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Finding a therapist can be difficult. It can be especially difficult when you are struggling with your mental health. Therapy is not just for those struggling with symptoms of a mental illness. Therapists and counselors can be amazing support during difficult life transitions, when struggling with work stress, or when wanting support with personal growth. Below are a few resources and tips for finding therapists.
Affordability
Are you going to pay out of pocket or through insurance? Although therapy usually isn’t cheap, many therapists and counseling centers offer a sliding scale fee. A sliding scale fee is when the fee that is charged is accommodated to your income or what you can pay. Make sure that you feel comfortable with what you are paying for therapy. Therapy is one of the only relationships and settings in which you can be clear with what you want and need.
Most insurance providers have a directory of counselors and therapists that will accept your insurance. A good first step in looking for a therapist is to call your insurance provider and ask if they cover therapy. If they do, you can ask them to send you a directory of therapists or ask them to direct you to therapists in your area.
How to Find The Right Therapist
There are many kinds of therapists and many therapy modalities. Finding the right therapist can sometimes feel overwhelming. If you’d like to work on something specific like anxiety, grief and loss, or sexuality, you can search for a therapist who specializes in these areas. In websites with a directory of therapists (like goodtherapy.org), most therapists list their specialties and areas of experience in their profiles. Reading a therapist’s profile can also be helpful to get an idea on whether or not you connect with the therapist’s philosophy and approach. Chances are that if you do not like a therapist’s profile, you will not like their therapeutic approach.
Research has continuously shown that the number one factor of effective therapy is the relationship between the therapist and client. You should focus on finding a therapist that you enjoy working with above all else.
Consultation
Once you’ve found a few therapists that have profiles you can connect to, you can give them a call or email for an initial consultation. Most therapists offer a free consultation as the first appointment. A consultation can be a great time to gauge whether or not you think the therapist would be helpful to you. It’s also a good time to set goals you would want to accomplish in the course of your therapy and to give the therapist some of your history.
Although finding a therapist can be a hard process, once you find a therapist you are on your way to getting the support you need. Below are a few resources that provide directories to therapists and counseling centers in your area.
Databases to Find a Therapist