Find a Therapist in Belfast

The profiles listed above are practitioners who consult in Belfast, or who name Belfast as an area they work in. You can narrow the list by profession, by the difficulties someone works with, by language, by client group and by identity.

If nobody here suits you, try widening the area to Derry. You can also filter for practitioners who work online. Open a profile to send an enquiry, ask for a number, or book, where those buttons are shown.

Read how to choose a therapist

For extra reassurance, you can check anyone listed here on the register for their profession. The United Kingdom has no single register for talk therapy. The practitioner psychologist titles, clinical psychologist and counselling psychologist among them, are protected by law.

A person using one must appear on the Health and Care Professions Council register. Psychiatrists are doctors, held on the General Medical Council register. Counsellor, psychotherapist and therapist are not protected titles.

The check there is membership of a voluntary register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, a body that accredits registers of practitioners not regulated by law. You can check a practitioner psychologist on the HCPC register and a doctor on the General Medical Council register.

The law does not protect the word psychologist on its own. Some practitioners in the United Kingdom also belong to a professional association, such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy or the UK Council for Psychotherapy. Those are voluntary registers rather than the statutory register held by the Health and Care Professions Council.

Everyone listed must be qualified for the work they offer. Whether that qualification is also a licence depends on the profession. A tick beside a registration, qualification or membership means we have seen evidence for that entry, not that we endorse the practitioner.

The Verified mark means we have run a closer check on that practitioner's documents. The practitioner pays for that check, and it fails if the documents do not pass.

Read how we review and verify listings

Therapist covers anyone who offers talk-based help with emotional and relationship difficulties. The word says nothing about training. A psychologist is trained in the study of the mind and behaviour, and works by assessment and talk therapy.

Where the title is protected, a psychologist needs a recognised qualification in psychology and registration with the body that governs the profession. Counsellors and psychotherapists work by talk therapy as well, and what their training requires depends on the title and on where you are.

As a rule of thumb: if medicine may be part of the answer, start with a psychiatrist. For an assessment or a formal report, start with a psychologist. For ongoing counselling or therapy, choose a counsellor or psychotherapist from one of those accredited registers.

The profession filter above shows which of these are listed here. In the United Kingdom, clinical psychologist and counselling psychologist are protected titles, and only a registered person may use one. Psychiatrists can prescribe medicine.

The titles that carry legal weight are the registered ones. Where a title is not registered, anyone may use it, so the register is what tells you what training sits behind the word.

Read which professional titles are protected in the United Kingdom

In the UK there are two routes to therapy and the cost differs sharply between them. NHS talking therapy is free, and in England you can refer yourself without seeing your GP first. In Scotland and Northern Ireland the route runs through your GP, and Wales runs a free online service that needs no referral either.

Waiting times vary by area and the choice of therapist is limited. Private therapists set their own fees, and the fee tracks a therapist's seniority and qualification rather than their postcode. Ask what the fee is and how long the session runs, whether a lower-fee or trainee place exists, and whether online sessions are charged differently.

Across the United Kingdom, a session commonly costs £40 to £60. Those are advertised prices. An online session is usually not much cheaper than one in a consulting room. Practitioners commonly charge the same rate either way, so you save the travelling and the time around it.

A practitioner's profile shows their fees where they have given them; ask the practitioner for the fee.

See the United Kingdom fee guide

Many practitioners keep a few reduced-fee places. They set the reduction themselves after asking about your income, so ask rather than assume. Group therapy costs less per session, and for a number of difficulties it works as well as individual work.

Publicly funded clinics and non-profit services will often see you without a referral.

Read how to find affordable therapy

For most common difficulties the research puts video sessions close to in-person work. It holds on the same condition as any therapy: the relationship between the two of you has to be a good one. It suits you if you live far from a practitioner, have little room in a week, or want a choice your own town cannot offer. It suits some situations less well, and a practitioner should say so.

A practitioner usually suggests meeting in person where there is immediate risk to safety, or nowhere private to talk. Text-based and on-demand app services do cost less, and they are a different product, not a cheaper version of the same one.

The evidence behind them is thinner than for regular psychotherapy. They often sell messaging rather than a scheduled hour with one practitioner who knows your history. Of the practitioners listed in Belfast who have stated how they work, 2 offer online sessions.

Filter the list above for online availability to see who offers it here.

Read the evidence on how well online therapy works

Yes, within limits. An ethical code requires a registered practitioner to keep what you say private. A professional body's code binds its members too. In the United Kingdom a registered psychologist answers to the Health and Care Professions Council. It runs a fitness to practise process that can restrict or remove a registration.

The limits are narrow and commonly include a serious and immediate danger to you or to another person, and abuse of a child or of a vulnerable adult. A court can also order it disclosed in some circumstances.

A claim to an insurer usually carries some information with it. A practitioner should set those limits out in the first session. You are entitled to ask where the line sits before you say anything you would rather keep private.

The first session is an orientation and a brief assessment, and usually lasts about an hour. The therapist will ask what brings you, say how they work, and go through confidentiality, fees and practical arrangements. You can ask about their approach and experience. You do not need to prepare anything; come as you are.

Whether it is a good fit matters more than any technique. Therapy works better when the working relationship is strong,³ and that relationship usually takes a few sessions to settle, so give it time before deciding.

Read our guide on What is Therapy?

The person matters as much as the method. The names you will come across include cognitive behavioural therapy, psychodynamic therapy, EMDR, family therapy and couples therapy. The nature of the difficulty shapes the choice, and so does whether you want something short and focused or something open-ended. It also depends on how much of the past you want to work with, and what you can sustain in time and money.

A trained practitioner will say what they think would suit, and say so when they are not the right person.

Read how to pick the therapy that suits you

You do not need a diagnosis to benefit from therapy.¹ Therapy helps when something is not working and you want to think it through with someone. If you want change, support, or clarity, therapy is a reasonable place to start.

Therapy can help with:

• Personal growth to build confidence, self-understanding, and emotional maturity²
• Low mood, worry, emptiness, or irritability
• Relationship strain and conflict
• Support for your child or teenager
• Big changes like job loss, bereavement, relocation, or divorce

About one person in eight lives with a mental health condition, and many more face stress or want more from life.¹ You do not need to wait for a crisis.

Read our guide on Who Needs Therapy?

Choosing an independent therapist in Belfast gives you more control. You approach them directly. Nobody is assigned to you. The two of you agree the goals and the way of working together. Independent practitioners can adjust the approach, the pace and the session length to what you need. Fewer parties are involved in your care, and you can see the same clinician over time, which supports deeper work.