My name is Dr Emma Gray, and I'm the Lead Clinical Psychologist at the British CBT & Counselling
Service.
Now, once you've decided to have therapy, you then have to work out what kind of therapist
or counsellor to see.
So in this video, I'm going to explain the difference between Counsellors, Therapists,
and Psychologists, to help you to make that decision.
It's a bit of a minefield because there are lots of different types of therapists and
counsellors offering talking therapies out there.
The first thing to remember is that most of the titles in this area, or in this field,
that people use are unprotected and unregulated.
That means anyone can use them.
They are not an indication of any particular level of training, qualification—your postman
could use them.
So, these titles that anyone could use, including your postman, include Counsellor, Therapist,
Psychotherapist, and CBT Therapist.
So, if someone is just using that title, it's going to give you no information about the
type of training or their qualifications.
Let's look at psychologists now.
So, just the title Psychologist, again, that is unregulated—unprotected.
Often, people who are just using the title Psychologist may have an A-Level in Psychology,
they may have an Undergraduate Degree in Psychology (so a BA, or a BSC), but that is not a professional
qualification.
They are not qualified to offer a good standard of a talking therapy.
If you're going to see a psychologist, you want to see a psychologist who has the title,
either, Clinical Psychologist or Counselling Psychologist because both of these titles
are protected and regulated by the professional body the Health and Care Professions Council—the
HCPC.
And these titles are protected by law.
So, if somebody is using one of these titles when they're unqualified, they will be prosecuted
by the HCPC.
So, to use the title Clinical Psychologist, or Counselling Psychologist, you must have
a Doctorate in Clinical or Counselling Psychology which usually takes between seven and nine
years to get.
But you must also be keeping up to date with all recent developments in the field, through
a process called Continuing Professional Development.
So, if you're going to go and see a therapist who is using either the title Clinical Psychologist
or Counselling Psychologist, that is your guarantee that they are properly qualified,
and they have a proper level of experience and skill in this area.
Now let's look at psychiatrists.
So, psychiatrists are medically trained, and their practice is regulated by the GMC—the
General Medical Council.
Psychiatrists are trained and qualified to diagnose mental illness, and they are trained
to prescribe medication for mental illness—so, things like antidepressant medications, for
example.
Psychiatrists are not trained to offer talking therapies, like CBT.
So if your psychiatrist is offering you a talking therapy, they need to have an additional
qualification to offer that to you at a proper standard.
Okay, so, then, there are a couple of other titles in this area that are protected and
regulated.
So, you have a Registered Psychotherapist and a Therapeutic Counsellor.
(It gets a bit complicated.)
A Registered Psychotherapist, and a Therapeutic Counsellor—those two professions are regulated
by the UKCP.
And I'll put all of this in the description because it's quite a lot of information to
hold in your head.
But the UKCP, or the UK Council for Psychotherapy, regulate those two titles.
Maybe, one other important thing here, CBT Therapists—now as I said at the beginning,
this title isn't protected.
However, a CBT Therapist can choose, voluntarily, to be accredited by a body called the BABCP,
so the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies.
So, if you're going to go and see a CBT Therapist, make sure that they have been accredited by
the BABCP.
Okay, so, please use this information when you're choosing your therapist because a lot
of the work that I do is undoing the work that, well-meaning, but unqualified therapists
and counsellors have done.
Okay, so, if this video was helpful, please like, subscribe, and share with your friends.
And I will see you soon.