsellors. All of these people will have done extensive training and will still be under active professional oversight from other counsellors. You then can filter your search in the directory by location or topic or expertise, and then check each counsellor’s profile to see if you think you’ll like them. Their contact details are provided, so you can text, call or email to arrange a trial session with someone if you think they might be a good fit.

I have had several years’ worth of counselling, and I am still currently working with a counsellor to try and unravel the hold that anxiety and perfectionism has over me. If you can manage to afford it, I would try and push past any misgivings or resistance you feel and do it. Everyone could do with some counselling!