Navigating the Journey to Mental Wellbeing: A Conversation on Finding the Right Therapist

Dr Marianne Trent (: 00:00

Coming up in today's episode, ever wondered why finding the right therapist is an absolute game changer. Well buckle up because in today's episode we are diving deep into the crucial reasons why working with a qualified therapist can transform your life. Whether you are navigating personal challenges, seeking growth, or just aiming for a happier, healthier, you stick around because we're about to uncover the incredible impact a skilled therapist can have on your journey to mental wellbeing. Don't miss out on the insights that could shape your perspective. Hit that subscribe button, follow the show, and let's get started on this empowering exploration together.

(: 00:45

Welcome to a special collaboration on the Aspiring Psychologist podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Marianne Trent, qualified clinical psychologist, and today I'm joined by the brilliant Dr. Tara Quin-Cirillo from the Adversity Psychologist Podcast. As we team up for a joint episode, exciting. Together we are delving into a topic that impacts us all, finding a qualified therapist in the uk Join us as we unravel the importance of this journey and share in valuable insights on navigating the world of mental health professionals. Whether you are an aspiring psychologist or someone seeking guidance, this conversation is packed with wisdom. Stay tuned for a thought provoking discussion that might just change the way you approach your mental wellbeing. Let's dive in. I want to welcome you back, Tara, to the Aspiring Psychologist Podcast, and then of course, this is a dual episode.

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 01:45

Nice to have you and me together again. It's lovely to see you. Thanks for having it is.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 01:51

So, if people are listening from Aspiring Psychologist podcast, we met in August, 2022 when we were thinking about the kind of tricky issues of people being appropriately qualified to do what they say they can do, we

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 02:11

Absolutely. It's that long ago, isn't it? So little tiny seed has now grown into a wonderful thing to try and help people understand a bit more about that.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 02:21

It has. What has our seed grown into Tara?

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 02:26

Oh, this is so exciting and I can't believe we're actually going to say it. So we have written a book to help people understand there's kind of two parts really aren't there? A little bit more about being qualified and regulated as a talking therapist in the uk, but also to help you understand some things to look out for if you are going to be searching for a therapist or supporting someone else who's going to be searching for a therapist as well.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 02:51

Yeah, and it is important because it's something that my friends and family ask me if I want to find, how do I even go about climbing through wadding, through this quagmire? What do I look for? How do I make sure someone is going to be safe? Okay,

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 03:11

Absolutely. And if it's right to say one of the things that we've learned and we thought we were quite well aversed in who's who and professional bodies they're with, there's a lot of little gaps. So we've worked quite hard to inform ourselves in order to be able to inform the public. We, it's not that easy to just go and find a therapist. There are so many terms and they're so interchangeable, it can be a bit of a difficult path to navigate. And for most people who might be looking for a therapist, you might already be feeling quite unwell. So that's an extra barrier to get over as well. So I think that's why this book means a lot to us because we want to help people make that journey as easy and as safe as possible, don't we?

Dr Marianne Trent (: 03:51

Yeah, we do. And I think sometimes just trying to find that last bit of energy in the tank to find someone, almost interview them, make sure they're going to be a good fit for you, can be exhausting. And I dunno where about you, but I've had experiences where some of my clients now have been burned from getting the wrong therapists for them and then it's taken them years to kind of lick their wounds and then come back to it again. So this is why getting it right first time or certainly at the time that you're looking for, that's why it matters, isn't it?

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 04:25

Yeah, we talk about therapist fit a lot we, so I always like to think of that on two levels. So there's the fit between you and the individual. Is it someone you feel comfortable talking to? Is that person the right person for you personally? Because I sometimes work with people and the fit isn't right and that's okay, but there's also that second level that actually is this person safe? Are they using a robust model? Are they qualified in what they say they are? Can you look them up? That's the safety stuff, that's the risk stuff. That's the kind of foundation for me. And if you can have help with that, then you can start to look at well actually is the fit. And I think that's why our book's quite helpful. We're not just looking at where do you go to find people, but we're helping people understand a bit more about those concepts, aren't we? And hopefully making that journey a little bit easier for them as well.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 05:13

We certainly are, and it's been a joy to work with you on this project. You've been lovely. So responsive. Been just to chase me a little bit here and there.

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 05:26

Well, we're both running busy practises. We both do all sorts of other things as well. We both, I think the kind of common ground, if it's all right to bring that in the podcast is we like to get good ethical, qualified information out to the public on all things emotional health, don't we? So this kind of came for us from some of that other work as well, that we both do media work. This means a lot to us. This isn't just about writing a book and getting information out there. We care about people and we want 'em to have the right and the safe journey as well. We

Dr Marianne Trent (: 05:56

Do. I passionately care about people living distress free lives and being able to feel better, have that adaptive healing method, that means that life doesn't feel like such a struggle. And I guess that's the bit that I want people to hang on to because some people might feel like this is elitist, this is not us saying you must see a qualified psychologist. That's not that for me at all. It's make sure you know what you're getting and that someone is the right person to see you.

