Psychotherapy and Counselling: What’s in a Name?
Therapy language can be confusing.
Psychotherapist. Counsellor. Therapist. Psychologist. Coach. Practitioner. Mental health professional.
All of these words can sound relevant when you are looking for support, but they do not all mean the same thing. And, to make it even more fun, some of them overlap.
A huge part of my work as a psychotherapist and counsellor is a sense of responsibility to my profession and to my clients. Part of that, for me, is helping people understand what therapy is, why it might be helpful, and what they might want to look for when choosing someone to work with.
If you are thinking about therapy, you may already be trying to make sense of quite a lot. Different websites, different directories, different titles, different letters after people’s names, and sometimes not much explanation of what any of it means.
You will also be looking for someone you might be able to trust with your inner world, and that is not a small thing. So this blog is not about turning you into an expert in therapy titles. It is simply a way of making some of the main distinctions a bit clearer, so you can feel more informed when choosing who you might want to contact.
The important bit first
In the UK, titles such as psychotherapist, counsellor and therapist are not currently protected titles in law.
This means the title alone does not automatically tell you what training someone has completed, whether they belong to a professional body, whether they work within an ethical framework, or whether there is a complaints process if something goes wrong.
That does not mean there are not many highly trained, ethical and experienced psychotherapists and counsellors. There absolutely are. It simply means it can be useful to know what to look for.
For me, there are three helpful questions:
What does the person call themselves, and what do they offer?
What training and qualifications sit behind that title?
Are they registered or accredited with a recognised professional body?
That is really the heart of it.
1. What does the person call themselves, and what do they offer?
The BACP describes counselling and psychotherapy as umbrella terms for a range of talking therapies.
A psychotherapist is usually trained to work with emotional, psychological and relational difficulties. Psychotherapy is often associated with deeper or longer-term exploration, including patterns, relationships, identity, history and emotional experience.
A counsellor also works with emotional, relational, psychological or life difficulties. Counselling is often associated with talking through concerns, developing understanding and finding ways forward.
In reality, there can be a lot of overlap between counselling and psychotherapy. Different practitioners, training organisations and professional bodies may use the terms in slightly different ways.
I use both terms on my website and in my work. They can mean different things to different people, and it feels important to me that potential clients know I trained in a way that sits within both.
A therapist is a broader word. People use it to describe psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists and many other therapeutic practitioners. Beauty therapist, drama therapist, sports therapist, for example. So, therapist can be useful shorthand, but on its own it does not tell you much about someone’s job, training, qualifications or professional registration.
A psychologist is someone who has studied psychology, but the title psychologist on its own can also be used in different ways. Some psychologist titles are protected in the UK, including clinical psychologist and counselling psychologist. These practitioners must be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.
A coach usually works in a more goal-focused way, often supporting people with personal development, confidence, work, performance, leadership or life changes. Coaching can be valuable, but it is not the same as counselling or psychotherapy, particularly when someone is seeking support with emotional distress, trauma or significant mental health difficulties.
These are not perfect boxes and there are clearly overlaps, but having a broad sense of the language can help you ask better questions.
2. What training and qualifications sit behind that title?
Because titles such as psychotherapist, counsellor and therapist are not protected in law, it can be helpful to look at what training and qualifications sit behind the title.
For the purposes of this blog, I am mainly speaking from my own position as a psychotherapist and counsellor accredited with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
For me, that means I have completed recognised professional training, including an MSc in Counselling Psychology from Keele University. I first became a registered member of the BACP over ten years ago, before later applying for and being awarded accredited status.
That accreditation process required me to evidence my training, ethical practice, supervised work, professional development and clinical experience. I now have over ten years’ experience, thousands of client practice hours, and many years of continuing professional development, training, and most importantly, time with clients.
The accreditation process was not easy, and neither should it be, really. But it was a choice I made because it was important to me to commit to my clients and the organisations I work with. For me, this is part of offering clients a professional and accountable space. It does not replace the importance of the relationship, but it does provide some of the structure around it.
3. Are they registered or accredited with a recognised professional body?
Many qualified practitioners choose to belong to professional bodies such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, the UK Council for Psychotherapy, the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society, or other recognised organisations.
I know, so many organisations, so many letters, acronym city.
These organisations set standards around training, ethics, supervision, continuing professional development and professional conduct. They will also have a complaints process, which matters.
Different professional bodies have different routes, criteria and language. This is not about creating a hierarchy. It is about knowing whether the person you are considering working with has appropriate training, belongs to a recognised professional body, works ethically, has supervision, and is professionally accountable, if this is important to you.
Directories such as BACP Find a Therapist and Counselling Directory can also be useful starting points. They do checks on practitioners who apply to be listed, but I would still encourage you to check out anyone you are considering individually.
So, what does this mean when you are choosing someone?
You are unlikely to want to become an expert in professional titles, membership categories or regulatory frameworks, you are probably just trying to find someone to work with. Someone who seems able to meet what you are bringing with care, competence and respect.
So yes, the professional information matters, training matters, ethical frameworks matter, and registration and accreditation matter, but alongside all of this, the relationship matters too.
Research consistently suggests that the quality of the relationship between therapist and client, often called the therapeutic alliance, is closely linked with therapy outcomes. In other words, the relationship is not just a nice extra. It is part of the work itself.
For me, this means finding someone you feel you can work with, not someone who makes you feel intimidated, knows better than you or hides behind language.
It is okay to ask questions, here’s a few ideas:
You can ask about training.
You can ask about registration or accreditation.
You can ask about supervision, insurance, fees, confidentiality and how someone works.
You can look for the information that matters to you, their modality (how we work theoretically - a post for another day) and maybe their experience and specialities.
You would absolutely be encouraged to do this by me, and by any reputable practitioner.
There has been many an occasion when a potential client is looking for something that I know another colleague would be better suited for, and I will refer on. Knowing our skills and the areas we have most experienced in is another part of professional responsibility. Try not to feel overwhelmed if therapist include a lot of areas that they work with. Our initial training hopes to support us with many areas of clients lives. Further training and life experience only adds to this,
I will be writing another blog about what counselling and psychotherapy can be in practice, what it is for, and how it might help. But for now, I hope this has clarified some of the important stuff if you are looking for a well-trained, qualified and accredited professional to work with.
I am popping a little jargon buster below. Yes, I could have put it at the start, but I think reading through this first bit is really important. 🙂
Sass
Little Jargon Buster
Psychotherapist
A trained practitioner who works with emotional, psychological and relational difficulties, often including deeper or longer-term exploration.
Counsellor
A trained practitioner who offers a confidential space to explore emotional, relational, psychological or life difficulties.
Therapist
A broad shorthand word that can describe many different types of practitioner, so it is worth checking what kind of therapist someone is.
Coach
A practitioner who often works in a more goal-focused way around personal development, confidence, work, performance or life changes.
Psychologist
Someone who has studied psychology, although some psychologist titles are protected and regulated, while the word psychologist on its own can be used in different ways.
Professional body
An organisation that sets standards around areas such as training, ethics, supervision, continuing professional development and professional conduct.
Modality
The type or approach of therapy someone is trained in, such as person-centred, psychodynamic, CBT, integrative or other approaches.
Therapeutic relationship
The relationship between therapist and client, including trust, safety, understanding and the sense that you can work together.
Useful Links
BACP Find a Therapist Register
UKCP Find a Therapist
NCPS Find a Counsellor
Counselling Directory