Self-reflection quiz
Do I need therapy?
Fifteen short questions to help you decide whether talking to someone could be useful. It takes about three minutes, and your answers stay on your device.
Thinking about the last few weeks…
Your reflection
This quiz is a prompt for reflection. It is not a diagnosis and can’t replace a conversation with a professional.
Curious how I work? Read about online trauma therapy or what to expect from DBT.
Before you start
- About three minutes. Fifteen short questions, at your own pace.
- Private. Your answers are not stored or sent anywhere.
- Not a diagnosis. It is a prompt to help you reflect.
- You can go back and change an answer at any time.
Deciding
How do you know if you need therapy?
There is no test you have to pass. Most people start because something isn’t working the way they’d like, and they want help with it. You might recognise some of these:
- Your feelings are bigger, or last longer, than you’d like.
- Things you used to manage have become harder.
- The same patterns keep repeating in your relationships or your life.
- You are avoiding people, places or situations.
- You have tried to work it out alone and feel stuck.
- You are going through a move, a loss or another big change, perhaps far from home.
- You simply want someone to think it through with.
None of these means something is “wrong” with you. They are good reasons to talk to someone.
Starting
Do I have to be in crisis?
No. Many people come to therapy because they want to understand themselves better, feel steadier or make a change, not because everything has fallen apart. You can start before things get hard, and you can start when they are already hard.
If you are in crisis, please use the support numbers above first.
What the research says
Does therapy actually help?
On average, yes, though the average effect is modest, and I would rather you hear that from me than find it later. A large 2022 review pulled together 102 meta-analyses, covering 3,782 trials and over 650,000 people, across conditions including depression, anxiety and PTSD. Talking therapies did better than placebo or usual care for the symptoms they targeted, and about as well as medication. The average difference was small, and the authors point out that many of the trials had a high risk of bias.
What that means for you: therapy is a reasonable thing to try, it is not a guarantee, and how well it suits you matters. That is one reason I start with a free call, so we can both see whether we are a good fit. Separate research on therapy for PTSD suggests that a good relationship with the therapist is linked to better outcomes.
Next step
What happens on a free call?
It’s a 30-minute call where we talk about what you are looking for, and whether we are a good fit. There is no pressure and no commitment. You can ask me anything, including whether therapy is right for you at all.
no pressure, no commitment
Want to talk it through?
Start with a free 30-minute call. After that, sessions are £60 (€70 / $80) per hour.
no pressure, no commitment