Glossary

This is a list of commonly used counselling and psychotherapy terms that feature in the profiles of counsellors listed in the Find a Counsellor directory.

Accredited counsellor for SURVIVORS UK

An organisation that works with issues concerning male childhood sexual abuse and rape.

ASIIP

Adlerian Society - Institute for Individual Psychology. They promote the understanding, application and development of Individual Psychology and Adlerian Counselling in the UK. Adler (hence "Adlerian") is acclaimed alongside Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung as one of the ‘Big Three’ founders of psychotherapy. Adler’s psychosocial theory, which he named "Individual Psychology", takes account of unconscious processes yet is based on "democratic principles", with individuals taking responsibility for their own actions rather than relying on "expert" models of therapy.

Basic CBT

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) focuses on understanding how our thoughts or beliefs effect our behaviour and the way we feel.

BASRT (Accred)

BASRT: British Association for Sexual and Relationship Therapy. BASRT sets and maintains professional standards for the profession (sexual and relationship therapy) through the accreditation of practitioners, the approval of training courses, a Code of Ethics and a complaints procedure.

Brief solution focused

Besides being very exploratory, brief therapy emphasises (1) a focus on a specific problem and (2) direct intervention. Solution-focused brief therapy is concerned with how a problem arose than with the current factors sustaining it and preventing change. In brief therapy, the therapist takes responsibility for working more pro-actively with the client in order to more quickly treat clinical and subjective conditions.

Brief solution focused therapy

Besides being very exploratory, brief therapy emphasises (1) a focus on a specific problem and (2) direct intervention. Solution-focused brief therapy is concerned with how a problem arose than with the current factors sustaining it and preventing change. In brief therapy, the therapist takes responsibility for working more pro-actively with the client in order to more quickly treat clinical and subjective conditions.

Brief Therapy

Brief therapy emphasises (1) a focus on a specific problem and (2) direct intervention. In addition to often being very exploratory, it is usually solution-based rather than problem-oriented: less concerned with how a problem arose than with the current factors sustaining it and preventing change. In brief therapy, the therapist takes responsibility for working more pro-actively with the client in order to more quickly treat clinical and subjective conditions.

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

BACP: a UK professional association that offers accreditation for individual counsellors, psychotherapists and supervisors, as well for relevant training courses.

CBT

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy: focuses on understanding how our thoughts or beliefs effect our behaviour and the way we feel.

Chartered Counselling Psychologist

Someone who has a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (or equivalent) and is a chartered member of the British Psychological Society.

Coaching

As in 'life coaching' for example, coaching is a professional service providing clients with feedback, insights and guidance from an outside vantage point. Coaching is similar to the practice of counselling, but the major difference is that coaching is an on-going collaborative partnership built on taking action. A person might enage with a coach when, for example, they are making a career transition, starting a new business, feeling dissatisfied, re-evaluating life choices, or simply looking for personal and professional breakthroughs.

Cognitive

To do with the mind and the processes of thinking.

Cognitive and behaviour therapy

Focuses on understanding how our thoughts or beliefs effect our behaviour and the way we feel.

Cognitive behavioral therapy

Focuses on understanding how our thoughts or beliefs effect our behaviour and the way we feel.

Cognitive Behavioural

CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) focuses on understanding how our thoughts or beliefs effect our behaviour and the way we feel.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Focuses on understanding how our thoughts or beliefs effect our behaviour and the way we feel.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy

Focuses on understanding how our thoughts or beliefs effect our behaviour and the way we feel.

Counselling

A counsellor works with a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having or distress they may be experiencing. By listening attentively and patiently the counsellor can begin to see things from the client's point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, perhaps from a different perspective. Counselling is a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion. It doesn't involve giving advice or telling a client to take a particular course of action.

Counselling Society

A UK-based professional association.

Counsellor

A counsellor works with a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having or distress they may be experiencing. By listening attentively and patiently the counsellor can begin to see things from the client's point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, perhaps from a different perspective. Counselling is a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion. It doesn't involve giving advice or telling a client to take a particular course of action.

Couples Counselling

A form of counselling used with both individuals and couples who are experiencing distress in their relationship.

Depressed

Depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of loss, anger, sadness, or frustration interfere with everyday life. It can be mild, moderate, or severe and occur as a single episode, as recurring episodes, or as chronic depression (lasting more than 2 years).

