What this tool is for

It helps you think through which counselling approach, or blend of approaches, tends to have the strongest evidence base for what a client is bringing to the room. You type in a short description of the presentation, and it offers a considered suggestion you can weigh against your own clinical judgement.

It is not a diagnostic tool and it will not replace supervision or your own training. Think of it as a quick second opinion when you are mulling over how best to work with someone.

Who it is for

Mainly trainee counsellors and qualified practitioners who want to sense check their thinking. If you work integratively but want a prompt on whether CBT, EMDR, schema therapy, DBT, person centred, psychodynamic or another modality might fit a particular client better, this is the sort of thing it is built for.

It can also be useful if you are preparing for a first session, writing up case notes, or deciding whether to refer on to a colleague with different training. Members of the public looking for a therapist may find it interesting, but it is written with counsellors in mind and uses language that assumes some clinical background.

How it works

You describe the client presentation in your own words, including things like the main difficulties, any trauma history, how long the issues have been present, and anything relevant about motivation or previous therapy. The tool then returns a plain English summary naming one or more approaches that tend to have good evidence for that kind of picture, along with a short reason for each. Nothing you type is stored against your name, and we would ask that you avoid putting in any identifying details about a client. Treat the output as a starting point for reflection, not a prescription.