Person centred counselling

Person centred counselling has been a therapy modality available since 1997 through Anxiety UK. Humanistic in our approach, the charity offers clients the opportunity to process and work through their anxiety via the person-centred model; encouraging them to gain greater self-awareness and moving towards self-actualisation.

It is no surprise then that counselling is as much in demand as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)  at Anxiety UK, with 34% of clients choosing this approach in April and May this year (2022); an increase from 25% seen in January and February.

Those completing therapy having chosen the person-centred counselling approach, are also finding therapy to be effective with positive outcomes. In April this year, for example, 55% of those completing a course of counselling through Anxiety UK reached  recovery*, 90% had reliably improved, and 55% had reliably recovered (measured using GAD7 and PHQ9).  Indeed, a recently published study in the highly acclaimed Journal of Affective Disorders (see here), found that Anxiety UK’s counselling, CBT, and clinical hypnotherapy services, are all effective.

It is good to see Anxiety UK members taking steps to manage their anxiety through counselling and that the range of psychological therapies offered through the charity is being fully utilised; we are passionate about offering choice as no one size fits all.  Equally, many find it can often be a long journey of discovery to find what one or combination of talking therapies/medications/lifestyle changes work in the management of anxiety. Counselling represents a great way for many of taking back the reins on anxiety and working towards achievement of positive future goals.

Below are some recent testimonial reviews from clients that have used Anxiety UK’s counselling service:

“I signed up to the student membership earlier this year after finally taking the jump to starting therapy. After filling out the referral form, I was allocated to an MBACP registered counsellor who I’ve been with for the past twelve weeks and have had an excellent experience with. It’s made counselling very affordable to me as a student and I am very grateful for the service that Anxiety UK have provided. Keep up the great work!”

“My Anxiety UK counsellor was excellent in guiding me back from a dark place in my life. Without Anxiety UK’s help I don’t think I would still be here.”

To find out more about Anxiety UK’s counselling service, click here: https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-help/counselling-and-psychotherapy/

* Recovery in IAPT is measured in terms of ‘caseness’ – a term which means a referral has severe enough symptoms of anxiety or depression to be regarded as a clinical case. A referral has moved to recovery if they were defined as a clinical case at the start of their treatment (‘at caseness’) and not as a clinical case at the end of their treatment, measured by scores from questionnaires tailored to their specific condition