Eclectic

Selecting what seems best from (i.e. a mixture of) various styles, doctrines, ideas, methods, etc.

EMDR

Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing: a comprehensive, integrative psychotherapy approach. EMDR therapists ask their clients to hold the memories of anxiety-provoking stimuli - for example, the painful memories of a frightening accident - in their minds. While doing so, clients track the therapist’s back-and-forth finger movements with their eyes, much like following a hypnotist’s swinging pocket watch.

Existential

The exploration of meaning and value and learning to live authentically (i.e in accordance with your own ideals, priorities and values). Authentic living means being true to yourself and honest about your own possibilities and limitations, continually creating your own identity even in the face of uncertainty about everything in the future except the eventual arrival of death. It means living deliberately, rather than by default. The existential therapist facilitates the client's own encounter with themselves and works with them in the job of exploring and understanding better the client's values, assumptions and ideals. The therapist avoids imposing their own judgement, but instead engages seriously with what matters most to the client, helping them to elucidate and elaborate on their own perspective - so that ultimately they're able to live life well and in their own way.

Existential counselling

Existentialism is the exploration of meaning and value and learning to live authentically (i.e in accordance with your own ideals, priorities and values). Authentic living means being true to yourself and honest about your own possibilities and limitations, continually creating your own identity even in the face of uncertainty about everything in the future except the eventual arrival of death. It means living deliberately, rather than by default. The existential therapist facilitates the client's own encounter with themselves and works with them in the job of exploring and understanding better the client's values, assumptions and ideals. The therapist avoids imposing their own judgement, but instead engages seriously with what matters most to the client, helping them to elucidate and elaborate on their own perspective - so that ultimately they're able to live life well and in their own way.

Existential psychotherapy

Existentialism is the exploration of meaning and value and learning to live authentically (i.e in accordance with your own ideals, priorities and values). Authentic living means being true to yourself and honest about your own possibilities and limitations, continually creating your own identity even in the face of uncertainty about everything in the future except the eventual arrival of death. It means living deliberately, rather than by default. The existential therapist facilitates the client's own encounter with themselves and works with them in the job of exploring and understanding better the client's values, assumptions and ideals. The therapist avoids imposing their own judgement, but instead engages seriously with what matters most to the client, helping them to elucidate and elaborate on their own perspective - so that ultimately they're able to live life well and in their own way.

Fellow of BACP

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy

Focusing oriented

An approach that aims to allow access to the deeper levels of awareness, wisdom, and self-guidance that reside inside each of us. Through an easily learned, step-by step process, Focusing teaches how to turn our attention inside our bodies where we carry all our personal experiences, memories, sensations, emotions and feelings.

Gestalt

A German word meaning 'form' or 'pattern': we look for and create meaning (and patterns and structures) in our lives. In contrast to psychoanalysis and 'talk' therapies, Gestalt emphasises 'awareness of the here and now', of the body, movement, gesture, feelings and insights. Gestalt therapists generally encourage clients to focus on present experience - thoughts, feeling, sensations, intuitions - rather than 'going off' into thinking about their past or the supposed origins of a particular issue.

Gestalt

A German word meaning 'form' or 'pattern': we look for and create meaning (and patterns and structures) in our lives. In contrast to psychoanalysis and 'talk' therapies, Gestalt emphasises 'awareness of the here and now', of the body, movement, gesture, feelings and insights. Gestalt therapists generally encourage clients to focus on present experience - thoughts, feeling, sensations, intuitions - rather than 'going off' into thinking about their past or the supposed origins of a particular issue.

GHR

General Hypnotherapy Register: a UK register (maintained by the General Hypnotherapy Standards Council) of individual practising hypnotherapists.

Gold Psychotherapeutic Counselling

Gold Counselling (book by George Philips): A Structured Psychotherapeutic Approach to the Mapping and Re-Aligning of Belief Systems.

Grounding

Grounding techniques - often using the five senses (sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight) - are generally designed to bring the client back into an awareness of the 'here and now'. They are often used as a way of coping with flashbacks or dissociation. For example, listening to loud music, holding onto a piece of ice, or biting into a lemon are all grounding techniques that produce sensations that are difficult to ignore, thereby directly and instantaneously connecting you with the present moment.

