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How To Find A Therapist That is Right For Me
With thousands of therapists in the Toronto area, finding a mental health practitioner is easy. A greater challenge is to find a therapist that is right for you.
How do you find the right professional to whom you give very personal information and upon whom you rely to help achieve important goals that often have a great sense of urgency attached to them?
To add to the challenge, the search for a therapist is often undertaken when stress levels are high, mood is not so great, and a person’s efficiency in dealing with life is not the best.
One approach is to follow these 7 guidelines:
- Be clear that you need a therapist. Answer three questions: Do I have thoughts, feelings or behaviours that interfere with my life? Have they persisted in spite of efforts I have made to change them? Am I prepared to work with a professional to improve my situation? An answer of “yes” to all three questions indicates a need for professional help.
- Know the beginning. You do not have to know technical terms nor must you know a complete description of the problem situation. However, it helps to know some details about the type of help you seek. One professional may be especially suited to help an adult with depression, another might be the one to aid a child with academic difficulties, and yet another can best assist to resolve marital problems.
- Know your preferences. Be picky. You may prefer a female or a male; a younger or older therapist; or someone located in a certain part of town that is available at a certain hour. Fees that are covered by supplemental health insurance or that are offered on a sliding scale may also be preferred.
- Collect the names of candidates for the job. With the above information as a guide, obtain at least 2 or 3 names of potentially suitable professionals. Resources for obtaining these names may include friends, family, your family doctor, a school principal, clergy, or legal representative. A search online may also be helpful. Certain professionals practice under the Regulated Health Professions Act. Among other things, this means that these professionals must follow specific standards of training and professional conduct. Not every therapist is a Regulated Health Professional. Those who are belong to a professional body called a College. You may search a College website to find the names of potential therapists. The College of Psychologists of Ontario provides for searches here: https://members.cpo.on.ca/members_search/new.
- Interview the therapist. Spend 15 minutes on the telephone with the potential therapist. Briefly describe your situation. Ask how their training and experience lends itself to working with situations such as yours. Make sure your preferences (see #3 above) can be met. After this brief introduction, if you are comfortable, book an appointment.
- Meet with the therapist. Ask a few more questions; How is my privacy kept? How is billing (including that for missed appointments) handled? What can I expect in therapy with you? How long does it usually take to see progress in situations like mine? What happens if there is no progress? The answers to such questions can help let you know if you have found the therapist that is right for you. Equally important, pay attention to how the therapist acts and pay attention to how you feel during this first appointment. Does the therapist listen attentively? Does the therapist help you express yourself? Do you feel like you will be able to trust the therapist?
- Make a commitment to therapy or interview another professional. If, after the meeting, you feel that is not the professional for you, make an appointment with another clinician from the list of 2 or 3 names you have prepared. On the other hand, if, after this meeting, your sense is working with that particular therapist holds promise for success, congratulations! You can now begin to work on achieving the goals that brought you to treatment in the first place.
If you want to discuss any of this further, please contact me at mail@drwebne.com or call 416 481-2600 ext. 24.
