How to Find a Therapist
How to Find a Therapist Who is Right for You
Searching for a therapist can be intimidating. You want to find someone who will be able to help you feel better and get unstuck, but it can be scary to imagine opening up to someone new about things that you may have never spoken to anyone about.
Most professional therapists will offer a brief phone consultation where you can ask questions, share a little bit about yourself, and get a sense of the potential therapist’s style. The information they give you during that initial phone call can be helpful in finding a good match for your needs, but it is just as important to pay attention to how it feels to talk with the potential therapist. Do they seem open, warm, responsive and nonjudgmental? Can you imagine opening up to this person about the things that have been bothering you?
Since finding a therapist for can be stressful, I would like to suggest some questions that you may want to ask a potential therapist. Pay attention to the content of the answers, but also the emotional tone behind how the therapist answers your questions.
It is not necessary for you to ask a potential new therapist everything on this list. Use the questions to increase your level of self-understanding. Which questions seem the most important to you? This exercise will give you insight into your priorities – what is most important to you in a therapist.
Having these questions can also increase your sense of confidence as your make calls to potential therapists. You will know what questions you want to ask and can feel like you are making good use of your phone consultation. I hope that looking over these questions, and asking potential therapists the ones that most resonate with you, will make the process of finding a therapist that is the best match for your needs a little easier.
Questions to ask a potential therapist:
- What is your educational background? Tell me a little about your training.
- Are you licensed by the state? It is best to work with people who hold a professional license in their field, and you can verify this by searching “license lookup GA”.
- Have you ever been sanctioned or faced disciplinary charges by a licensing board or professional organization?
- Are you the member of any professional organizations?
- Who long have you been practicing (including during training and since completing training)?
- What age groups do you work with (children, adolescents, adults)?
- Do you specialize in the type of therapy I’m looking for (individual, marriage, family or group)?
- Do you have experience working with people facing the same symptoms or struggles I am having?
- Do you have experience and cultural competence working with people like me (e.g., gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age)?
- Do you consult with other professionals when you get stuck or need support on a case? How do you keep these consultations confidential? It is best to work with therapists who are connected to other professionals. They know they are not perfect and seek advice when needed to provide the best therapy to their clients. Of course, it is also required that the therapist continues to provide for your confidentiality during consultations.
- What if I need referrals to other resources (support groups, books, other professionals) can you help me with those?
- Will you speak with my other providers if I want you to (primary care doctor, specialists or psychiatrist)?
- What if I want to consider medication? If you see a psychiatrist for therapy, they can also prescribe medication if needed. When you see a therapist with another educational background (e.g., psychologist, social worker or professional counselor), they should be able to refer you to a medical doctor or psychiatrist if you would like a consultation for medication.
- What are your fees? Payment policy? How can I use my insurance to help cover those fees?
- What are your general hours of availability for appointments?
- What happens if I need to contact you in between appointments?
- Do you tend to be directive, or act more like a consultant, or are you really quiet? Why do you take this approach?
- Do you expect clients to do anything specific between the sessions (like homework practice)?
- Do you tend to start and end sessions on time or do you run late?
- Do you offer phone or video sessions if I need those?
- What is your approach to treating an individual with issues like mine?
- How do we develop the treatment plan?
- How do we know if therapy is working?
- How long does it tend to take to see a change?
- How do you think people change?
- Do you think you can help me?
When you are done talking with the therapist, pay attention to how you feel.
- Do you feel reasonably comfortable about the idea of meeting with him or her and talking further?
- Does your intuition tell you that you could work well with this person?
- Did it feel like they were really listening to you and addressing your questions directly?
- Did they seem warm and engaging but also professional and showing appropriate boundaries? (You don’t want your therapy to be ineffective chatting or to become about the therapist).
- Did the therapist’s answers to these questions make sense to you?
- Do you think you could communicate well together and that he or she would “get” you?
Working to find a therapist that is the best match for you can be daunting, but it is very important. People usually search for a therapist because they are fed up with living in patterns of thinking, feeling and behavior that just don’t work.
I hope that the questions I provide here will help you start to think about what you are looking for in a therapist, and increase your motivation to begin your search for the right person to meet your needs. If you would like to talk with me about your situation, call me at 404-668-9893.
