The best therapist directories in the UK, compared

Which therapist directories are worth joining?

Choose by who you are registered with and who you want to reach, not by which site has the biggest advert.

• Counsellors and psychotherapists: your professional body's directory (BACP or UKCP), plus Psychology Today and Counselling Directory. Psychology Today gives new members six months free, so it costs nothing to test.
• CBT therapists: the BABCP's list of accredited therapists in private practice, plus one general directory.
• Chartered psychologists: the BPS Directory of Chartered Psychologists, plus one general directory.
• Hypnotherapists, complementary therapists and nutrition professionals: the Happiful sister sites (Hypnotherapy Directory, Therapy Directory and Nutritionist Resource), which work the same way as Counselling Directory.
• If you want community as much as referrals: Welldoing, which includes weekly CPD sessions, or a specialist network such as BAATN if it fits your practice.

Whichever you choose, measure each listing rather than forgetting about it. The tracking section below shows how.

UK therapist directories side by side

Every price and rule here comes from the directory's own website in October 2026. Where a directory doesn't publish a price, we say so. Prices change, so check before you sign up.

We also looked for a UK site called Psychology Directory and could not find one that is currently taking listings, so it isn't in the table. If you are a psychologist, the BPS directory is the closest equivalent.

Counselling Directory vs Psychology Today

These are the two general directories most UK counsellors weigh up, and they are closer than their marketing suggests. Both let people search by location and by what they need help with, and both rank well for broad searches like "counsellor in Leeds".

Is Psychology Today worth it? UK costs in practice

At £19.95 a month after six free months, a Psychology Today listing costs about £240 a year. One client who stays for six sessions at £50 covers that. The free period is long enough to find out whether it works in your area, as long as you track where enquiries come from from the first week. If nothing useful has come through by month five, cancel before you start paying.

Psychology Today is an American company with a UK directory, and results vary from place to place.

Counselling Directory

Counselling Directory is UK-based and part of the Happiful group. At £24.50 a month or £245 a year it is a little dearer and has no free trial, but every plan includes profile statistics showing how your profile is performing, plus a profile on Happiful at no extra cost. You have to show proof before you are listed, such as membership of a relevant professional body.

So which one?

If you can afford both for a year, list on both and compare. If you can only pick one, start with Psychology Today's free six months, set up tracking, and add Counselling Directory if the numbers justify it. Your professional body's directory comes first either way, because it shows your registration where clients are told to check.

Your professional body's directory

The BACP and UKCP directories are plainer than the commercial ones, but they show your registration directly. BACP's sorts results by distance, starting within 10 miles of the place searched, so it works best when you have a room somewhere people look for a therapist nearby. If you work online, make sure your listing says so, because clients can widen the search to include online therapists.

How to write a directory profile that gets enquiries

On a busy results page, a client compares a dozen faces and a few lines of text. Yours has to make them feel understood before they click.

1. Open with the person, not your training. The first lines are usually what shows in the search results. "If you're lying awake replaying conversations, or finding it hard to be around people since a loss" does more than "I am an integrative counsellor with an MA".
2. Use the words clients use. UKCP's advice to its members is to write in the first person, in everyday language, using the words clients might use to describe their own problems. "Panic attacks" rather than "anxiety disorders"; "we keep arguing" rather than "relational difficulties".
3. Be specific about who you help. Three to five things you work with closely beat a list of forty.
4. Say what the first session is like. Length, online or in person, and what you'll talk about. Not knowing what to expect stops people booking.
5. Show your fee. State it, with any concessions. A blank fee field can put off people who assume you're expensive. Our guide to how much to charge per session covers setting it.
6. Use a real, recent photo. Head and shoulders, natural light, looking at the camera. UKCP tells members that profiles with photos are preferred.
7. Keep your details identical everywhere. The same name, phone number and address on every directory and on your website helps Google connect them.

How to tell which directory sends you clients

Are therapy directories worth it? Only you can answer that for your practice, and only if you record where every enquiry came from.

A profile view isn't a client. What you need is the number of paying clients each listing produces, against what it costs.

Four simple ways to track

• Ask every enquirer. Add "Where did you find me?" as a required drop-down on your enquiry form, and ask again on the first call. People misremember, so use both answers.
• Tag the link on each profile. If a directory lets you link to your website, add a tracking tag to the end, for example yoursite.co.uk/?utm_source=psychologytoday. Google Analytics then shows visits from that listing separately.
• Use each directory's own statistics. Counselling Directory includes them on every plan; check what your others offer.
• Keep a simple log. One row per enquiry: date, source, whether they booked, and how many sessions they had.

Work out your cost per client

Every quarter, divide what each directory cost you by the number of new clients it produced. A £245 yearly listing that brings four clients costs about £61 a client. One that brings none costs £245 for nothing, which is your cue to rewrite the profile or cancel it. Look at how long clients stay, too: fewer enquiries from clients who stay for twelve sessions can beat lots of one-off contacts.

Directories versus your own website

You need both, because they do different jobs. Directories rank for broad searches like "therapist near me" or "counsellor in Bristol" that a single practitioner's site will rarely beat,. Your own website wins the searches directories can't: your name, your specialism in your town, and the people who have seen your profile and want to know more before they get in touch.

The real difference is ownership. A directory is space you rent: the price can rise, the layout can change, and your profile always sits one click away from other therapists. Your website is yours, and it keeps working if you cancel a listing. Many clients look at both before they reach out, so make sure they say the same thing, link to each other and use the same details.

If you want your own site to do more of the work, our page on SEO for therapists covers which searches it can realistically win, and websites for therapists explains what a good one includes, from fees to what happens in a first session. Just setting up? The guide to starting a private therapy or psychology practice covers the order to do things in.