What is Psychotherapy and Counselling not for?

Psychotherapy and counselling both take time to be effective, and require the person to be able to attend regular sessions. Therefore it may not be appropriate for people who are in extreme psychological distress, such as psychosis. In this case your local mental health service should be able to assist.

Psychotherapy and counselling also require commitment and ongoing effort and do not provide a quick fix or magic pill. It is difficult to say how long a person may need to have therapy as this varies for each individual. People often have psychotherapy for several years and counselling for several months.

Psychotherapists generally are not able to prescribe medication, although medication may form part of your treatment.