Psychology: clinical and counselling psychologists, talking therapies and how to access them

Psychology is the scientific study of people, the mind and behaviour, and in healthcare it is applied to understanding and treating emotional, behavioural and cognitive difficulties. The Health and Care Professions Council regulates practitioner psychologists and protects several titles in law: clinical psychologist, counselling psychologist, forensic psychologist, health psychologist, educational psychologist, occupational psychologist and sport and exercise psychologist. The British Psychological Society is the professional body, and runs directories and registers.

Clinical psychologists work mostly with mental health and physical health problems across the lifespan, in the NHS and elsewhere, and typically complete a doctoral training after an undergraduate degree in psychology. Counselling psychologists use therapeutic approaches with a focus on the person's experience and relationships. Health psychologists work on how psychological factors affect physical health, such as pain, long-term conditions and behaviour change. Neuropsychologists assess thinking and memory after brain injury or illness.

It helps to distinguish psychologists from other talking therapy practitioners. Many people delivering CBT and counselling in the NHS are accredited therapists, wellbeing practitioners or counsellors rather than psychologists, and the titles counsellor and psychotherapist are not always protected in the same way. Registration with an accrediting body is what to look for.

The NHS describes CBT as a recommended treatment for many mental health problems and as helpful for some physical health conditions too. Psychology is also used for assessment and formulation, not only therapy.

• Depression, including postnatal depression, and anxiety conditions such as phobias, panic, social anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.

• Post-traumatic stress disorder and trauma reactions, often using trauma-focused CBT or eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR).

• Eating disorders, bipolar disorder and personality disorders, where psychological therapy sits alongside medical and nursing care.

• Sleep problems such as insomnia, long-term pain, irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue, where the NHS notes CBT can help.

• Adjustment to illness, bereavement, relationship and family difficulties, and anger or behavioural problems.

• Neurodevelopmental assessment in children and adults, including autism and ADHD, and cognitive assessment after brain injury or in suspected dementia.

There is no single therapy. Cognitive behavioural therapy examines how thoughts, feelings and behaviour interact and works on practical changes, usually in a structured course of weekly sessions with tasks between meetings. The NHS says many types of CBT exist, delivered as guided self-help, in groups, online or with a therapist one to one. Other approaches include dialectical behaviour therapy for intense emotions, EMDR for trauma, psychodynamic therapy, systemic and family therapy, counselling and couples therapy.

Most courses begin with an assessment. The NHS says that after a referral for CBT you will have an assessment with a therapist to decide the best treatment, which may be CBT or another therapy, and you will usually be told how long you may wait. The therapist and client agree goals, review progress using questionnaires and agree when to finish. The NHS says people usually have between 5 and 15 sessions of CBT, depending on what it is for, with more offered if symptoms have not improved.

Therapy works best when it is a good fit. It is reasonable to ask how the approach works, what evidence supports it for your problem and how you will both know it is helping, and to say if it is not working.

The main NHS route for common problems is NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression, which the NHS says you can access by referring yourself or through a GP. The service covers problems including persistent low mood, panic, phobias, OCD, PTSD and body dysmorphic disorder, and can help people with long-term physical conditions. More complex or severe difficulties are handled by community mental health and specialist psychological services, usually on referral from a GP or another clinician. Waiting times vary depending on where you live.

Privately, psychologists and therapists can usually be seen directly. The NHS says you can find an accredited CBT therapist near you on the UK CBT register, and employers, universities and local charities sometimes offer therapy for free. Check registration with the HCPC for practitioner psychologists or with a relevant accrediting body for therapists, and ask about fees, session length, cancellation terms and how long treatment is expected to take.

• Ask about the practitioner's qualifications and registration, and which approach they use for your difficulty.

• Ask how many sessions are likely, how progress will be measured and what happens if therapy does not help.

• Ask how confidentiality works, including what is shared with a GP or employer.

• If you are on medicines, mention them, and consider whether a GP or psychiatrist should be kept informed.

• If you have a history of trauma, you can ask how the therapist will pace work so it feels manageable.

• For immediate danger to yourself or others, call 999 or go to A&E, and use NHS 111 or your GP for urgent advice about a crisis.