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 06:33

Absolutely. I'm so glad you brought that up because as psychologists and we're both psychologists, different types of psychologists, which is also helpful people to understand, this is not about elitism at all. This is about us wanting to help protect the public because when you listen to the podcast now, what does the word therapist mean to you? It can mean so many different things. We're talking about talking therapy specifically, but even within talking therapy, there are so many different types of practitioners, counsellors, and we want to help people learn a bit more about that. And post pandemic, we've got a mental health crisis in the uk, so more and more people we know that are reaching out, where are they going on top of that? We've got a digital age now, so more and more people are offering things online and in different formats. That's a lot to navigate even since I started my career 20 odd years ago.

(: 07:22

So where do you go as you start? And sometimes if that seems really overwhelming, my concern is that people might not start that journey. They may not reach out because it just seems too much. So we're hoping, aren't we, that this book might be bought by people like gps, people that are going to be supporting people who might want to also look up a therapist, not just that individual member of the public. So if we can hopefully through our book, educate more professionals, get more conversations like this going. So we've liaised with different agencies that are in the book, haven't we? And the fact that we can all work together to help people understand a bit more about this and starting conversations is that's what we can do. We can all do that. And we're doing it right now, aren't we?

Dr Marianne Trent (: 08:06

Well, you are a master at that obviously with your conversation starter project, but that's another little passion project for you that has really grown beautifully in 2023. So just in case people are listening, they're like, I dunno what that is. This is where Tara set up with a friend and colleague of hers that people could just meet and walk and talk and have conversations and it's grown to something beautiful. But so back to the book. What have we called it and where can people get

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 08:40

It? What is our book called? It's called Talking Heads. It's your guide to finding a qualified therapist in the UK and hopefully you'll be able to find it on Amazon. Super easy. Hopefully you'll be able to tell your friends and your family about it. We're hoping it's a really easy read, a nice easy digestible book broken down into some really easy read sections and something again that people can just start conversations about, there's this book, read it, or I've read this in a book. Let's share that with people. And we are really pleased actually, aren't we about Sometimes it's hard when we've all got busy lives with both parents as well to try and get something completed, getting an idea completed, but it just shows that something really matters. You can do that, can't you?

Dr Marianne Trent (: 09:25

And it felt like launching it in January is kind of a really good time because often people might be having New Year's resolutions. Absolutely. They might be thinking, what would I want to be different this time next year? Mental health and China wellness goals are kind of common in that. And so it felt like a really important time to launch this book.

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 09:51

And I think as well, the media started to talk a little bit more about the mental health crisis we have in the uk, but also we're seeing more and more, and we've had some messages as well ourselves, haven't we? In conversations with people who have maybe seen someone that they've had concerns about or are just noticing that there's more and more options available to manage your mental health. The rise of coaching in the UK for example, is something really important to bring in here and we just want to help people to navigate all of that information. And when better than the start of the year sometimes after Christmas. Christmas can be a tricky time for many people. Actually might be a time when people start to reflect, as you say, make some resolutions or just think about where they might want to make some life choices. So perfect time to have a guide to help you with that journey.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 10:37

And I know when I was working in the NHS, sometimes people would say, well, if I wanted to find a qualified private therapist, where would I go? At which point you're not really supposed to make recommendations. So this might be a really nice kind of signpost to say, actually there's this that's available that can help you through that process. Not a high cost price. It's not even particularly long as a book, it's just getting this out there robust and valid and useful information source.

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 11:12

Absolutely, absolutely. And again, yeah, we both have background in the NHS don't mean sometimes there can be these barriers, understandable ones to being able to signpost people in the right direction. But it is really hard though because sometimes that leaves people in uncertain places and people would know, I am Mrs. Risk averse. I don't like people being left in a situation where they may end up seeing someone who could put them at risk but their mental health at risk. And we both know that there are people out there who are offering services that would come under the umbrella of mental health who should not be doing that. And we're big and bold. We don't mind starting conversations about that. So this isn't about bashing people, it's just about making the public aware that some titles for some therapists in the UK are not protected and that anybody can set themselves up as certain types of therapists or talking therapists in the uk, which is mind blowing when you think about it.

(: 12:04

And some people, if it's okay to say, can hide behind certain names and we might not question those names because they have power behind them. So part of the book is helping also to deconstruct some of those titles, helping people learn a little bit more about how people can operate so you can spot it so you can be brave and ask those questions about who you're seeing, what their qualifications are, who they're regulated with, who's keeping an eye on the work that they do and what that could look like. So we both know, don't we, that on websites sometimes people can have logos that look super fancy, look like they're a member of an organisation, but actually they are not. So we've put some information in there, haven't we, to help people navigate that, which for me is a really, really important part of why we're doing this.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 12:47

It really is. It's just about safety, integrity, ethics, and what we think about is efficacious treatment, stuff that actually gets results that helps people achieve their goals, whatever that might be.

