For trainee counsellors and therapists in the UK

In short: Therapist Circle (therapistcircle.co.uk) is a free UK directory where counselling and psychotherapy trainees can list while they train, alongside registered practitioners. Listing is free, with no fees, commission or card details. You can join if you are enrolled on a course that lets you see clients, training in counselling, psychotherapy, CBT, child and adolescent psychotherapy, couples or psychosexual therapy, family and systemic psychotherapy, play therapy or dance movement psychotherapy, with a named clinical supervisor on a professional register and indemnity cover. Before a trainee profile appears, we check your course enrolment with your training provider (or a letter from them), and your supervisor confirms by email that they supervise you. Every trainee profile is marked Trainee and says “Not yet on a professional register”, and clients see trainees on Find only if they tick “Include trainee therapists”. Your course decides whether you may see clients this way and whether those hours count towards your placement hours. Therapist Circle is UK-only and is not connected to therapistcircle.com in the United States.

Why list here

• Free. No fees, adverts, commission or card details, the same as for every practitioner.
• Clearly badged. Your profile always says Trainee, so nobody is misled about where you are in your training.
• Clients choose to include trainees. Trainees appear on Find only when a client ticks “Include trainee therapists (often lower cost)”, so the people who contact you already know you are in training.
• A place among colleagues. You appear in the members’ directory, marked Trainee, alongside practitioners from every profession, and you can use the members’ forum.
• Ready for when you qualify. Keep your account and profile. When you join a register, we check your entry and move you to a full listing.

Who can join

Talking-therapy trainees who are currently enrolled on a course that lets them see clients, training as:

• Trainee counsellor
• Trainee psychotherapist
• Trainee child and adolescent counsellor or psychotherapist
• Trainee CBT therapist
• Trainee couples or psychosexual therapist
• Trainee family and systemic psychotherapist
• Trainee play therapist
• Trainee dance movement psychotherapist

You also need a named clinical supervisor who is on a professional register, and indemnity insurance (or cover through your course or placement) for the work you offer.

Trainings for titles protected by law and regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (for example art, music and drama therapists, and practitioner psychologists) are not included, because students on those courses see clients only on placement. Already qualified and on a register? Join as a registered practitioner.

Qualified and HCPC-registered occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, dietitians and arts therapists: see our page for allied health professionals.

What we check, and how long it takes

• Your course enrolment, with your training provider or from a letter from them.
• Your clinical supervisor. We check they are on their professional register, and ask them to confirm, from their own email address, that they supervise you.
• Every six months we ask you to confirm your details again, and a trainee listing ends three months after the qualifying date you gave unless you update it.

Your listing goes live once both checks are done. It usually takes a few working days, and most of the wait is for your supervisor’s reply, so let them know to expect our email.

We do not check clinical skill or quality, and we do not check identity documents. A listing is not an endorsement.

How your listing looks

There is no register badge or register number on a trainee listing. Those appear only when you qualify and join a register. Your supervisor’s name and email are never shown.

How to join, step by step

1. Check with your course and placement provider that you may see clients this way, and what you may offer.
2. Tell your supervisor you are listing and that we will email them once to confirm they supervise you.
3. Fill in the form (about five minutes): your course, provider and how it is accredited, when you expect to qualify, and your supervisor’s name, register, number and email.
4. We check your enrolment and your supervisor.
5. Your listing goes live, marked Trainee, for clients who choose to include trainees.
6. Keep it up to date from your Account page, especially if your course, placement or supervisor changes.

Join as a trainee therapist

Counselling placement hours and client hours

Therapist Circle is a directory, not a placement provider. We do not arrange placements, supervision or clients, and we cannot confirm that hours with clients who find you here will count towards your course.

Your course sets how many supervised client hours you need and where you may gain them. For BACP student membership, for example, your course must include a supervised placement of at least 100 client contact hours, and BACP’s student membership page says students should not be required to gain placement hours through private practice or with client groups not assessed as suitable, such as children and young people or people with complex mental health needs.

• Ask your course before you list. Some courses do not allow trainees to see private clients at all, and private sessions may not count towards your hours.
• Offer only the work your course, placement and supervisor agree you can do safely, and say no to clients whose needs are beyond your training.
• Keep a careful record of your hours in the way your course asks.
• For placement ideas, see BACP’s student hub and ask your course team.

Low-cost fees

• Set a fee that reflects that you are in training, and check your course or placement has no rules about charging.
• Say clearly on your profile what you charge, how long a session is, and how many sessions you can offer.
• Agree fees, cancellations and what happens when your course or placement ends in writing before you start.
• Clients looking for lower-cost help can also read free and low-cost therapy, so it is fine to point people there if you cannot help.

Supervision and ethics

• Bring every client you see through Therapist Circle to supervision, within the supervision your course and professional body require for the number of clients you see.
• Follow your professional body’s ethics and student guidance, for example the BACP Ethical Framework for the Counselling Professions, UKCP standards, guidance and policies and UKCP trainee membership, and the NCPS membership categories, which say student members cannot advertise their membership and see clients only under their trainer’s supervisory arrangements. Training with another body? Read that body’s own student guidance and your course handbook.
• Never describe yourself as registered, accredited or qualified until you are, and do not name a student membership on your profile where your body does not allow it.
• Keep client information off your profile and out of messages.
• Have indemnity insurance, or cover through your course or placement, for the work you offer.

Moving to a full listing when you qualify

When you qualify and join an accredited or statutory register, contact us with your register and number. We check your register entry and move your account to a full listing, with the same register details shown for every registered practitioner. You keep your account and profile.

Questions

Join free as a trainee therapist Questions first? Contact us.

Therapist Circle is an independent directory, not a provider of therapy, and is not affiliated with the NHS. Questions or concerns: contact us.