Marking Mental Health Awareness Week, Oldham medic says 'beware sham counsellors'

Oldham women’s health expert Dr Anita Sharma is using Mental Health Awareness Week to warn people to only seek help from qualified professionals - and not fall foul of sham psychotherapists, no matter how desperate they feel.

Currently in the UK, anyone can set themselves up as a counsellor - since qualifications and training are not compulsory.

Which means vulnerable people may be worsening their mental health by visiting a non-accredited healer - and being hit in the pocket to the tune of thousands of pounds.

“It is like the days of the surgeon-barber when any old quack could perform major surgery” said Dr Sharma.

“Just as you wouldn’t hire a person down the pub to build a house, you have to check, check and double check that the counsellor you are discussing your most private thoughts with, is affiliated to the BACP and qualified to the standards they set to practise.”

The founder of the Endometriosis Awareness North charity, Dr Sharma has previously called for better mental health care for endo sufferers who are often shunned and not even believed.

Paradoxically, she can understand why someone would seek out a counsellor “off their own bat” - but wants to make sure they ask the right questions, first.

“As a young GP I saw 80% physical cases and 20% mental health ones” she continued, “ever since the pandemic, it has been the other way around.

"Even doctors, who of course have a knowledge of the physiology of the brain, are not qualified to offer in-depth psychiatric support.

"Plus, we get less than ten minutes with a patient.

"If referred for counselling, patients then have to wait as long as a year.

"No wonder they search out support.”

If they reach that desperate stage, patients should see if their counsellor and confidant is registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

This is the equivalent of the General Medical Council for doctors and sets the standards for the profession - recommending at least three years of training to make the grade.

Further education establishments including Nelson and Colne College in East Lancashire are now offering accessible courses for counsellors from entry level to degrees - so there is no excuse for not gaining some training, says Dr Sharma.

“First and foremost, mind and body healthcare are about respecting the patient. If you wish to be a counsellor then qualify as one, just as medics do,” she continued.

Dr Sharma also warned people about the dangers presented by those who believe they can dispense help because they have been through wellbeing woes themselves.

“Lived experience allied to qualifications and training is superb” Dr Sharma concluded, “but if I thought one of my patients was receiving addiction advice from someone who thought they could help just because they were an alcoholic, it would worry me.

"It is like getting dental care from someone who thinks they can do it - because they own a pair of pliers!”

Learn more about Endometriosis Awareness North by clicking here

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