Grounding techniques

Grounding techniques - often using the five senses (sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight) - are generally designed to bring the client back into an awareness of the 'here and now'. They are often used as a way of coping with flashbacks or dissociation. For example, listening to loud music, holding onto a piece of ice, or biting into a lemon are all grounding techniques that produce sensations that are difficult to ignore, thereby directly and instantaneously connecting you with the present moment.

Holistic

To take an holistic approach means to look at the whole picture and all its parts, rather than concentrating on just one or two elements. So holistic counselling is an approach that focuses on the whole person (spirit, mind, feelings and body) and how these are connected together. 'Holistic' is sometimes spelt 'wholistic'.

Human Givens

A school of psychology based on the notion that we are all born with innate knowledge programmed into us from our genes. Throughout life we experience this knowledge as feelings of given physical (e.g. water and food) and emotional needs (e.g attention, privacy etc).

Humanistic

In this approach the counsellor is regarded not so much as an 'expert' who knows more than the client, but instead as someone who is skilled in facilitating a process of self-discovery in another. The central belief is in the possibility for change and growth towards fulfilment of potential, in which the individual is self-aware and responsible for her/his own choices.

Humanistic Approach

In this approach the counsellor is regarded not so much as an 'expert' who knows more than the client, but instead as someone who is skilled in facilitating a process of self-discovery in another. The central belief is in the possibility for change and growth towards fulfilment of potential, in which the individual is self-aware and responsible for her/his own choices.

Humanistic field

In this approach the counsellor is regarded not so much as an 'expert' who knows more than the client, but instead as someone who is skilled in facilitating a process of self-discovery in another. The central belief is in the possibility for change and growth towards fulfilment of potential, in which the individual is self-aware and responsible for her/his own choices.

Humanistic/person centered

This approach says we're born with the ability to reach our full potential, but our early experiences may alienate us from our true self. The therapist seeks to be open and willing to express their own identity without hiding behind expertise or degrees. They also provide other conditions needed for the client's growth: 1) Unconditional positive regard (acceptance and appreciation of the client). 2) Empathic understanding (seeing things through the client's eyes).

Inner Child

The childlike aspect of an adult person's psyche, especially when viewed as an independent entity, which is believed to retain feelings as they were experienced in childhood.

Integrative

Integrating knowledge and skills from different therapies: integrating the core values and assumptions underlying different approaches to counselling into a meaningful whole that fuses with the counsellor`s own personal values.

Integrative

Integrating knowledge and skills from different therapies: integrating the core values and assumptions underlying different approaches to counselling into a meaningful whole that fuses with the counsellor`s own personal values.

Integrative counselling

Integrating knowledge and skills from different therapies: integrating the core values and assumptions underlying different approaches to counselling into a meaningful whole that fuses with the counsellor`s own personal values.

Integrative Humanistic

This means combining (integrating) knowledge and skills from different therapies, but retaining a primary focus on the humanistic approach (where the counsellor is regarded not so much as an 'expert' who knows more than the client, but instead as someone who is skilled in facilitating a process of self-discovery in another).

Integratively

Integrating knowledge and skills from different therapies: integrating the core values and assumptions underlying different approaches to counselling into a meaningful whole that fuses with the counsellor`s own personal values.

Logotherapy

Logotherapy is a type of existentialist analysis that focuses on a “will to meaning” - as opposed to Adler's doctrine of “will to power” or Freud's “will to pleasure”. Rather than power or pleasure, logotherapy is founded on the belief that striving to find a meaning in one's life is the primary, most powerful motivating and driving human force. “Logotherapy” stems from the Greek word “logos” (or “meaning”). Its basic principles are: • Life has meaning under all circumstances, even the most miserable ones. • Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life. • We have freedom to find meaning in what we do, and what we experience, or at least in the stand we take when faced with a situation of unchangeable suffering. The human spirit is referred to in several of the assumptions of logotherapy, but the use of the term spirit is not “spiritual” or “religious”. In logotherapy, the spirit is the will of the human being.

MCS

Member of the Counselling Society - UK-based professional association.

MCS acc

Member (Accredited) of the Counselling Society - UK-based professional association.

Member of BABCP

British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies

Method of Levels

A cognitive approach to psychotherapy based on perceptual control theory (PCT) and the observation that a person’s consciousness can apparently operate from different viewpoints within the brain’s organisation. The objective of this method is to draw a person’s attention to perceptions at levels higher than perceptions in the primary or central focus of attention. When a level shift has occurred, the same process is repeated as any times as possible or useful.

