How it works

For therapists

Members use Therapy Circle for peer support and to be findable:

• A public listing — if you choose, a calm profile on Find a therapist where people can send you a private introduction request.
• Forum topics — practice discussions with colleagues (never identifiable client material).
• Free resources — curated UK-relevant websites and guidance.
• Open join with register validation — create an account with your professional body and number; you get full member access straight away. Before your profile appears on the public Find page, we look you up on your public register by hand. We check new members every morning, and every listed practitioner again each year.
• Safety guidance — read our guidance on enquiries from under-18s or people in crisis.
• Members-only tools — full directory with anonymous confirmations, private messaging and notifications.

Invitation codes remain an optional admin tool but are not required to join.

For clients

Anyone can use Therapy Circle without joining:

• Browse Find a therapist — a calm listing of approved members who chose to appear publicly.
• Request an introduction — leave a short message; the practitioner is notified privately. Emails are never shown.
• Free resources — relevant free websites and guidance on the resources page.
• Useful links — free NHS, charity and community services for wider access (including Hub of Hope, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, neurodiversity and carers) on the useful links page.
• No scores, ads or booking pressure — no star ratings, reviews, advertisements or “book now” buttons.
• Not a crisis service — for urgent help use NHS 111, Samaritans on 116 123, or 999 if life is at risk.

Find a therapist · Resources · Useful links

Joining

UK practitioners on a statutory or accredited register — Arts Therapists, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists, Counsellors, Dance Movement Psychotherapists, Dietitians, Family and Systemic Psychotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Play Therapists, Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Psychotherapists, Speech and Language Therapists and others — can create an account openly. You provide your register or professional body and registration number; the site validates the number format and records your attestation that the name and number match the public register (for example the Health and Care Professions Council, or an accredited register such as the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, UK Council for Psychotherapy or National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society). Identity is confirmed via those register details — not a passport or driving licence.

After you join, you can build an anonymous confirmation count. A confirmation simply means someone has confirmed they worked with you — there is no score and nothing written. You create private, single-use invitation links or codes (up to 10 a month, each expiring after 30 days) and send them yourself to people you have genuinely worked with; signed-in colleagues who know your work can also confirm from your profile. Nobody, including you and us, can see who confirmed. Invite only people you have genuinely worked with, never pressure a client, and follow your professional body’s guidance on testimonials and client contact. You can hide your count at any time.

Profiles

Profiles are practical — what colleagues and people looking for help see:

• Profession, written out in full (for example Occupational Therapist, Play Therapist, Counselling Psychologist)
• Approaches (for example sensory integration, voice therapy, dramatherapy, person-centred, family and systemic, cognitive behavioural therapy)
• Who they work with (for example children, adults, couples, families)
• Online, in person (town or city), or both
• Fee range (shown on the public profile when provided)
• A longer bio on the public Find listing and profile page
• Optional practice website and the anonymous confirmation count, unless the practitioner hides it

Members set a status in one step: open to new clients, waiting list, or full. Profiles show when that status was last updated. You can also choose whether your profile appears on the public Find a therapist page (defaults on for open or waiting list, off when full).

Data protection

Members must never post client-identifiable information in the forum or messages: no names, initials, dates of birth, addresses, contact details, workplaces, or any combination of details that could identify a person.

• Introduction requests from the public go only to the practitioner chosen, and are deleted after 90 days.
• Messages between members carry a reminder not to share client-identifiable details.
• Members remain responsible for their own data protection duties under UK law and for client consent.

Privacy notice