Info & advice Living well with alopecia Talking therapy and counselling Talking therapy involves talking to a trained professional about your thoughts, feelings and behaviour. There are many types of talking therapy but they all aim to: give you a safe time and place to talk to someone without judgement help you make sense of things and understand yourself better help you resolve complicated feelings, or find ways to accept them help you recognise unhelpful patterns in the way you think or act, and find ways to change them (if you want to) What is the difference between 'talking therapy' and 'counselling'? The terms talking therapy and counselling are often used interchangeably. 'Talking therapy' is frequently used but can cover counselling, therapy, psychotherapy and talking treatment. How can talking therapy help people with alopecia? Losing your hair can be a daunting experience which leads to some very challenging emotions. Nothing can really prepare you for losing your hair and the impact it can have. Talking therapy can give you the space to explore your feelings around your hair loss and learn skills to manage any stress and anxiety that might come with that. Family and friends can be incredibly supportive and it is helpful to share your feelings with those close to you. But sometimes it can be difficult to share how we're really feeling with those closest to us. You may feel that people who know you may judge you. A therapist won't know anything about you so you might feel more free to open up. Could therapy work for me? Talking therapies have been shown to work well for many people. Depression and anxiety can be experienced by people with alopecia and some types of therapy are known to help treat these mental health conditions. It it difficult to say whether a particular therapy will work well for you or not because it depends on lots of factors, including: what you want help with your relationship with your therapist your feelings about therapy generally Research has shown the relationship you have with your therapist is important in how successful you find any therapy. If you don't like or trust the therapist, you're less likely to open up to them and less likely to have a positive experience. "In my first talking therapy appointment, I just did not warm to the therapist. I felt we had no rapport and it made it difficult for me to talk about my feelings. I didn't go back and gave up on the idea of therapy. A year later, I tried again and found a different therapist and immediately felt different talking to him. It was so much easier to open up, and I gained a huge amount from my therapy sessions." How to find therapy or counselling Trying to find a therapist or counsellor can be daunting. You may be able to access therapy for free via the NHS. There are different steps to follow depending upon whereabouts you live in the UK. The mental health charity Mind has a page on their website, detailing not only how to access therapy via the NHS but also how to find a private therapist and also additional therapy services offered by other charities and organisations. You may also be interested in reading our 'How to practice self-care' page. Reviewed by Alopecia UK on 04/07/2025 Manage Cookie Preferences