Narrative Therapy

Is based on the belief that our identities are shaped by the accounts of our lives found in our stories or narratives. The narrative therapist is a collaborator with the client in the process of discovering richer ("thicker" or "richer") narratives that emerge from disparate descriptions of experience, thus destabilising the hold of negative ("thin") narratives upon the client.

NCH

National Council for Hypnotherapy: a UK-based professional association

NCP

National Council of Psychotherapists: a UK-based national and international association of therapists, mainly in private practice. Most schools of psychological thought are represented and a wide variety of therapeutic approaches are offered.

NLP

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) supposes that the words we use reflect our subconscious perception of our problems. If these words and perceptions are inaccurate, then as long as we continue to use and think of them the underlying problem will persist. Thus our attitudes are, in a sense, a self-fulfilling prophecy. Neuro refers to the brain and neural pathways that feeds into it. Linguistic refers to the content (verbal and non-verbal) that move along these pathways. Programming is the way the content or signal is manipulated to change it into useful information. The brain may direct the signal, sequence it, change it based on our prior experience, or connect it to some other experience we have stored in our brain to convert it into thinking patterns and behaviours that are the essence of our life experience.

Online Counselling

Counselling provided via internet communications technology

Person Centred

This approach says we're born with the ability to reach our full potential, but our early experiences may alienate us from our true self. The therapist seeks to be open and willing to express their own identity without hiding behind expertise or degrees. They also provide other conditions needed for the client's growth: 1) Unconditional positive regard (acceptance and appreciation of the client). 2) Empathic understanding (seeing things through the client's eyes).

Person Centred Counselling

This approach says we're born with the ability to reach our full potential, but our early experiences may alienate us from our true self. The therapist seeks to be open and willing to express their own identity without hiding behind expertise or degrees. They also provide other conditions needed for the client's growth: 1) Unconditional positive regard (acceptance and appreciation of the client). 2) Empathic understanding (seeing things through the client's eyes).

Person-centred

This approach says we're born with the ability to reach our full potential, but our early experiences may alienate us from our true self. The therapist seeks to be open and willing to express their own identity without hiding behind expertise or degrees. They also provide other conditions needed for the client's growth: 1) Unconditional positive regard (acceptance and appreciation of the client). 2) Empathic understanding (seeing things through the client's eyes).

Person-Centred

This approach says we're born with the ability to reach our full potential, but our early experiences may alienate us from our true self. The therapist seeks to be open and willing to express their own identity without hiding behind expertise or degrees. They also provide other conditions needed for the client's growth: 1) Unconditional positive regard (acceptance and appreciation of the client). 2) Empathic understanding (seeing things through the client's eyes).

Person-centred

This approach says we're born with the ability to reach our full potential, but our early experiences may alienate us from our true self. The therapist seeks to be open and willing to express their own identity without hiding behind expertise or degrees. They also provide other conditions needed for the client's growth: 1) Unconditional positive regard (acceptance and appreciation of the client). 2) Empathic understanding (seeing things through the client's eyes).

Post trauma counselling.

Aims to work with clients who have experienced something that drastically exceeds the flexibility of their mind to understand and manage - e.g. arising from war or terrorism, natural disaster, major accident etc.

Psychoanalytic

The psychoanalytic approach aims to analyse the root causes of behaviour and feelings by exploring the unconscious mind and the conscious mind's relation to it. Many theories and therapies have evolved from the original Freudian psychoanalysis which utilises free-association, dreams, and transference, as well other strategies to help the client know the function of their own minds.

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

The psychoanalytic approach aims to analyse the root causes of behaviour and feelings by exploring the unconscious mind and the conscious mind's relation to it. Many theories and therapies have evolved from the original Freudian psychoanalysis which utilises free-association, dreams, and transference, as well other strategies to help the client know the function of their own minds.

Psychodynamic

Psychodynamic counselling focuses on unconscious processes and is derived from the work of Freud and later psychoanalytic theorists. It uses the therapeutic relationship to gain insight into unconscious relationship patterns that have evolved since childhood. Memories and other evidence of early relationships are used to make sense of current concerns. Change occurs as clients become more aware of the influence of the unconscious (e.g. defence mechanisms, instincts and rules for life) on their behaviour.

