Therapy Series Part 1: Choosing a Therapist
Choosing a therapist is a lot like dating. You want to find someone who is supportive, someone who understands you, someone who is compassionate and who cares about your interests, and, above all, someone who you can trust. Also, just like dating, choosing a bad therapist can be a total nightmare, and one bad experience can be so discouraging that you are tempted to just give up. Finally, to make things worse, there are hundreds of therapists and there’s no easy way to pick the right one.
So what’s a person to do?
The answer is simple. Do some research, ask lots of questions, and be patient.
Finding a Therapist
I have helped a lot of people choose therapists, and they all begin with the same question; “Where do I look for a therapist?”
It’s not an easy question to answer. If you open up the telephone book and look under therapy, you’ll see hundreds of therapists, all promising to heal you. I guess technically you could find a therapist by starting at “A” and going down the list calling therapists until you find one that sounds ok, but it’s probably not going to be a great way to find a good therapist.
There are some ways to find reputable therapists, but they take a bit of work and research. To help you out, here are a few suggestions, from most useful to least useful:
- References
By far the best way to find a good therapist is through personal references. However, since getting references means that you need to talk to people about your need for a therapist, this can be a bit of a challenge. If asking your friends for a reference is too much for you, you could try asking your doctor or someone else who you trust. - Employee Assistance Programs
If your employer offers an employee assistance program (EAP), they will have on-staff therapists who can help you. These therapists will be properly certified, and are generally quite good. There are two things to watch for, however, 1) EAPs are usually very busy, so you might have to wait a while, and 2) most EAPs only cover a limited amount of sessions, so if you need long-term therapy, that might be an issue. EAPs sometimes also have external referral services, so they may be able to assist you in finding a therapist in your community. - Church
If you are a member of a church, there should be counsellors available who could help you locate a therapist. Some churches, such as the Catholic Church, also run their own therapy services, so they may be able to assist you as well. - School
If you are a student, or if you are near a university, there will be on-campus resources available for you. Most universities have on-staff therapists, and they can also assist with referrals to therapists in the local community. If you are in high school, your guidance counsellor should be able to assist you in finding a therapist as well. - Charities & Associations
In most communities, there are charities who can assist you with finding a therapist. Try contacting your municipal government, or if you live in an area where it is offered, try dialling 211 on your phone. Some hospitals also provide referral services. - Professional Associations
I feel a bit guilty ranking professional associations at the bottom of my list, but I don’t believe they offer much value to people who are searching for a therapist, since all they can do is provide a list of accredited therapists in your community, but they cannot provide references to those therapists. However, one very valuable service that the professional associations do provide, is that they give you a way to “check out” a therapist’s credentials. More on that in the next section. - The Internet & The Phone Book
The internet is a risky way to pick a therapist, as is the phone book. While both are ways to get in touch with good therapists, they are not a good substitute for referrals. However, if you don’t have any luck with referrals, you can still find good therapists using the Net and phone books. It just means that you need to take some extra time and do a bit more research when you are choosing your therapist.
How to Choose A Therapist
Ok, you’ve done your research, and now you have the names of a few therapists in your neighborhood. The next step is choosing a therapist. To do this you will need to get some information about the therapists that you are considering. The easiest way to do this is by calling them.
I have put together a “therapist checklist’ of questions that you should ask any new therapist that you are considering. This checklist is not guaranteed to filter out all the bad therapists, but it will definitely help you weed out most of the bad ones fairly quickly.
I have attacked a printable version of the checklist here (MS/Word format)
The therapist checklist
- Get credentials
A good therapist will belong to one or more professional associations. (be wary of therapists who are not affiliated with an association) Ask your potential therapist which associations they belong to, and whether they would mind if you contacted those associations to verify their credentials. If the therapist refuses to provide credentials, or asks you not to contact the associations to verify their credentials, hang up the phone and move to the next therapist on your list. - Ask for references
This is a bit of a catch-22. Some therapists will be reluctant to give references, and others will give you all kinds of references, but only from people who they know will give them good reviews. It never hurts to ask for references though, but don’t disqualify a therapist just because they don’t feel comfortable giving references. It could just mean that they are very serious about confidentiality. (which is a good thing) - Ask for a free 20 minute session
Here is a little secret about therapists. Most of them will give you a free 20 minute session if you ask them, with no obligations. Think of this as a test drive. If the therapist says that they offer free introductory sessions, put them on your “good therapist” list. - First Impressions
Write down your first impressions of the therapist from your phone call. Were they rude or friendly? Condescending or understanding? Pushy or polite? In general, your first impressions of a therapist are good ones to trust. If you end the call feeling beaten up or uncomfortable, there is probably a good reason you feel that way, and you should move on to the next therapist on your list. - Ask for their story
The last (or first, depending on how the conversation goes) question you should ask the therapist is for them to tell you their story. By this I mean you should ask them what style they prefer, about their treatment philosophy, and what types of patients they normally see. Some therapists, especially those who offer free introductory sessions, will probably ask you to come into the office for this discussion. That is ok, it just means they would prefer to talk to you face to face.
Once you have spoken to the therapist on the phone, review your checklist. Is there anything there that makes you uncomfortable? Did the therapist answer all your questions honestly?
If there is anything that makes you uncomfortable, then move on to the next therapist on your list.
If you are comfortable with the therapist’s answers, then check their credentials (most professional associations let you do this online) and, if everything checks out, call them and make your first appointment.
Congratulations! You have chosen a therapist! Now be sure to reward yourself for this achievement.
Tomorrow, in Your First Therapy Appointment, I will talk about setting up your first appointment, how to prepare, and what to expect when you get there.
Anxiety Bipolar Disorder Depression Health Mental Health schizophrenia therapy
Rolling Blogroll 5: Finding your marbles – A mental health survival guide » All Tips and Tricks responds:
Posted: February 20th, 2007 at 4:22 pm →
[...] Your Marbles can help you choose a therapist, or how to reward yourself, or even how to survive a party. In case you don’t see why you need to [...]