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Therapy

Ladybug

I want to go back into therapy next year- I’ve tried looking but just wanted to ask here if anyone knows a good place to start looking or recommendations because its a bit intimidating to me honestly 

preferably either free services or not super expensive? 

especially if anyone knows of finding specialists in autism/depression/burnout etc..

also feel free to share if therapy has actually been beneficial to you 

thanks

Beetle

  • in reply to Eyes

    True - mine also did a phone conversation before we had an appointment, and that chat helped me to gage whether she was likely to be a good fit for me. I really lucked out though, with this one! I find looking at their profiles online can also help to work out whether they're the type of person I'd fit well with/get a gist of the type of person they are. 

  • Counsellors and other therapists sometimes do initial sessions where you can meet them and see if you are happy to work with them. On occasion they'll offer a reduced rate for that too - I've done that a few times and it's helpful as you have more chance to get the right counsellor for you.

    Good luck, it can certainly be helpful but try to think if you want short or long term counselling as well, perhaps discuss this with the counsellor.

  • My therapist isn't an autism specialist, I didn't know I was autistic when I started seeing her in 2019, but she is fabulous and reflective and adapts things, and importantly she's willing to learn and grow along with me. I found her by browsing profiles on the BACP website. It's not free, but she did offer me a reduced rate when I asked if I could see her once a fortnight due to financial constraints - but I pay £40 a session (she charges £70-80 usually). I definitely find her helpful, I don't know if I'd want to try and do life without her now! All the best with it, I think everyone should get therapy (providing it's with the right person for them!)

  • Ladybug said:
    preferably either free services or not super expensive? 

    I don't know of any free ones, and most qualified psychotherapists are going to be somewhere between £40 and £150 and hour depending on their specialisations.

    I was quoted £400 for one specialist who was booked out for the next year (they covered a specialisation that I wanted to do some particular work on), so I guess there are buyers for it at even that price.

    Have a look at https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/counselling/england?category=autism

    The starting prices seem to be about £40 for a session that I imagine is 45-60 mins.

    I then looked at the specialisations of each and how the described themselves and in the end chose one called Jayne Batten who I have spent a lot of time with and who has been tremendously helpful.

    The therapy has helped me "unpack" a lot of traumatic situations in my past and allowed me to see why I developed coping mechanisms, and armed with the understanding of them plus of my autism I have been able to develop much more healthy habits than the ones I went into therapy to address.

    There is a lot of other assorted life stuff that can be covered in these sessions which I found very useful - and as a result am much calmer, more assured of myself and confident to take on things that I would have avoided at any cost in the past.

    It isn't cheap, but it was such a worthwhile investment for me.