What we do
Scroll DownOur mission is to help build a happier, healthier society by connecting people with self-care information, real stories and professional support across a range of mental health and wellness topics.
We run a network of directory websites with over 24,000 professional members, - Counselling Directory, Hypnotherapy Directory, Life Coach Directory, Nutritionist Resource and Therapy Directory - and produce Happiful magazine, a monthly magazine packed with content to support positive mental health and wellbeing.
More than 4.6 million people have found support through our resources*
While available to purchase in print, we're committed to making the magazine accessible to as many people as possible, so it's also available as a free e-magazine, sent straight to your inbox every month.
We continually engage with professionals from across our websites to help inform our writing and advice, in addition to including the real-life experiences of readers.
At Happiful, we are dedicated to signposting support, information and self-care opportunities to all our readers, and connecting them with the help they need.
Our History
July 2005
Counselling Directory
Two sisters had a dream to help people in need of emotional support connect with counselling professionals who could help them.
September 2006
Our first paying customers
We initially ran the directory for free, but to make it a sustainable business we started charging £10 per month for listings.
November 2006
100 Members
Within 2 months of charging, we had signed up 100 paying members..
April 2008
1,000 Members
Less than three years after launching, we signed up our 1000th paying customer!
December 2008
Two more directories
Hypnotherapy Directory and Life Coach Directory were launched.
June 2009
Entered the world of social media
Since those early days, we now have over 65,000 social media followers across all of our platforms.
January 2010
Therapy Directory
Therapy Directory was launched.
March 2010
Nutritionist Resource
Nutritionist Resource was launched.
2013
Rebranding
We underwent our biggest rebrand yet, with a completely new logo and website to reflect the changing needs of our users.
May 2015
Breaking the internet
An infographic created for Depression Awareness Week goes viral, reaching over 80,000 on Facebook alone.
March 2017
Happiful Magazine
We launched our wellbeing magazine, Happiful, which is available for free online worldwide and in print at supermarkets and independent newsagents across the UK.
April 2018
Membership landmark
We reached a total of 20,000 professional members across all of our directories - a huge landmark in our company’s history.
March 2019
Podfest for Mental Health
We hosted our first ever event, Podfest for Mental Health; a day of live podcast recordings, all dedicated to continuing the conversations around mental health.
September 2019
Certified B Corp
In 2019, we were incredibly proud to have become a certified B Corporation. We also rebranded all of our products into the Happiful family!
March 2020
Going online
We amplified our efforts to help people connect with therapists remotely, becoming one of the first counselling organisations to provide guidance on working with clients during the initial pandemic lockdown. We also celebrated our 15th anniversary (online!)
June 2021
Subscriber milestone
We reached 120,000 Happiful digital subscribers - bringing free uplifting content and expert advice to people all over the world. We were also recognised as Consumer Magazine of the Year by IPPA.
May 2022
The big move
We moved into our lovely new office - a real team effort!
February 2023
Trusted information source
Counselling Directory achieved the PIF Tick mark, officially recognising our commitment to producing reliable and trusted content.
Our ethos
Happiful is dedicated to sharing the stories, experiences and support available for the whole of our society and we will work continually to ensure we represent the broadest audience possible.
We believe in equal rights for people of all genders, identifications, race, religions, sexuality, ability, shape, size and age – and everyone’s right to be heard and supported.
We work with professionals from across our platforms and in different disciplines and practises to ensure our information and advice is reviewed and updated in line with current thinking and practise. We continually welcome feedback.
Read more about our content pledges
*We have tracked more than 7.5 million connections from clients to therapists on our websites, with each client making an average of 1.6 enquiries, we estimate that 4.6 million people have accessed support on our websites.