Counselling is very different to social anxiety therapy.
You tend to get only one chance at NHS CBT based social anxiety therapy – and there is sometimes a long wait. If you have other complicating issues in your life – aside from social anxiety – you may want to consider talking these through with a counsellor before undertaking dedicated NHS Social Anxiety CBT Therapy.
Low-intensity psychological therapies such as counselling differ from high-intensity psychological treatments in that they tend to use less complex treatments, are often shorter in duration, and can be delivered by people who do not have high-intensity training qualifications.
Your GP may have counsellors working within your GP practice or know of local counselling services.
Some counsellors may be familiar with the existence of social anxiety though most will generallly not be trained in any of the specific CBT training the NHS recommend. As said, counselling is not a NICE approved treatment for social anxiety, but may help with other issues whilst awaiting a trained social anxiety CBT Therapist.
Find a UK accredited counsellor:
British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) – Find a therapist
Counselling-directory.org.uk – Find a therapist
Also see the counselling directory’s article on how to find the right counsellor for you.
Also see Mind’s pages on talking therapy and counselling
For a full list of professional counselling accrediting bodies see the Counselling directory.