Please recommend Counsellor, Psychotherapist Post Reply

[pupsik]

Hi, I'm really desperate to find psychotherapist for my husband who is suffering from insomnia, anxiety and depression. I found a website with a big list of specialists in this area but I don't really know which one to go to. Ideally I'd like to find someone specialising on insomnia and anxiety
Thanks in advance

[Balhammum44]

Hi
As a local GP I would say the following
If you can get him to his GP there is help available on the NHS but it will be a wait for psychological therapies. However the freephone number has lists of reputable local options
If anxiety and insomnia are his main problems he might benefit from CBT rather than psychotherapy (although this depends on knowing a lot more about him). There are a couple of CBT organisations who have 'find a therapist' buttons eg babcp.com and cbtregister.co.uk. It's an unknown of course and asking friends can be helpful if you want to divulge the difficulty
If general counselling/psychotherapy is more his bag then wandsworth psychotherapists are a reputable organisation
Medication can be helpful in some cases, but that depends on seeing his GP
Hope that helps a tiny bit, finding a therapist in the private sector can be daunting...
BM

[belindarydings]

Hi there
Sorry to hear that your husband is suffering. Depression, anxiety and insomnia can form a self-proliferating loop, so it's important to get help.
Firstly, it's important to ensure that any therapist or counsellor is regulated by either the UKCP or BACP, and you can google either of those to go to the organisation's website and search for a suitable therapist or counsellor in your area with the specialisms you have identified as important. There is also a counselling-directory.org website where you can find additional detail of the services offered by individual therapists and counsellors who have paid to be listed.
It is probably wise for your husband to speak to at least 2 or 3 different people on the phone, and see which feels most in tune with him. This should be offered free of charge as a matter of good practice before any commitment to meet and pay for sessions.
It's also been found that one of the most important factors in successful outcomes in talking therapies is that the client feels they have a warm, positive and non-judgemental relationship with the therapist, so your husband should follow his instinct in choosing who to work with. This applies if the relationship does not seem to be helping, and it's always possible to negotiate to end and find a new therapist.
Wishing you both all the best with the journey, it can be very difficult to support someone close who is suffering with depression, anxiety and insomnia so don't underestimate the strain on yourself and do take care.
Belinda Rydings
Coaching Psychologist

[Honeywell21]

I have been to an amazing woman based in Wimbledon,psychologist,life coach, hypnotherapist,nlp practioner I could go on.....
Her name is Miranda Kersley look on her web site,it will give you all the info you need.

[evainlondon]

My amazing GP recommended somebody called Nick Peters - hope this helps.

[headshrinker]

I am a Counsellor, based in Balham, and know some other good ones in SW London. Happy to have a chat to you or your other half about where to look and explain what the different approaches. Please message me if you would like to do this. As previous poster mentioned, BACP/UKCP registered practitioners are a good idea. Most should be able to deal with anxiety and insomnia as these are pretty common issues. I would definitely get him to see the GP too though.
If you haven't already done so you can search through
www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk (BACP website) or www.counselling-directory.org.uk
You can search by postcode then he can just choose whoever he likes the look of. It's a hideous generalisation but I find men tend to prefer CBT over other approaches, particularly if they are reluctant/sceptical/put off by anything too touchy-feely.
Best of luck with it all.