Psychotherapist

A psychotherapist is a trained mental health professional who uses structured talking therapies to help people understand and resolve emotional, psychological, and relational difficulties. Psychotherapists may work with individuals, couples, families, or groups. Their aim is to help clients develop greater insight, emotional regulation, and control over their responses to difficult experiences.

The term psychotherapist covers a range of practitioners working in different therapeutic traditions, including psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapy, integrative therapy, humanistic approaches (such as person-centred counselling), and systemic therapy. This is distinct from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) practitioners, clinical psychologists, and psychological wellbeing practitioners, who each work within specific frameworks and training structures.

In the UK, psychotherapy is not a legally regulated profession in the same way that medicine or clinical psychology is, though the main professional bodies (including the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the UK Council for Psychotherapy) maintain registers and accreditation standards. When seeking a psychotherapist privately, checking registration with one of these bodies is advisable.

For cardiac arrest survivors, psychotherapy may be appropriate where difficulties are relational or existential in nature, such as changed identity, relationship strain following the event, or difficulty finding meaning after a near-death experience. For trauma-focused or PTSD symptoms, a therapist trained in trauma-specific methods such as trauma-focused CBT or EMDR is usually recommended by NICE guidelines. A GP or cardiologist can advise on the most appropriate referral.