Psychodynamic

Psychodynamic counselling focuses on unconscious processes and is derived from the work of Freud and later psychoanalytic theorists. It uses the therapeutic relationship to gain insight into unconscious relationship patterns that have evolved since childhood. Memories and other evidence of early relationships are used to make sense of current concerns. Change occurs as clients become more aware of the influence of the unconscious (e.g. defence mechanisms, instincts and rules for life) on their behaviour.

Psychodynamic principles

Psychodynamic counselling focuses on unconscious processes and is derived from the work of Freud and later psychoanalytic theorists. It uses the therapeutic relationship to gain insight into unconscious relationship patterns that have evolved since childhood. Memories and other evidence of early relationships are used to make sense of current concerns. Change occurs as clients become more aware of the influence of the unconscious (e.g. defence mechanisms, instincts and rules for life) on their behaviour.

Psychodynamically

Psychodynamic counselling focuses on unconscious processes and is derived from the work of Freud and later psychoanalytic theorists. It uses the therapeutic relationship to gain insight into unconscious relationship patterns that have evolved since childhood. Memories and other evidence of early relationships are used to make sense of current concerns. Change occurs as clients become more aware of the influence of the unconscious (e.g. defence mechanisms, instincts and rules for life) on their behaviour.

Psychospiritual

This refers to the relationship between spirituality and the mind. It doesn't centre on to any particular set of religious beliefs. Instead of seeing a client's distress or difficulty as an isolated clinical disturbance, psychospiritual counselling seeks a deeper, holistic, mind-body-spirit approach, attributing meaning to every experience of life.

Psychosynthesis

Related to transpersonal psychology, this type of psychotherapy focuses on three levels of the unconscious - lower, middle and higher (or transpersonal). The aim is to help the client fuse the various parts of their personality into a more cohesive self. A great emphasis is placed on their spiritual dimension or higher self as a source of inspiration, wisdom, unconditional love and meaning in life - all within a universe that is seen as orderly and structured to promote the evolution of consciousness.

Psychotherapist

A psychotherapist works with a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having or distress they may be experiencing. By listening attentively and patiently the psychotherapist can begin to see things from the client's point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, perhaps from a different perspective. Psychotherapy a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion. It doesn't involve giving advice or telling a client to take a particular course of action.

Psychotherapy

A psychotherapist works with a client in a private and confidential setting to explore a difficulty the client is having or distress they may be experiencing. By listening attentively and patiently the psychotherapist can begin to see things from the client's point of view and can help them to see things more clearly, perhaps from a different perspective. Psychotherapy a way of enabling choice or change or of reducing confusion. It doesn't involve giving advice or telling a client to take a particular course of action.

Relational

Relational Counselling hinges on the therapeutic relationship between client and counsellor and sees this relationship as a co-creation between the two. It is based on the idea that emotional well-being is dependent on having satisfying relationships with others, and that emotional distress is often rooted in patterns of relational experience, past and present, which have the power to demean and deaden the self. The relational therapist tries to understand the client's unique self-experience in its social/relational context and to respond with empathy and genuine presence. Together, client and therapist create a new in-depth relationship which is supportive, strengthening and enlivening. Within this secure relationship, the client can safely re-experience, and then find freedom from, the effects of destructive relationships, past and present.

Rogerian

Relating to the system of therapy - developed by Carl Rogers - which emphasises a person-to-person relationship between the therapist and the client. In this person-centred approach the client determines the course, speed, and duration of treatment and can find the means to restructure his or her life by establishing a relationship with an understanding therapist.

Rogerian person centred

This approach (developed by psychologist Carl Rogers in the 1940s and 1950s) says we're born with the ability to reach our full potential, but our early experiences may alienate us from our true self. The therapist seeks to be open and willing to express their own identity without hiding behind expertise or degrees. They also provide other conditions needed for the client's growth: 1) Unconditional positive regard (acceptance and appreciation of the client). 2) Empathic understanding (seeing things through the client's eyes).

Solution Focused

Solution focused therapy focuses on what clients want to achieve through therapy rather than on the problem(s) that made them to seek help. The approach does not focus on the past, but instead, focuses on the present and future.

Solution-focused

Solution focused therapy focuses on what clients want to achieve through therapy rather than on the problem(s) that made them to seek help. The approach does not focus on the past, but instead, focuses on the present and future.

