Demystifying Therapy: How to find the right fit for you
- The Counselling Cove
- May 16
- 6 min read
If you're debating whether to start counselling and feeling a little overwhelmed, don't worry, you're not alone. It can be a lot to take in. How do you figure out the difference between a psychologist, psychotherapist, counsellor, and psychiatrist? And then there are all the acronyms - CBT, ACT, DBT, EFT, EMDR, IFS. It can feel like trying to learn a new language.
Let’s walk through some of the jargon and demystify the therapy world together, so you can feel more confident and empowered in taking that next step.
Who’s Who in the Therapy World?
Counsellor
A registered counsellor is a trained mental health professional who provides support with emotional, psychological, and relational challenges. Counselling uses evidence-based therapeutic approaches to help people process their experiences, build coping strategies, and work toward growth and wellbeing.
Psychotherapist
A psychotherapist may offer similar support to a counsellor, but often with a focus on deeper or longer-term work. Psychotherapy can involve exploring underlying issues or past experiences, and may continue over months or years.
Psychologist
Psychologists are trained to assess, diagnose, and treat a range of mental health conditions using evidence-based therapies. They often specialise in understanding thoughts, behaviours, and emotional patterns.
Psychiatrist
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialise in mental health. They can prescribe medication and often work with more complex or severe mental health presentations. Psychiatrists may collaborate with counsellors or psychologists as part of a wraparound support plan.
Life Coach (not a mental health professional, but often in the wellness mix)
Life coaches help people clarify goals, overcome obstacles, and create action plans for personal or professional development. Unlike therapists, they don’t diagnose or treat mental health issues.
Therapeutic styles - A buffet of choices
Counsellors and psychologists may work within a range of therapeutic modalities - a fancy way of saying their “style of working.” Some therapists specialise in one modality, while others are integrative, tailoring their approach to suit each individual client. In Australia, psychologists working under a Mental Health Care Plan may tend to use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), as it aligns with Medicare’s funding structure.
Here’s a snapshot of some common modalities you might come across:
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy): Practical, goal-oriented therapy that focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviours.
ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy): Encourages acceptance of difficult thoughts while committing to values-based actions.
DBT (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy): Balances acceptance with change; great for emotional regulation and relationships.
EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy): Often used in couples therapy to strengthen emotional bonds.
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing): A trauma-focused therapy using guided eye movements to help process painful memories.
IFS (Internal Family Systems): Explores the different “parts” of you to foster inner harmony and self-understanding.
Narrative Therapy: Helps reframe the stories we tell about ourselves to highlight resilience and values.
Solution-Focused Therapy: Goal-oriented, brief, and focused on what’s working.
Gestalt Therapy: Present-focused and often creative, encouraging deep self-awareness.
Psychodynamic Therapy: Dives into unconscious patterns and early experiences to create lasting change.
Person-Centred Therapy: Empathetic and non-directive - creating space to be seen, heard, and supported.
Somatic Therapy: Connects mind and body, helping to process stress or trauma through awareness of physical sensations.
Mindfulness: Cultivates awareness and non-judgemental presence - often integrated into other modalities.
Walk and Talk Therapy: Combines talk therapy with movement and nature, often grounding and less intense than traditional sessions.
How do I find the right fit?
Think of therapy like a buffet - what works for one person might not work for another. Just as some people prefer pizza while others love stir-fry, different therapeutic approaches resonate differently with each person. If Gestalt therapy feels too imaginative or abstract, you might prefer something more structured and practical like CBT - or the other way around. And if sitting in an office feels uncomfortable, Walk and Talk therapy can offer a grounded, movement-based alternative.
If something doesn’t feel right, don’t give up. You’re not doing therapy “wrong” - you just might not have found the right fit yet.
Certain modalities also tend to work better for specific concerns. It's okay to ask your therapist about the evidence base for what they use in relation to your goals. Not every modality is a match made in heaven for every issue - and that’s before you factor in your own personality, preferences, and learning style.
