After experiencing anxiety symptoms for a long time, you decide to seek the help of a licensed therapist. First though you need to to find therapist. Often with medical doctors, you can ask friends and family what doctors they refer to, but finding a therapist presents a more difficult challenge. While people often talk openly about going to the medical doctor, they tend to be quieter about their visits to mental health professionals. Also, if you are seeking treatment for the first time, you may not be able to openly seek guidance from those around you. So what should you do?
This article provides some tips on where to start and what questions to ask when evaluating a therapist. Keep in mind that the perspective presented here is based on my experience as a research scientist and as someone who goes into treatment for an anxiety disorder myself. Always consult a licensed professional when possible.
Step 1: Determine your options
The first step in choosing a therapist is to determine what options are available near you. If you live in a major metropolitan area, you likely live near hundreds, if not thousands, of licensed therapists. However, if you live in a more rural area, your options may be more limited. Below are four ways to determine your options.
College Clinical Services
If you are a college student, many colleges and universities now offer on-campus counseling services. These services are often limited in scope, with students able to attend only a few sessions before they are referred to a therapist in the community. However, they may have exactly what you need to combat your symptoms. In addition, they often provide a thorough evaluation of your symptoms, help identify possible diagnoses, and have strong connections with therapists in your area. Therefore, they are able to provide extremely helpful advice in finding a therapist that you can see for a long time.
Medical professionals
If you do not have access to college services, the best next step is to consult with your health care provider. Family and general practitioners often have some experience with mental health issues and they usually know of qualified people in your area who can help. This feature is strong in that if you have seen this doctor more than once, they will know your experience and may know which therapist is right for your specific symptoms.
Online resources
If you don’t have any of the options above, you can also search for therapists in your area by visiting websites like MentalHealth.gov or American Psychiatric Association (APA) Placement of a psychologist. Both of these options allow you to narrow your search results by the type of services you’re looking for, and the APA tool even allows you to narrow down therapists with certain specialties or age groups. You can also use the search engine of your choice to see what’s available in your area. A simple search for “clinical psychologist anxiety (enter your region)” will return any number of results. However, I have to be careful with this approach. Search engines often return a large number of responses, and you leave it up to your devices to determine the quality of those results.
Your insurance provider
Insurance providers not only have a list of therapists who cover your area, they can also help you find one who specializes in your symptoms. So, apart from all the options mentioned above, you can approach your insurance provider for help.
Step 2: Choose who to see
Your search probably returned more than one matching option. The next step is to decide which therapist to see. Remember! You are never “locked in” to seeing a particular therapist (more on that later). However, here are some tips to narrow down your choices.
Does the therapist have experience with your specific symptoms?
Often, clinicians are skilled in helping with any mental illness and common symptoms; but others are highly specialized and focus only on certain issues. In most cases, you should be able to find a given therapist by checking their website (if available) or calling their office. When checking their qualifications, you also want to make sure that the person is licensed and qualified to provide treatment.
Does the therapist use “evidence-based” approaches?
In the world of clinical psychology, there are countless theoretical approaches and beliefs about the treatment of mental illness. However, they are not all equal! You want to make sure that the potential therapist uses techniques and approaches that are scientifically proven. Specifically, you’ll want to search for phrases like “evidence-based treatment” and “clinical experience» including, but no limited to behavioral, cognitive therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). Good therapists do not limit themselves to just one set of therapeutic techniques and often incorporate a combination of approaches to help their clients. To see a specific therapist’s approach, you can check their website or contact them directly.
Payment – Does your insurance cover this particular therapist?
Fortunately, most insurance companies cover even routine visits to therapists. Unfortunately, like their colleagues in the medical field, not all therapists are covered by insurance plans. Always check with your insurance provider that your insurance covers the person you are visiting – as well as how many visits are covered and what the deductibles, co-payments and maximum annual payments are. Additionally, you will want to know how much each session will cost you and what forms of payment they accept.
Step 3: Assess the person
After finding and choosing the therapist you want to see, the next step is to determine if a particular therapist is right for you. But what makes a particular therapist “right”? You want to see a therapist that you trust, respect, and believe understands you and your symptoms well, and you also want to connect with that person on an interpersonal level. You don’t know these things right away. In fact, you’ll probably want to attend at least four sessions with a therapist to determine if they’re right for you. Choosing a therapist is an important life decision, and you want to make sure you have enough information before making any decisions.
At the same time, you’ll want to prepare well in advance of your first trip. Ask yourself questions such as why are you seeking treatment? What is bothering you emotionally/mentally? Have any of your behaviors changed? Be honest when answering these questions and don’t be afraid to write down the answers and bring them with you to your first meeting. Also, prepare any questions you may have for the therapist. For example, you can find out what times of the day they usually schedule, how experienced they are with people like you, and how they can handle emergencies. Every therapist should be prepared to answer such questions.
Step 4: Make your decision
At this point, it’s entirely possible that you’ve found a therapist that’s right for you. You have searched for therapists available in your area; you found someone who specializes in your symptoms and uses proven treatments; and after a few sessions, you now feel comfortable seeing this person. Awesome! However, it’s also possible that you still don’t feel like this person is the right fit for you and/or your symptoms. so what
You should give the therapist a legitimate shot to be sure. Often times, treating mental illness is a slow process, so you should be careful not to dismiss your therapist because your symptoms are still bothering you. If you don’t think your therapist is addressing your needs or concerns properly, bring it up with them first. Talk to them about how you don’t think they can help you. They will likely understand that each client’s needs are different and will have no problem adapting their approach.
However, if things don’t improve after this conversation with your therapist, you may want to consider finding a new therapist. In some cases, you may even be referred by this therapist to other people who they think may be a better fit, especially if you explain why you want to see the other person. For example, you may see a therapist who specializes in a different approach or is of the same gender, race, or sexual orientation as you. If for some reason you can’t get a referral from the therapist you’re seeing, you can go back to Step 1 of this list and start over. Remember that you are not bound to see a specific person.
I hope this has provided a helpful starting point for finding a therapist. If for any reason you need more immediate care, please don’t hesitate to call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact them online at https://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/immediate-help/. Both of these resources are “crisis hotlines” that you can contact even if you are not thinking about suicide. In an emergency, please call 911. Although treating mental illness can sometimes be a long and slow process, know that there are resources out there to help.