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 13:03

And for some people it's a huge thing, isn't it? To notice that something isn't okay with your emotional health. To think about taking that big, bold, and often vulnerable step to find someone to talk to for people that haven't been through that journey before. It can be a little bit daunting talking to a stranger about your inner thoughts, your inner feelings. And we want to make sure that people are doing that in a way that's supportive and protected for them because as you quite rightly pointed out at the beginning of the podcast, it can be damaging for some people and that damage can take time to repair and sometimes it's irreparable. So we want to really help people on that journey. So we're both super ethical, we care about people. That's where this book is coming from. And I'm hoping that anybody who's listened to this podcast, whether you are someone who is thinking of reaching out for therapy yourself or supporting someone, or whether you're someone who's in an organisation where you regularly maybe get asked to signpost people, those are the people that we also want to tap into as well.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 14:01

In a nutshell, what do we want people to experience from this?

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 14:07

So my background and passion is working in learning disability services. And one of the things that I learned working with that wonderful client group is about making informed choices, helping people to have the right information to then weigh it up and make the best choice for them. So with this book, we are providing you with the information and the understanding you need about how talking therapists can operate in the UK in order for you then to go and check the person or persons that you're looking at to begin. Also, second really important point to have conversations, to be bold and ask them. So if you can take one little nugget from this, if you're looking up someone getting to the point where you're going to book an appointment, ask them, how do I find out who you're registered with and actually go and look them up? That's the really important thing, being okay with having tricky conversations.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 15:01

Absolutely. So obviously the beauty of a podcast episode is that it's not just for the week that it's launched, it's an eternal, beautiful beast. But given that this is January, what would be your hopes or wishes or advice for how our listeners can have a gentler journey in 2024? Tara,

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 15:31

What would I like for people in 2024? I would like people to be more compassionate to themselves if they are struggling to be okay with having conversations. Those conversations can be a huge help to you. To others, it can be that first stepping stone to feeling better about yourselves. And as you said, quite rightly, Marianne, we are all about people feeling better, aren't we? That doesn't always have to be in a clinical setting. We can start daily conversations. I'd like more of that in 2024, checking in on people, how are you really following it up and waiting for that response? That's my top thing.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 16:09

Oh, that's so nice. That better. Yeah,

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 16:12

I do that more now. I do it in my own life. How are you on the school path? And I'm still walking and now making that effort to either not ask if I can't stop or to go, how are you really? And I've got time to listen or shall we make time? Really makes such a big difference, doesn't it? I always use the school path metaphor for all of that stuff that we ask, hi, how are you? And we're still walking. We don't stop.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 16:35

Maybe we just say hi then. Yeah, if we know we haven't got time to, that's my thing

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 16:38

Now, if I haven't got time to ask, I don't ask now. It's really made a big difference. Or if I notice someone, I'd be like, we should catch up.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 16:46

It's been so lovely chatting with you. Thank you for welcoming me. You back to your audience and thank you for sharing your time with my audience too. Looking forward to what 2024 brings for you. Thanks for being such a lovely part of my 2023 and providing all this wonderful content that you do absolutely for free often for the people that are in your life. And May, 2024 be prosperous for you and for everyone you care about.

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 17:19

Feelings of very mutual people need to hear more about Marianne and the fantastic work you do and the fantastic person that you are as well.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 17:30

Thanks, Tara. That's really kind. So yeah, looking forward to, I'm sure we'll chat again on our podcast in future. If people did want to check out Talking Heads your guide to finding a qualified therapist in the uk, they can do that by checking the links in our show notes on our socials or by going straight to Amazon. Thank you so much for your time, Tara.

Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo (: 17:53

A pleasure as always.

Dr Marianne Trent (: 17:55

And that's a wrap for this eye-opening episode of both the Aspiring Psychologist podcast and the Adversity Psychologist podcast. A huge thank you to our fantastic co-hosts, Dr. Tara Quinn Cillo for joining me, Dr. Marianne Trent, in this insightful conversation on finding qualified therapists in the uk. If you have found value in today's discussion, don't forget to hit the like button. Subscribe to the Aspiring Psychologist Podcast and the Adversity Psychologist podcast for more great content and share your thoughts in the comments. If you're listening on MP three, please do subscribe to the shows. Please also check out the other recommended videos which are on screen if you're watching on YouTube. Now, remember, your mental health journey is uniquely yours, and the right therapist can make all the difference. Stay tuned for more engaging episodes and until next time, take care of yourselves. Thanks for being part of my world.

Jingle Guy (: 18:55

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