Talk to a practitioner who’s right for you

Yes. There has been a lot of research into this question and although the majority of it comes from the US, it holds true for the UK as well.

The following resources should give you an idea of the efficacy of telemedicine and counselling when compared to more traditional consultation methods:
Internet-based versus face-to-face cognitive-behavioral intervention for depression: A randomized controlled non-inferiority trial. Wagner, B., Horn, A. and Maercker, A. (2019).

Internet-based and other computerized psychological treatments for adult depression: a meta-analysis. – PubMed – NCBI. online Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Bergström, J., Andersson, G., Ljótsson, B., Rück, C., Andréewitch, S., Karlsson, A., Carlbring, P., Andersson, E. and Lindefors, N. (2019).

Internet-versus group-administered cognitive behaviour therapy for panic disorder in a psychiatric setting: a randomised trial. Epstein, R. (2019).

Distance Therapy Comes of Age. Scientific American.

We work in partnership with institutions to deliver talk therapy for individuals who are undergoing their neurodevelopmental assessment journey, and offer support to newly diagnosed individuals, and those navigating their existing conditions.

Our talk therapy practitioners collectively communicate in over 30 languages, including sign language. They can offer a range of therapeutic approaches including CBT, EMDR, DBT, integrative, psychodynamic, and more.

We match individuals to an appropriate practitioner who can offer tailored support for their situation. Your preferences regarding factors such as gender, ethnicity, language, availability and specialism will be taken into account when matching you with a practitioner.

If at any stage in your journey with us it becomes clear that additional mental health support would be beneficial to you, you will be eligible to be referred to the ProblemShared talk therapy service.

As a rule, yes. We believe in continuity of care and will do our best to ensure you see the same practitioner for the duration of your treatment. However, should this for some reason not be possible we will help you find an equally appropriate practitioner and minimise disruption. Many of our practitioners offer free or low cost introductory sessions and you can search for them using our search filters. We also hope that our filters help you identify a practitioner who feels like a good fit for you.

If, however, you meet with a practitioner and do not feel that the relationship is working, you can look through our diverse and extensive community of practitioners and book with a different one. We would encourage you to speak to your practitioner about your concerns first.

1. If you are seeing our university service, please contact them and explain that you wish to have to have talk therapy. They will issue you with a passcode which you will have to enter in order to book a session.

2. If you are a self-pay client, use our filter to find the practitioner that is most appropriate for your situation, and book a session. Should you wish to contact them in advance and discuss any further details, head to their biography to find their email address.

We have a community of over 200 highly qualified practitioners, comprised of therapists, counsellors, ND assessors, psychologists and mental health professionals.

Our practitioners collectively communicate in over 30 languages, including sign language.

They offer a range of therapeutic approaches including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), integrative therapy, psychodynamic therapy, and many more.

We employ rigorous onboarding criteria to ensure the exceptional quality of our practitioner network.  

We carry out continued in-house supervision and hold webinars for ongoing practitioner development.

At a high level, psychiatrists are medical doctors and as such can prescribe medication for mental health conditions – such as, but not limited to, depression, anxiety, ADHD or bipolar disorder. If you are working with a psychiatrist, a lot of the treatment may be focused on medication management.

Alongside talking therapies such as psychology or counselling, psychologists offer counselling and psychotherapy and perform psychological testing for mental ill-health. They are not medical doctors but have a doctoral degree (PhD, PsyD, or EdD) in psychology, which is the study of the mind and human behaviour. Psychologists cannot write prescriptions or perform medical procedures.

Counsellors are mental health professionals who have completed an accredited training which qualifies them to work with people over a short or long term to help them bring about effective change and/or enhance their wellbeing.

Coaches focus on helping people attain their goals in life. They might help you to get motivated, set goals, and hold you to account. Life coaching is not regulated nor offered through our platform at this time.

Once you have chosen your practitioner and have booked an appointment, we will send you a text message and an email with a link to a virtual private meeting room. You should click on this link at the time of your appointment and your practitioner will meet you there.

Should you wish to have a nnother session of talk therapy, you should discuss this with your practitioner towards the end of your session. You can then arrange for a follow-up session at a time that suits you both.

This is an important question, not least because it helps to have some idea of the size of the journey before embarking on it. Still, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Some people, possibly 30% of those who seek counselling, need as little as three sessions to achieve worthwhile benefits. Others, about 50%, are likely to require an average of eight sessions before they feel notably better.

Each of our practitioners assert their own fees. You can search for a practitioner whose fee is within your budget by heading to the 'Our Practitioners' page of our website. Many practitioners offer free or low-cost introductory sessions.

You can search our practitioners by their session rate, specialism, gender, or the language they speak. Should you find that after a session or two you would like to see a different practitioner, you can take a look at the profiles of our team members and book with someone else.

Yes. Discussing your mental health in any language other than your mother tongue is more difficult and adds to the complexity of what is already a sensitive interaction. Many of our team speak second or even third languages. Check out our team’s biographies and filter your search based on language to help you connect with someone who is able to offer sessions in your preferred language.

We will try our best to accommodate your time preferences. If you message your practitioner, they will try and offer you a choice of alternative times. Please do this more than 48 hours before any session, or you will not be refunded the fee for the session.

Should you cancel more than 48 hours before your appointment, we will refund you the fee for the session. If you cancel less than 48 hours before, or fail to attend, you will be charged the full cost of the session.

No problem! You can either discuss this with your current practitioner, or simply rebook with another one.

Availability is shown on each practitioner's profile. Often you can book an appointment within 24 hours.

Yes, the video conferencing link for your session will work on any device that has a video calling function and a camera.

Head to your ProblemShared dashboard where you should see your sessions with the option to pay next to each one.

Choose your therapist carefully. Feel free to send an email in advance of booking your initial session to a therapist you think may be right for you, so you can get to know them and discuss a potential way forward.

Remember that your therapist is here to help. If you see therapy as a collaboration, this will improve your likelihood of benefitting from it.

Arrange appointments at times that suit you, when you have an uninterrupted hour and will be in a quiet and private space.

Therapy is a confidential process. You must feel free to speak your mind.

Set goals and markers for change. This will help you chart progress and feel in control of the process.

Do any work set by your therapist outside of your sessions, to maximise the time that you have together.