Counselling, Psychotherapy, CBT: What’s the Difference and Which One is Right for You?
- therapywithtg
- Oct 26
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 28
Not sure which therapy is right for you? Learn the difference between popular types such as counselling, psychotherapy and CBT. A clear guide for UK-based clients.
Considering starting therapy, but your initial Google has left you with more questions than answers? I’m with you. Even as someone working in this area, when it came to deciding which type of therapy would be right for me as a client, the options felt a little overwhelming.
I’m hoping this guide will serve as an intro to some of the most common types of therapy on offer, to help you decide what kind of support you might need.
What Is Counselling?
Counselling typically focuses on helping you manage current issues, such as stress, relationship difficulties, or loss. It's often short-term and offers a supportive, non-judgemental space to talk. However, particularly in private practice, the duration of an episode of counselling can be longer-term. Counselling is also offered in many NHS Talking Therapies services, mainly for depression.
What to expect:
A trained counsellor will listen, reflect, and help you gain clarity. They won’t tell you what to do, but they’ll help you explore your options and feelings and will aim to highlight your personal strengths.
Can be helpful for:
Grief and bereavement
Relationship challenges
Work stress
Life transitions
What Is Psychotherapy?
Psychotherapy can be a general term and is often used to describe any type of therapy. It is commonly used interchangeably with counselling to mean the same thing. However, of itself, psychotherapy may explore more longer-standing emotional patterns, often linked with past experiences or unconscious processes. For this reason, psychotherapy may be a longer-term option.
What to expect:
You may explore childhood experiences, recurring relational patterns, or behaviours you don’t fully understand. Psychotherapy often aims to help you gain deep insight.
Often helpful for:
Long-term depression or anxiety
Emotional regulation difficulties
Relationship issues rooted in the past
What Is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?
CBT is a structured, evidence-based therapy that focuses on how your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours interact. Because CBT has such an evidence-base, it's widely recommended by the NHS and NICE guidelines, particularly for anxiety and depression. That's because the NHS uses public funding, and it is good ethical practice to use treatments which are shown to be effective!
What to expect:
CBT is not usually a long-term therapy. One of the aims is to equip you with strategies to challenge and change patterns of thought and behaviour which are no longer helping you. In this way, clients of CBT are encouraged to become their own therapist. CBT works particularly well for clients who are interested in understanding themselves, learning about not only the reasons why they’re feeling the way they are, but also what might be helpful to do about that. CBT takes a scientific approach to therapy - you will experiment with different strategies to find those which work for you.
Often helpful for:
Anxiety (e.g., generalised anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks, illness/health anxiety)
Depression
OCD
PTSD and C-PTSD
Low self-esteem
Perfectionism
Acute and chronic stress
Illness-related distress (e.g., fear of recurrence)
Other Types of Therapy You Might Come Across
There are loads of different therapeutic approaches, and many therapists (like me) use an integrative style, blending several methods. Here are a few others you might encounter:
Person-Centred Therapy – A warm, non-directive space for self-exploration and growth
Psychodynamic Therapy – Explores the unconscious roots of current difficulties
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) – Effective for PTSD and difficulties with their origin in traumatic experiences
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) – a modern development of CBT which focuses more on behaviour change, mindfulness, and values-based strategies to promote psychological flexibility.
Humanistic Therapy – Focuses on self-acceptance and personal development
Existential Therapy – for the big life questions! Often exploring universal anxieties, and concepts like freedom and responsibility, with a big nod to the human condition.
How Do I Know What’s Right for Me?
The right type of therapy often depends on your goals and preferences:
If you're looking for... | Consider... |
Support with something recent or specific | Counselling or CBT |
A practical, goal-oriented approach | CBT |
Understanding deeper emotional patterns | Psychotherapy |
Help with trauma or flashbacks | EMDR or trauma-focused CBT |
A more exploratory or holistic experience | Person-Centred, humanistic, or CBT |
There is no ‘best therapy’; it really depends on what you want to gain from therapy, what your main concerns and preferences are, and the way you learn and relate best. But remember: the relationship with your therapist is often more important than the method itself. Feeling safe, supported, and understood is the foundation of good therapy.
Final Thoughts
Being a counsellor, psychotherapist or psychologist is what qualifies someone to see clients for psychological therapy. Once qualified, therapists will often train across different types of therapy and work in an integrated way, particularly in private practice, selecting the most relevant parts for your individual concerns. Counsellors and psychotherapists should be registered with BACP and/or UKCP. CBT therapists should be registered with BABCP. Psychologists will be registered with HCPC and/or BPS.
It’s completely normal to feel unsure about where to begin. Many therapists offer an initial phone call or consultation to help you explore whether their approach feels like a good fit.
You don’t need to have it all figured out before you start; the important thing is taking the first step. Most therapists would be happy to answer questions about their approach, to help you work out if it’s the right one for you. The first few sessions are usually about getting to know one another, working out what would be a helpful focus for sessions, and introducing you to the style of therapy. It is perfectly normal to decide one approach or one therapist is not the right fit, and try another.
Ready to Talk?
My own approach as a therapist integrates many of those described above, and is tailored to your individual needs.
If you're considering therapy and want to explore what might work best for you, I’d be happy to answer questions about my approach - just click the button below to get in touch. I’d be happy to help you find the right support.
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