Stress Management

The amelioration of stress, especially chronic stress. This involves identifying stress factors and learning how to deal with (or else avoid) them.

Supervision

Supervision is a working alliance between a supervisor and a counsellor in which the counsellor can offer an account or recording of their work, reflect on it, receive feedback, and where appropriate, guidance. The purpose of this alliance is to enable the counsellor to gain in ethical competence, confidence, and creativity so as to give her best possible service to her/his clients. A counselling supervisor - who will also be a quallifed counsellor - is not a 'boss' or manager.

Systemic

Systemic therapy works with a particular focus on a client's relationships - their interactional patterns and dynamics with family, partner, groups etc. It seeks to approach problems practically rather than analytically. Thus it does not attempt to determine past causes (as does the psychoanalytic approach), nor does it assign diagnosis (who is ill, who is a victim etc). Systemic therapy seeks instead to identify stagnant patterns of behaviour in groups of people such as a family, and to address those patterns directly, irrespective of analysis of cause.

TA

Transactional Analysis: an integrative approach to counselling and psychotherapy, meaning that it integrates together elements of the psychoanalytic, humanist and cognitive approaches. TA is both a process to diagnose the ego states where verbal exchanges originate and a set of techniques to use this information to improve communication. It usually involves helping the client get in touch with internal parent/adult/child transactions that affect human behaviour.

The person-centred model

This approach says we're born with the ability to reach our full potential, but our early experiences may alienate us from our true self. The therapist seeks to be open and willing to express their own identity without hiding behind expertise or degrees. They also provide other conditions needed for the client's growth: 1) Unconditional positive regard (acceptance and appreciation of the client). 2) Empathic understanding (seeing things through the client's eyes).

Therapeutic

healing or helping to restore healthiness

Therapeutic Relationship

A relationship (between counsellor and client) which aims to heal or help to restore healthiness.

Time limited

Time-limited therapy (also called bried therapy) involves a limited (small) number of sessions - a limit agreed with the client beforehand. It emphasises (1) a focus on a specific problem and (2) direct intervention. In addition to often being very exploratory, it is usually solution-based rather than problem-oriented: less concerned with how a problem arose than with the current factors sustaining it and preventing change. In brief therapy, the therapist takes responsibility for working more pro-actively with the client in order to more quickly treat clinical and subjective conditions.

Transactional Analysis

Sometimes called 'TA' for short, Transactional Analyisis is an integrative approach to counselling and psychotherapy, meaning that it integrates together elements of the psychoanalytic, humanist and cognitive approaches. TA is a process to diagnose the ego states where verbal exchanges originate, as well as techniques to use this information to improve communication. It usually involves helping the client get in touch with internal parent/adult/child transactions that affect human behaviour.

Transpersonal

That which is beyond the purely personal - i.e. that which connects, unites and transcends us, but which is experienced and given meaning individually. Transpersonal psychology looks at the transpersonal, self-transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience.

Transpersonal model of counselling

That which is beyond the purely personal - i.e. that which connects, unites and transcends us, but which is experienced and given meaning individually. Transpersonal psychology looks at the transpersonal, self-transcendent or spiritual aspects of the human experience.

Trauma counselling

Aims to work with clients who have experienced something that drastically exceeds the flexibility of their mind to understand and manage - e.g. arising from war or terrorism, natural disaster, major accident etc.

UKAHPP

United Kingdom Association for Humanistic Psychology Practitioners: a professional association for all those who apply the theories of humanistic psychology in their work.

UKCP

United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy: a professional association with a membership of over 6,000 individual psychotherapists and psychotherapeutic counsellors.

UKRC

United Kingdom Register of Counsellors: a voluntary register of independent counsellors who have achieved accreditation through a UKRC-recognised accrediting organisation - currently these are the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland), Federation of Drug and Alcohol Professionals (FDAP) and the United Kingdom Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners (UKAHPP). A UKRC-registered counsellor must: * be appropriately trained and qualified; * work to a Code of Ethics & Practice; * be subject to a Complaints Procedure

UKRCP

United Kingdom Register of Counsellors / Psychotherapists: a voluntary register held by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP). A condition of registration is accreditation with either the BACP, COSCA (Counselling and Psychotherapy in Scotland), Federation of Drug and Alcohol Professionals (FDAP) and the United Kingdom Association of Humanistic Psychology Practitioners (UKAHPP).