Finding the Right Therapist for You
When we experience mental health concerns, finding the right therapist is essential. However, knowing how to find one can be tricky. Here are some tips for contacting the right therapist for you today.
Finding a therapist
To start therapy, we first need to find a therapist, which can be both daunting and surprisingly complicated. Who do we even see? How do we know they will be a good fit for us? What is with all these acronyms and strange terms?
Find the right relationship
The good news is that research has shown that your relationship with your therapist is the strongest indicator of therapeutic effectiveness. So out of all possible things to consider, look for someone who you find appealing. How you find this person really depends on what source feels best to you. You can ask friends or family for recommendations, look at therapists’ websites/social media, go through a therapist directory like Psychology Today/Therapy Den, or reach out to a local or national non-profit (i.e., SBTan).
Find someone who specializes in your concern
Like doctors, therapists usually specialize in helping and treating those with specific mental health concerns. In addition, certain therapies are empirically shown to be more effective for certain concerns than others. Therefore, finding a therapist who can provide therapy that is specifically tailored to what you are experiencing may be an important thing to consider. However, if you are not really sure what you are feeling but know that mood or life circumstances feel off, then any therapist, regardless of their specialty will likely be able to help you. As well, therapists are adept at screening clients before working with them, and any therapist you speak with will likely tell you if they feel that they can help you.
Consider whether you want an active or passive therapist
Therapists also use different theoretical orientations to help clients. What this means is that different therapists use different therapy styles. For most people seeking therapy, the main thing to consider is if you want a more active or a more passive therapist. An active therapist is likely going to give you homework between sessions, ask you to read certain books, or spend the session providing you with tangible tools to try in your daily life. On the other hand, a more passive therapist is going to put you in the driver’s seat regarding your treatment. They will likely let you lead the session, having you bring up topics to discuss, and be there for you as a listening ear. Common approaches you may see on therapist websites that are more passive are psychodynamic/psychoanalytic or humanistic/person centered. While cognitive and behavioral orientations tend to be more active (ex. CBT and DBT). Of course, many therapists are integrative or eclectic, combining both passive and active interventions as part of their therapeutic style.
Think about how you want to afford therapy
Therapy is an investment in you. Some therapists take insurance, and some therapists are private pay. Who does and who does not take insurance is a personal choice of each therapist. If you have and want to use your mental health insurance benefits, you may be best suited by contacting your insurance company and finding a therapist in-network. It will also be crucial that you check your mental health benefits to see what is covered by your insurance. A drawback of insurance is that it limits who you can see and may only cover a set number of sessions. With private pay, therapists will likely have more autonomy regarding your care, but it will be more expensive. One option, if you are looking for a therapist who possibly provides a lower rate, is to work with someone who is an associate working toward licensure. You can also ask therapists if they provide a sliding scale fee or check out Open Path Collective.
In-person vs. telehealth sessions
The last thing to determine is whether you wish to see a therapist in-person at a physical office or via telehealth (i.e., video conferencing ). This is totally up to you, though it is possible that you might not have a choice depending on the therapist you wish to see. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, most therapists now provide telehealth therapy, which is great, as many individuals find it more convenient. However, due to this change, some therapists no longer provide in-person sessions and only offer telehealth. Overall, telehealth has been shown to be as effective as in-person sessions, so the forum that you chose won’t make much of a difference. Yet, it is still something to consider, especially as feeling comfortable in session and with your therapist is of the utmost importance.
