How To Find The Right Therapist
You’ve taken the first and the biggest step: you’ve decided that you can’t do this alone and you need support. You need a therapist. But now how do you find one?
Finding a therapist is easy. Finding the right therapist can feel like a long process. How do you select a person from a list? How do you choose based on an “about me” paragraph? Where do you even look? This post aims to help demystify the process and give you some tools and resources for your search.
Where to Look
There are plenty of internet sites to assist your search. Many therapists list across multiple platforms. Because profiles are self-monitored these sites tend to be more accurate than referrals from an insurance company.
Below are some of the most popular and handy sites meaning more therapists are listed which give you more to choose from.
American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors, and Therapists - AASECT – a directory of professionals specifically educated in sex-related concerns and sexuality.
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom - KAP – Kink Aware Professionals. A directory of sex-positive, kink and polyamory accepting clinicians.
Open Path Collective – perfect for those without insurance. All therapists charge a sliding fee scale between $30 and $60.
Psychology Today Therapist Finder – probably the most popular therapist directory out there.
Therapy Den – stands out for the vast number of filters to help narrow your search including language, sliding fee scale, ADA accessible offices, and racial justice
TherapyTribe – a defining feature is having a separate group therapy/support group search function
ZenCare – one of the few places with a video from your therapist so you can get an even better feel for who they are.
Utilize Site Filters
Now that you have started your search on some of these sites be sure to utilize all available search filters. This allows you to narrow your search to your specific challenges and, importantly, your insurance carrier or sliding fee scale needs. It’s frustrating to get to the end of your search and then realize the therapist is not empaneled with your insurance company.
What Are All These Abbreviations?
MA/MS – Master of Arts or Sciences. Every therapist must have a masters degree in psychology in order to practice talk therapy and so not everyone lists this among their credentials.
LPC – Licensed Professional Counselor. This person has their MA/MS and has passed a licensure exam.
In Illinois this is generally (but not always) a clinician in the first few years of their practice. By law they must work under the supervision of an independently licensed therapist. In practical terms that means a more experienced therapist that the state recognizes as able to work on their own without legally required supervision.
LCPC – Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor. This therapist has accumulated thousands of hours of therapy work and taken a second, harder licensure exam. This is an independent license.
MFT – Marriage and Family Therapist. Similar in application to the LPC with a focus on marriage and family therapy.
LMFT – Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy. This is also similar in application to the LCPC with a focus on marriage and family therapy. It is also an independent license.
LCSW – Licensed Clinical Social Worker. This is an independent license. Therapists with this license attended a clinical social work master’s program rather than a counseling or clinical psychology program. Such programs incorporate social work skills and principles in addition to psychology.
CADC – Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor. These counselors do not require a master’s degree. However, they are still extensively trained through thousands of hours of education and therapy work. It is not unusual to see a therapist who holds a CADC as well as a master’s level license such as those listed above.
Psy.D – Doctor of Psychology. This person earned a doctoral degree with a focus on treatment of clinical psychology issues.
Ph.D – Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology. In practical terms a Ph.D psychology program includes conducting research as well as additional learning in treating mental health concerns.
Read Those Profiles
This is your best way to learn about each therapist. A good profile will include the therapist’s treatment philosophy and their outlook on the process of therapy. Find the ones that speak to you. This is also where you will find the therapist’s treatment modalities (always look for evidenced-based modalities) and what issues they are knowledgeable enough in to treat. For example, if you’re looking for counseling for your teenager, you want to make sure the therapist frequently works with teens. Don’t be concerned if you see several specialties listed. It is common for therapists to gain knowledge in more and more mental health conditions as our careers go on.
Contact Your Choices
Use the contact information listed to reach out to the therapist. Please be aware that we do not always have openings in our schedule or times that work for you. While I personally believe every phone call and email should be returned regardless this does not always happen. If you do not hear back within a week move on.
Getting the Most Out of Your First Session
If you have never been to therapy before you might not know what to expect in your first session. The first session is called “intake” but it is as much a “getting to know you” session as it is information gathering.
The therapist will ask you various questions that may not seem related to what brought you in. This may include information about your family growing up, where you work, or even your hobbies. This is how your therapist gets to know you so they can get down to the work of helping you.
This is also when you start interviewing your therapist and identifying if this is the person you want to work this. Things to consider include:
· Do I genuinely feel this person can help me?
· Do I feel like I “click” with them?
· Do I think they adequately listened to the things I said?
As with any relationship you may or may not know right off the bat whether you will get along. But, if after the first three sessions you are not sure how you feel about this individual then it may be time to move on and look for someone new. Mental health therapy is a deeply personal process. The best results come when you are able to form a solid, mutual working relationship with your therapist.
Do not be afraid to tell your therapist this. Do not worry about disappointing us or hurting our feelings. This is our job, and our job is to help you. If we are not accomplishing that then there is no reason to waste your time and money. Find someone you click with.
Come back next month for our post about your rights and advocacy as a client.
Ilyssa and I welcome any questions anyone may have about this process. Even if we are not the right fit for you we want to make sure you find the right person. If you would like to speak to me or Ilyssa, or anyone else on the Obsidian Counseling team, about finding the right therapist please do not hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact us at the following:
Kari Holman –
(847) 450-0460
kariholmancounseling@gmail.com
Ilyssa Lasky –
(224) 255-4411