|
|
|
|
Choosing a Therapist |
|
|
Getting the names of therapists To get the names of therapists, I recommend getting referrals from people in your life that you trust. Ask your physician, friends whom you admire or even colleagues from work whom you feel comfortable approaching. Other professionals (lawyers, accountants, hair stylists, and teachers) might also have some ideas of people that they know have benefited from a therapist who can, in turn, provide you with names. Evaluating therapists Once you have the names of some therapists (I would choose at least two so that you can compare them), try to arrange to meet in person with the ones that seem most suitable for you. Suggest a half-hour meeting, as this will make it clear that you do not want the first session to be a therapy session. Use the first session as an opportunity to talk about the issues you want to work on in therapy and to ask some questions of the therapist to see how he or she thinks. Here are some great questions to ask any therapist. (In parenthesis, I've included links to my answers to these questions).
Once you have asked these questions and talked about your reasons for wanting to see a therapist, here are some things to consider. Note that it is important to pay attention to the content of the therapists answers, but also try to use the answers as a way of gauging the therapists style and whether you would like to spend time with him or her. Ask yourself these questions:
Other important variables You might consider other factors in your decision too.
In most of these cases, I think these variables come down to personal preference. The gender of your therapist could have interesting--and not always obvious--ramifications for your therapy. For example, a woman might think that it makes sense to choose a male therapist to confront issues that she has in forming relationships with men. This might make sense, but it might also turn out that some of her underlying issues have to do with her relationship to important women in her life. In other words, you might refrain from choosing a therapist based on what you "should" be doing and instead pick somebody that makes you feel comfortable and meets the other criteria for choosing an appropriate therapist. You may request more information online, or to set up an initial session, call me at my office.
Copyright © 2002 Eric Candell, MA. All rights reserved.
|
Not every therapist
makes a good match for every client. Therefore, you should make sure
that you take some time to pick a person that will fit well with your needs and
your personality.