Questions to ask before you book
You are about to spend money and tell someone difficult things. Fifteen minutes of questions first is entirely reasonable.
About their training
Ask what specific training they hold for your issue, not their training in general. Someone can be a highly experienced counsellor with no trauma-processing training at all — both facts can be true. Ask which register they belong to and check it yourself afterwards. Ask whether they receive regular clinical supervision; the answer should be an immediate yes, because supervision is mandatory for registered practitioners and it is the main safeguard on quality.
- What training do you have specifically for this?
- Which professional body are you registered with?
- Do you have regular clinical supervision?
- How long have you worked with this presentation?
About the approach
Ask them to describe what a session looks like in practice, and whether the work is structured or open-ended. Ask whether there is anything expected of you between appointments, since some approaches depend heavily on it. Listen for whether they can explain their method in plain English. Jargon that cannot be unpacked on request usually indicates either a shaky grasp or an unwillingness to be understood, and neither is what you want.
About time and progress
Ask roughly how many sessions this usually takes for someone in your situation. A range is a good answer; a refusal to estimate is not, and a precise guarantee is worse. Ask when progress will be formally reviewed and what happens if it is not working. An open-ended arrangement with no review point can drift for a very long time, and the drift costs you rather than them.
- How many sessions does this typically take?
- When will we review whether it is working?
- What happens if it is not working?
- How do you measure progress?
About money and logistics
Ask the fee, whether the first session is charged, whether longer sessions cost more, and what the cancellation notice period is. Ask about waiting time before the first appointment and how frequently sessions run. Ask whether online is available if travel might become difficult. None of this is awkward; a practice that has clear answers to these has thought properly about how it operates.
About confidentiality
Ask what is confidential and what is not. The honest answer always includes limits: risk to yourself or others, certain legal requirements, and anonymised discussion in clinical supervision. Ask what notes are kept, where, and for how long. Anyone claiming absolute unlimited confidentiality is either misinformed or telling you what you want to hear, and both are concerning at the outset of a professional relationship.
- What are the limits of confidentiality?
- What notes are kept and how are they stored?
- Would you contact my GP, and under what circumstances?
What to notice as well as what to hear
Alongside the answers, pay attention to the texture of the call. Did they listen or wait to speak? Did you feel rushed? Was there any pressure to book a block or pay upfront? Did they seem comfortable with the possibility that you might go elsewhere? A therapist who says plainly that another approach or practitioner might suit you better is demonstrating exactly the judgement you are hiring them for.
Questions for particular situations
Some circumstances warrant extra questions. If you are neurodivergent, ask what adjustments they make and how much direct experience they have — a listed specialism is not the same thing. If you are looking for trauma work, ask specifically what their accredited training is and how they approach stabilisation. If you have had therapy before that did not help, ask what they would do differently, and listen for curiosity about why it did not work rather than a quick dismissal of the previous practitioner. If you are considering couple or family issues, ask whether they work with the individual only, and what happens if the other person wants to attend.
- Neurodivergent: what adjustments, what direct experience
- Trauma: what accredited training, what approach to stabilisation
- Previous therapy failed: what would they do differently
- Relationship issues: individual only, or otherwise
Red flags in the answers
A few responses genuinely warrant caution. Guaranteed outcomes or claims of a hundred per cent success rate, which no honest clinician can offer. Pressure to buy a block of sessions upfront before you have met. Vagueness or irritation about qualifications, registration or supervision. Dismissiveness about medication, your GP, or a previous therapist. Claims to treat absolutely everything with a single method. And any suggestion that doubts about the approach are themselves evidence that you need it. None of these are subtle once you know to listen for them, and any one of them is reason enough to make another call.
- Guaranteed outcomes or perfect success rates
- Pressure to pay for a block upfront
- Vagueness about registration or supervision
- Dismissiveness about medical care
- One method claimed to treat everything
Common questions
Is it rude to ask about qualifications?+
No, and a good therapist will welcome it. Any defensiveness about credentials is itself an answer.
What if I do not know what my issue is?+
That is completely normal and common. Describe what is happening and let the therapist help name it — that is part of the job.
Should I speak to more than one?+
If you can, yes. Two or three short calls make the difference in fit obvious very quickly.
Bring your list to the call
Free, fifteen minutes, no pressure to book anything at the end of it.