Photo Credit: Didin Emelu. Unsplash
Let’s be real, finding a therapist can be a little scary especially when you don’t know where to
start looking. That too, narrowing down to a therapist who suits your needs. Here, you will find some tools on narrowing down a therapist that best suits your need.
1. Let’s start with you.
Imagine your future therapist. What are some of your preferences for your future therapist? Taking the time to answer these questions will give an idea of what you want in your therapy. For example, if you think you are going to have a lot of difficulty opening up to a female therapist, that is really good information to know about yourself prior to looking for a therapist. That information in itself will help you to narrow down your search. One important factor to know about therapy is that the therapeutic relationship is what matters the most in the overall outcome of your therapy. Bottom line, it is important that you feel that you can be your true self with your therapist.
2. You have options. If you are specifically looking for a Catholic therapist, you could use the Catholic Therapist Directory to look up a therapist in your city or within your state. Catholic Therapist Directory provides information on therapists across the United States and a few even outside of the United States. In case you are moving to London, there are currently 2 therapists listed in the directory at this time. Even if you are considering obtaining services via teletherapy, therapists are only allowed to provide services to individuals at the state where they are licensed. For example, I am licensed in the state of California, so that means I can provide mental health services to individuals who reside in California. I cannot; however, provide therapy to individuals who reside outside of California.
If you are not specifically looking for a Catholic therapist, you could search on Psychology Today to get information on therapists in your area. Many of the Psychology Today profiles has a brief video by the therapists as well. You could get a general sense of the therapists’ professional style by viewing the video and the written content on the profile.
Catholic Therapist Directory and Psychology Today are not the only directories out there for therapists. There are directories such as Asian Mental Health Collective and South Asian Therapists.org.
Not all therapists have a profile in such directories, so who knows, maybe you will find your therapist by asking your colleagues, friends or members in your community for recommendations.
3. Insurance or Out of Pocket
Having a lot of choices can also feel very overwhelming. If you have decided to pay for therapy through your insurance, then you can narrow down your search by identifying therapists who work with the same insurance as you. This information regarding the insurance can usually be found on the profile of the therapist. You could also call the number on the back of your insurance card, and talk to a representative to narrow down therapists who accept your insurance in your city.
If you have decided to pay out of pocket for therapy, then you can look into what forms of payment the therapist accepts, such as cash, check, credit card etc. Some therapists who accept out of pocket payment may offer limited sliding scale fees for services based on the income of the client. Other therapists may offer superbill, which means that the client would be responsible for paying out of pocket for the session. After which, the client could take the superbill to their insurance to see whether they qualify to get reimbursed from their insurance for the session.
Generally, the frequency of the therapy sessions occur on a weekly basis. Duration and frequency of the sessions can vary based on the needs of the client. The client and the therapist can discuss together as to how long the expected treatment time would be. Some clients may be in therapy for 3 months to 6 months, while others maybe in therapy for a few years. The length of the treatment depends on the needs of the client.
4. Teletherapy or In-person services
Teletherapy is often times done through video format, where both the therapist and the client logs in to a HIPPA secure online platform during the set appointment time. If you struggle with technology, don’t worry, you can discuss your concerns during your initial phone consult with the therapist. The therapist could email you a guide, or she/he can provide instructions on the specific HIPPA secure online platform she/he uses. Though, teletherapy is convenient, it is not for every client, as some clients may need in-person services to get the best care. You can discuss as to whether teletherapy is the right fit for you during your initial phone consult with your potential therapist.
In- person services is when the client and therapist are able to hold appointments at the therapist’s physical office. During the initial phone consult with the therapist, you could ask the therapist as to the procedures that are followed during this pandemic, so that you feel the most comfortable at the therapist’s office.
5. Specialty of the therapist
Another factor that may help to narrow down the therapist even further is by looking at the specialty of the therapist. Many of the therapists listed in the directory have a specialty within the field of mental health that the therapists are interested in working with. Many of the therapists you will find online may have a license or if not, is required to work under a supervisor who has a license. But not all therapists have the same experience or interests. For example, some therapists may have interest to work with adults with anxiety as oppose to children with anxiety. After reading through different therapists’ websites or profiles you may start to notice the different specialties within the field of mental health. Allow me to demonstrate a few different specialties.
Based on the content on this website, this therapist is interested in providing services specific to compassion fatigue amongst healthcare workers. While this therapist is interested in offering services related to infertility support for Catholic women. And lastly, this therapist is interested in offering services related to post traumatic stress disorder, spirituality and depression. As per their websites, they are all offering mental health services; however, these 3 therapists have very different specialties.
6. Your availability and the therapist’s availability
By looking at the hours of practice, you would be able to possibly narrow down further by matching your availability with the therapist’s availability. Generally, therapy sessions are about 50 minutes long on a weekly basis. So, if you are someone who can only hold a therapy session sometime between 9am to 3pm on a weekday, then you would want to look for a therapist who possibly matches that schedule. Keeping a set time and day for your therapy session may also help you to consistently attend your therapy sessions without missing any. In order to get the most out of therapy, it is important to attend therapy as agreed upon between you and your therapist. Some therapists do offer evening and/or weekend hours. If that is your only availability, then it is important to look for therapists that matches your availability. You could easily reach out to the therapist via email to inquire about the therapist’s times of availability and if he/she is open to taking on a new client at this time.
7. Making that initial phone consult
Give yourself a pat on the back, as you went through several steps to make it to this point.
Kudos To You!
In order to minimize playing phone tags, it is generally best to email the therapist to schedule an initial consultation. Initial consultation is important so that you can get a feel of what it is like to talk with your potential future therapist. Your initial phone consult is not your therapy session. The initial phone consult also does not mean that you are committing to having that therapist be your future therapist. But, it will help you to determine if that therapist is the right fit to be your future therapist. If you do not have the therapist’s email address to schedule a consult, you could try to reach them via phone for the initial consultation. The reality is that you are probably going to get an answering machine during your 1st attempt at reaching your potential therapist. Please don’t be discouraged though! Many of the private practice therapists are not going to have a secretary to answer phone calls, so they may not be able to attend to your call right away. You would want to leave a brief message about the reason for the call, the best times to reach you and whether it is okay for the therapist to leave you a voicemail should you not answer.
Of course, if you are having a medical emergency, it is important to call 911 instead of calling a therapist.
During the initial phone consult with the therapist, both of you could discuss the fees associated with the services, the reason you are seeking services etc. The therapist may ask you a few questions to determine if he/she is the right fit for you as well. At the end of the initial phone consult, both of you may decide that the therapist is not the right fit. Or the therapist may decide that she/he is not the best fit for your needs based on the therapist’s background and specialty. If that is the case, it is totally okay to ask the therapist if he/she has information about another therapist who might be a better fit for you.
However, if by the end of the initial consult, you and the therapist decide that it is the right fit, then you would want to set up the first appointment to start your therapy.
You Got This!
In Summary:
There are various things to consider when choosing a therapist. The first and foremost thing to remember when choosing a therapist is that a good therapeutic relationship between the therapist and client can lead to the best outcome in therapy. You now have several tools to narrow down to a few therapists who interests you the most and schedule an initial consultation via email. Once you find the right fit, you can set up your first therapy appointment with your future therapist. I wish you the best on your journey to better health.
Disclaimer: The content on this website is not medical advice or treatment. Please seek your physician with any questions related to your medical condition. The content and the resources provided on this website is for informational purposes only, please use discretion in how you utilize the provided resources.
Should you have any questions regarding my services, you can reach me at sherin@catholictherapistcenter.com to schedule a free initial consult.