How it works
How to find a therapist in the UK, step by step.
To find a therapist in the UK: search a directory where the therapist's registration has been checked, read a few profiles, contact one or two directly, and treat the first session as a conversation rather than a commitment. Ask about cost in your first message. If it is not right, you are allowed to not go back and try somebody else.
- What you need
- Nothing. No referral, no account, no form about you.
- Who you contact
- The therapist, directly. We are not in the middle.
- What we store
- Nothing about you. The six questions stay in your browser.
- When to decide
- After a first session, not before. You can change your mind.
Four steps
What are the steps?
Search, read, get in touch, decide after the first session. None of them is a form about you.
Search, or answer six questions
Search by what you want help with, by town, or for online sessions only. Or answer six short questions in your browser and see three to five people who fit, with a written reason for each. Nothing ranks the list, and there are no reviews.
Read two or three profiles
Each therapist answers four questions in their own words, explains how they work in plain English, shows their fee, and lists what was checked and when.
Get in touch directly
You write to or call the therapist. Say what you are looking for in a sentence, and ask about cost and availability. Many offer a short call first, at no charge.
Have a first session, then decide
The first session is for finding out whether you can talk to this person. You do not have to decide anything in the room, and you are allowed to not come back.
Getting in touch
What should I say in my first message?
One sentence about what has brought you, whether you want to meet in person or online, roughly when you are free, and a question about their fee and availability. That is enough.
Something like
“Hello. I have been feeling anxious most days for a few months and would like to talk to somebody about it. I could do evenings, online or in person. Could you tell me your fee and whether you have space?”
You do not have to explain everything, name a diagnosis, or get the words right. Therapists read messages like this every week and will reply with their availability and fee, and often with the offer of a short call. You are allowed to write to two or three people at once and choose between them.
What does a first therapy session involve?
A first session is usually a conversation about what has brought you, how long it has been going on, and what you would like to be different. Nothing has to be decided in the room.
The therapist may ask what you have already tried and whether anything is urgent. You can ask how they work, how often they would expect to see you, and what happens if you want to stop.
It can feel awkward. Most people find the first ten minutes the hardest. You do not have to tell the whole story, and you do not have to be articulate about it. “I do not know where to start” is a normal first sentence.
Most therapists expect you to go away and think about whether it felt right, and will say so.
How much does therapy cost in the UK?
Private therapists set their own fees, and the fee is printed on the profile when the therapist has entered it. Where it is not, ask in your first message.
You are allowed to ask about cost before anything else, and a therapist will not think less of you for it. Some offer a smaller number of reduced-fee places; the profile says so where that is the case. Gototherapy takes nothing from the session and charges you nothing to search.
Gototherapy does not type a typical fee or a range anywhere on the site. Where a range appears, it is computed from what members have entered, on the day you look.
If you cannot pay, you should not leave with nothing. In England you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies without seeing a GP, and your GP can also refer you. Waiting times vary by area. Elsewhere in the UK, your GP is the usual route.
How do I choose between two or three therapists?
Compare three things: the practical fit, how they describe their work, and how you felt reading it. The last one counts.
Practical fit is the fee, the days they keep open, and whether they work in person, online or both; a profile shows all of it. How they work is in their own answers to the four questions; if one reads as somebody you could sit with, that is information. Then write to two or three and see who replies, and how. A short call before the first session is common, costs nothing, and settles most doubts.
How do I know if it is the right fit?
After two or three sessions you should be able to answer three questions: do you feel listened to, can you say when something does not land, and does the therapist explain what they are doing when you ask.
If the answer to any of these is no, say so in the session. If it does not change, it is reasonable to try somebody else. Changing therapist is not a failure and does not need a justification.
Why is there no match percentage?
Because a number would suggest we know more than we do. The six questions give you a short explanation written from what you actually said, and you should be able to read it and disagree with it.
Filters narrow the list; nothing ranks it, nobody can pay to be placed higher, and no language model is involved in choosing or explaining who fits.
Plain answers
More questions people ask
Do I need a GP referral to see a therapist?
No. You can contact a private therapist directly, and most people do. A referral matters only for NHS services: in England you can refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies without seeing a GP, and elsewhere in the UK your GP is the usual route.
How long does therapy take?
It depends on what you bring and how you want to work. Some approaches are planned as a short block of sessions with a review at the end; others are open-ended and stop when you decide. A good therapist will say how they usually work in the first session, and you can ask to review it at any point.
What is the difference between a counsellor and a psychotherapist?
In the UK the titles overlap and neither is protected by law, which is why the register matters more than the word. Both are checked here against their professional register. A profile explains the therapist's approach in plain English, and you can ask them how they describe the difference.
Can I have therapy online?
Yes. Many therapists listed here work by video or phone, with identical verification. Filter any search to online only. What changes when the room is a screen.
What does verified mean here?
A person has checked the therapist's register entry, seen a current insurance certificate, confirmed their supervision with the supervisor, and matched their identity to the register. It is repeated every year and it differs by role. How we verify.
What happens to my answers to the six questions?
They stay in your browser. The matching runs on your own device against a public list of verified profiles, so nothing you answer reaches us. Leave the page and they are gone, unless you choose to keep your shortlist for thirty days through an encrypted link that only you hold.
What if I need help now?
Gototherapy is not an emergency service. If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 999. Otherwise see urgent support.