How to Interview (and Review) a Therapist so You can get the Right 'Match'

How to Interview (and Review) a Therapist so You can get the Right 'Match'.

01/18/2013

Finding the right therapist calls for some work and some thought. Although you may luck out by looking through a phone book and calling counselors at random, it's more likely that you'll find what you're looking for by asking for recommendations from friends, family, and professionals such as your family doctor. In fact, if you want your health insurance to reimburse you for a portion of the costs, you may need a referral from your family doctor, but most family doctors will be glad to refer you to a counselor that you've selected by a conscientious process. Or they'll be glad to tell you why they don't recommend that particular counselor for you. If you are entering therapy for the first time, consider whether you believe that your issues may come from a health problem, or may cause health problems. In either case, you'll probably want a counselor with more background in the biology of psychological issues, like a psychologist or psychiatrist. If your health problems cause you major difficulties in functioning, you might wish to see someone who can evaluate you thoroughly for biological contributions to the problems as well. If the problems may involve others, for example a partner or a child, you should try to select someone who would be able to assist you or family members in those areas as well. If you feel overwhelmed or don't know what is going wrong, you may want to ask for psychological testing to help you jump-start and give direction to the process of change. However, the most important way to choose a therapist is to ask for recommendations from people you trust. Find out who has a good reputation and then try the therapist out for one to five sessions. Interview a therapist about his or her background and values over the phone and ask yourself how you feel after each session with the therapist to see if it “felt right,” or you “felt satisfied.” You should feel a sense of hope and realize that you have talked about issues of concern and potentially reached some new understandings or new directions for your life. You can't expect to “feel good” after every therapy session, but you can expect to “feel good about the therapist” or “feel satisfied about your own progress” after almost every session.