Counselling and Psychotherapy
UK & Ireland Directory of Counselling and Psychotherapy
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Fair and Equal Representation

CP Directory was set up in reaction to commercial Counselling and Psychotherapy directories that only show details of practitioners who can afford to pay them, or who give artificial prominence or endorsement to particular practitioners for money.

We feel strongly that this is ill-advised, because it tends to unintentionally bias the representation of available services in an area by under-representing agencies who provide low-cost or free services. Often these either don't get a mention or aren't as easy to find as services whose budget allows them to pay to be prominent.

This can make it more difficult for those on low income to find affordable Counselling and Psychotherapy.

Instead, we operate a fair-play subscription system.

Fair Play Subscriptions

Fair-play is a primarily ethical rather than commercial model of payment:

  • No therapist is obliged to pay anything to advertise here.
  • You decide whether and what you want to pay.
  • We don't want to know how you came to your decision.
  • We actively encourage you to stay for free if payment is an issue.
  • We treat the amount you pay (or the fact you subscribe for free) as confidential.
Based on trust, this ethical trading model works best in contexts where those involved themselves work to high standards: professional counsellors and psychotherapists work to codes of ethics and fairness, as well as being people who have good boundaries and who have learned to trust their own judgement. This gives us faith that most subscribers will not exploit the system, nor feel "guilted" into paying more than their better judgement tells them to.

Since each individual therapist is best placed to assess their own situation in this respect, we feel that putting any payment decision in the hands of each individual therapist is is the best and most practical way of making sure that that no qualified professional feels excluded from the directory, so that we can give the fullest possible representation of the available services to clients.

If you are in a position where it feels fair to you to do so, then you are invited to make a subscription payment of your own choosing, but be aware that this will not give you preferential treatment over those who do not pay.

We discourage payments made out of a sense of guilt or obligation. As a rule of thumb, if you decide to make a payment but then feel uncomfortable with that decision, you're probably either thinking of paying too much for your particular circumstances, or you may need to take more time first to reflect on what's right for you.

A decision to pay a lesser amount or nothing towards the running of this service need not reflect only your financial circumstances. It may also be a reflection of whether and how well it meets your needs. For example, a therapist who does not need to advertise and is never short of clients may perceive that the presence of their details on this site helps clients be more fully aware of the services in their area, but is of no personal benefit to them. On the other hand, a practitioner in those circumstances may wish to make a contribution in any case, if they think that this service is worth supporting. There is no "right" answer here except what's right for you.

For information on how to make a fair-play subscription payment, contact info@cpdirectory.com.


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