The relationship matters
The single most important factor in therapy? The relationship you have with your therapist. Research shows that the quality of the therapeutic relationship accounts for a significant portion of positive outcomes - sometimes even more than the type of therapy used.
You need to feel safe, supported, and free from judgement. Therapy can involve revisiting painful memories, speaking long-held truths, or exploring big dreams. If you don’t feel safe with your therapist, it will be hard to open up and truly heal.
Finding the right therapist can feel a bit like speed dating - how do you know who’s the right fit? That’s why in my practice, I offer a free initial chat. It gives us both a chance to see if we’re the right fit: I learn more about what’s bringing you to therapy, and you get a sense of whether my approach and personality feel supportive to you.
If it’s not the right match, I’ll always do my best to refer you to someone who may be a better fit, or share other support options you might not have come across yet.
Shared Care: A collaborative approach
You don’t have to navigate this alone. Therapy can exist alongside other supports. I’ve worked with clients who had ongoing sessions with me while also seeing a psychiatrist or calling support services during the week. When needed - and only with your explicit consent - professionals can collaborate to ensure holistic, wrap-around care.
If you want your GP or psychiatrist and counsellor to work together, it’s your choice. You should never feel pressured, and any collaboration should always be clearly discussed and documented with your permission.
Why Trauma-Informed care matters
Your therapist should always be trauma-informed. This isn’t optional - it’s essential. A trauma-informed clinician understands how overwhelming experiences impact the brain, body, emotions, and relationships. They approach with safety, trust, and empowerment, helping you feel in control of your healing journey.
In trauma work, you should always feel in the driver’s seat. A good therapist will check in regularly, allow you to pace sessions, and let you pause or stop at any time. Because trauma is often so much about survival, it can show up as people-pleasing, emotional numbing, or intense reactions, and so a trauma-informed approach should always hold this with compassion, not judgement.
You should never feel judged in the therapy room. Challenged - yes, because growth often is. But never judged.
As someone who has previously co-facilitated group trauma recovery programs, this area of work is especially close to my heart.
You deserve support that feels right
There are professional codes of ethics that guide and protect the work of mental health practitioners in Australia - such as those set by the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) and Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA). These standards exist to ensure your rights and wellbeing are respected. It's important to know that you have these rights, and your care should always be delivered in an ethical and respectful manner.
So, who am I?
I’m a registered counsellor with the Australian Counselling Association, holding a Master of Counselling. I work as an integrative therapist, primarily drawing from Person-Centred Therapy, ACT, CBT, and Solution-Focused Therapy.
In my time in practice, I’ve often had days where, based on a client’s concerns and their preferred ways of working, I’ve drawn on different therapeutic styles from one session to the next. For example:
In grief counselling or trauma work, I often take a gentler, more spacious approach using Person-Centred Therapy or ACT. This allows room to explore and validate experiences without pressure to “fix” or change anything too quickly.
When I work with parents, many have found ACT helpful - particularly its focus on values, creating space from unhelpful thoughts, and bringing mindful presence into their time with their children.
For clients navigating work-related stress or challenges, I might use CBT strategies to help them reframe limiting beliefs and take empowered, practical steps forward.
And if a client only has the capacity for a few sessions, we may focus on Solution-Focused Therapy to make the most of our time together by honing in on strengths and achievable goals.
As you can see, there’s a range of styles that can support clients in different ways. Of course, most importantly, it’s always about what the client wants.
And because not everyone feels comfortable in traditional settings, I also offer Walk & Talk Therapy across Southern Sydney, often integrating mindfulness into our sessions.
You can learn more about my background on the Meet Jemima page.
I invite you to reach out for a free initial chat to explore what feels like the right fit for you. If I’m not the right fit, I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction - because this journey is about finding what truly supports you as the unique and wonderful person you are in this world.
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