Personal Reflections on the Therapy World
Welcome to Therapist Insights. I’m Adrian. I spent over 14 years running an independent online therapy practice, working with people from many different backgrounds, countries, and life situations. This page is where I share some of my personal reflections on the therapy world: what I’ve learned, what concerns me, and what I think people deserve to know when they are looking for therapy or already working with a therapist.
These are my views, shaped by experience. They are not the final word. Therapy is deeply personal, and what feels right for one person may not feel right for another. So take what helps, question what does not, and keep hold of your own judgement.
Therapy Is Powerful, But It Is Not Automatically Safe
Therapy can be powerful. I have seen it change lives. But it is not magic, and it is not automatically safe just because someone has a title, a qualification, or a place on a professional register. At its best, therapy is a human relationship built on trust, respect, honesty, and care. At its worst, it can leave people feeling dismissed, confused, dependent, or harmed. That is why I believe people need clear, honest information. Not to frighten them away from therapy, but to help them recognise the difference between support and control.
Therapy Is A Human Interaction
One of the things I like to be upfront about is this: therapy is not an exact science. It can draw from research, theory, training, and experience, but it is still a human interaction. It involves emotion, memory, relationship, trust, fear, hope, personality, context, and timing. You cannot measure grief like you measure temperature. You cannot put heartbreak in a test tube. You cannot scan someone’s brain and say, “Right, now we know exactly how to fix this person’s sadness.” People are more complex than that.
What I Saw In The Profession
When I first started offering therapy online, it was not common. It was not widely accepted either. Some therapists dismissed it. Some ridiculed it. A few were openly hostile. At the time, I did not know how to deal with that level of criticism and aggression, so I stepped back from many professional online spaces. It was easier to keep doing the work quietly than to keep defending something I believed in. Years later, online therapy became normal. During and after COVID, it was suddenly accepted, promoted, and praised. But I did not forget the earlier reaction. It taught me something uncomfortable. Sometimes, when you challenge the usual way of doing things, parts of a profession can become defensive. Not curious. Not reflective. Defensive.
That experience changed how I saw the therapy world. I still believe therapy can be deeply valuable. But I no longer believe the profession should be trusted blindly. Like any field involving power, status, money, and vulnerability, therapy needs scrutiny. It needs accountability. Clients need to know they are allowed to ask questions.
Registration Is Not The Same As Safety
A therapist being registered or qualified does not automatically mean they are ethical, emotionally safe, respectful, self-aware, or right for you. I have worked with people who came to me after harmful experiences with therapists who were highly qualified and professionally recognised. Some clients had been dismissed. Some had been made to feel small. Some had been left doubting themselves even more than before. This does not mean all therapists are unsafe. It means titles alone are not enough.
Trust should be earned through how someone treats you, not assumed because of letters after their name. A good therapist should welcome thoughtful questions. They should respect your pace. They should understand that you are not there to serve their theory, ego, or need to be right.
Why I Stayed Independent
Then came another reality check. My qualifications were still relevant, and my experience in online therapy was extensive. I had been working online long before it became normal or widely accepted.
In many ways, I was one of the early pioneers of online therapy. Before using it in practice, I had researched its safety, limitations, and advantages carefully. I did not move into online therapy because it was fashionable. I moved into it because I believed it could offer real help when used thoughtfully and responsibly.
But some organisations seemed to suggest that I needed to update or upgrade parts of my training, particularly around newer safeguarding expectations and online working. I understand why standards change. Every profession has to review, update, and bring things into line over time.
But it still felt strange, given that online therapy had been my everyday work for many years.
After weighing it all up, I stepped back from running a full-time private practice and began looking at other ways to use what I had learned. Between Paths is one of those ways.
I still practise as a psychotherapist part time and continue to see a limited number of clients. I enjoy the work, but I also value having space to create resources that may help people outside the therapy room.
Why I Still Talk About Therapy
I still talk about therapy because I still care and I still practice as a therapist. and I still believe good therapy can be life-changing when it is offered with humanity, respect, care, and humility. But I also believe people deserve honesty about the risks. Therapy should not ask you to hand over your judgement at the door. It should not make you feel smaller. It should not train you to mistrust yourself. Good therapy should help you become more connected to yourself, not more dependent on the therapist.
That is the thread running through this page. Not anti-therapy. Not anti-therapist. Just pro-awareness. Pro-client. Pro-honesty.
If You Are Looking For A Therapist
If you are looking for a therapist, or already working with one, this is what I would want you to remember: trust is earned, credentials do not always equal competence, your instincts matter, questions are healthy, and you do not owe any therapist blind trust. If something feels wrong, you are allowed to pause, ask, reflect, or leave.
You are not being difficult because you want to feel respected. You are not being unreasonable because you want therapy to feel safe. And you are not alone if you have had an experience that left you confused, disappointed, or hurt.
That is why these resources exist. To help you think clearly. To help you spot warning signs. To help you remember that therapy should support your sense of self, not take it away.
Related Pages
You may want to read more about therapy red flags, healthy boundaries, and therapist accountability. These pages are here to help you recognise what good therapy should feel like, and what it should never become.
