# need help finding therapist who does CBT (i live in england)



## augusto (Mar 9, 2008)

hi everyone. i live in england and want to start CBT therapy so firstly i need to find a CBT therapist. i think going private is the best option since i get the impression that going through the NHS involves long waiting lists and less qualified therapists. i know this will be expensive but hopefully i'll be able to afford it. i was looking for advice on how to go about finding a therapist. should i see a gp for example? i did some searching on the net which lead me to http://www.babcp.com. is this the way to go? you can search for local therapists who specialise in "Anxiety/Panic/Stress and Phobias". this sounds a little bit vague. will they actually do CBT for social anxiety? i guess so. i could ask them beforehand. also, how much would i be expected to pay, roughly. i don't wanna pay way over the oods. sorry, i'm a bit all over the place at the moment. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks.


----------



## kelso (Apr 23, 2008)

I am in the same boat as augusto but live in South East Queensland Australia.
I have been searching away (that is how I came across this forum) and not having much luck at all.
I, too, would appreciate any help.


----------



## shy_chick (Sep 27, 2006)

I wouldn't say NHS therapists were worse, just have long waiting lists. To do this you probably would need to see a GP to get a referral. They'd write a letter, then you'd go for a screening appointment within a few weeks/months, then they would give you an idea of if you were suitable and how long their waiting list was. It varied depending on what times of day I could make and whether I had preference for a male/female therapist. I ended up finding my own treatment as it all went wrong and I got bounced around to psychotherapy and the therapist was off for months which dragged it out, so I never saw her apart from 2-3 screening appointments.
CBT is a common treatment for anxiety disorders, and also depression.
I found a therapist that was free through a young women's counselling service. They gave me a long list of relationship therapists. My GP had no clue and suggested relate and said they were free-they are about £40 a session! Anyway, I went through the list and saw a lady off the list for a while who referred me to CBT with 1 of 2 colleagues at her private practice. I don't know how I would have found that out by searching.
Anxiety would be the thing to search for looking at the options on the website. When I worked through the list of local contacts I went on price, location, and what time their appointments were.
Therapists are happy to send you leaflets and talk about who they treat and may offer a free advice session. 

I saw another lady (CBT-related) by doing a web search for what I wanted and my location. I emailed a few times, spoke about twice on the phone, checked with a previous therapist and saw her for an initial consultation so she could make an assessment-all therapists will have at least one session to assess you and to work out what to recommend.

You should ask to see their qualifications and they should tell you lots of stuff about confidentiality and they often sign a contract saying what you can expect from them, and maybe suggesting a number of sessions that they will commit to (but that you can cancel).


----------



## yeah_yeah_yeah (Mar 27, 2007)

http://www.babcp.com/ is the way to go.

My experience: NHS as dismissive, underfunded. Waiting times: 6 months, then 1year and 2 months. Therapists I found unempathic and overstretched.

Private therapists universally better. Contact one via babcp and ask if they have direct experience treating your specific symptoms. Worth the money.

Where are you? If you are anywhere near Billericay, Essex I can recommend an AWESOME one - my old therapist when I was there.

Ross


----------



## kelso (Apr 23, 2008)

I'm between a rock and a hard place here as I cannot afford private treatment and our public mental health system is overloaded and you just can't get help - there is a huge waiting list and SA is not deemed that drastic.
You can go to your local GP where you are handed anti-depressant pills and left to your own devices.
I have been down that road and sure, it helped for awhile but was only a band aide with dreadful side effects after 5 years.
I am convinced I can learn how to deal with this if I can be taught how.


----------



## shy_chick (Sep 27, 2006)

One Dr in my practice had a book called mind over mood and worked through some CBT techniques briefly. There are books on anxiety where there are columns and you rate how you feel before a situation, your thoughts, evaluate them more realistically, then rate how you feel at the end.
How about a course where it is a one off payment as opposed to long term private therapy (e.g. confidence building)? Diet and regular exercise won't necessarily affect SA, but can help with feeling better about it. Or, if you are lucky there are some counselling centres that are free and run off funding e.g. I found a (free) young women's counselling service and when I was younger there was a young people's charity that ran counselling and group sessions for a range of mental health issues, again free.


----------



## yeah_yeah_yeah (Mar 27, 2007)

shy_chick said:


> One Dr in my practice had a book called mind over mood and worked through some CBT techniques briefly. /quote]
> 
> Awesome book, more for depression and general anxiety though. REALLY GOOD for overall CBT process.
> 
> Listen to chicky there, She say some goood things.


----------



## augusto (Mar 9, 2008)

thanks so much shy_chick and yeah_yeah_yeah for your replies. unfortunately i don't live very near essex. i'll consider everything you both mentioned. maybe i should try a CBT book before jumping into therapy. has anyone tried this one:

Overcoming Social Anxiety: A Self-help Guide Using Cognitive Behavioural Techniques (Paperback) 
by Gillian Butler (Author)

or does anyone have any other/better suggestions? I looked for that "mind over mood" book. seems interesting and I might check it out, although maybe i'd be better off with something aimed directly at social anxiety. although i do get depressed, it's mainly because of social anxiety so i want to concentrate on that.

kelso, have you tried any books? maybe you can teach yourself how to deal with it. i dunno. i'm not really in a position to be offering advice. i wish you all the best though.



edit: on second thoughts, you don't need to mention about books, unless you want to!. i'll have a look at the "self help resources" section of this website instead.


----------



## shy_chick (Sep 27, 2006)

I forget to mention, some therapists have sliding scales depending on income e.g. they will charge say 50% if you have a low income or are a student.

If SA specifically, I'd say go for a book on SA. I own the Gillian Butler one and a whole catalogue of books. I think it was good, I have a depression one in the same series too. I have a whole catalogue of books in fact. ops 
When choosing books I try and read extracts on Amazon (tip: the US site often lets you do this when the UK one doesn't) or look at it in a bookshop to see what it actually covers.


----------



## yeah_yeah_yeah (Mar 27, 2007)

^^^ **bumps shy_chick onto 'list of favourite SAS posters'**


----------

