Trying to cope with a problem can be difficult and challenging at times, especially if you don’t clearly know what is happening. It is very common that in those moments you feel overwhelmed and without answers.
Mental health problems happen more often than we think. In fact, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that about 30 million people in the United States use psychotherapy to overcome family and personal problems, depression, breakups, job losses, drug abuse, stress, the death of a loved one, among others.
Often times, these experiences affect your emotional well-being and interfere with your personal growth , which is why finding the right psychotherapist is critical. It will help you restore your emotional balance and sense of fulfillment . However, finding the right person is not always an easy experience for some.
On many occasions, it also increases confusion if the process of finding the right psychotherapist becomes difficult. Despite the many questions that can arise in the search for a psychotherapist, there are tips that will help you find the right psychotherapist who can meet your needs.
But what is good psychotherapy?
Before giving some advice on how to choose the right psychotherapist, you should know what psychotherapy is. In simple words, psychotherapy is a collaborative work between client and psychotherapist based on a dialogue that promotes emotional balance and mental well-being The goal of a good psychotherapy is to equip patients with effective habits that improve the quality of their emotional well-being .
To achieve this, psychotherapy uses a dialogical and collaborative exchange between a person and their therapist. From dialogue it creates a relationship that fosters a safe and supportive environment to achieve objectives established in therapy.
That is to say, that the environment that is created between the psychotherapist and the patient will provide tools to identify and change some unhelpful patterns of thoughts and behaviors that affect personal advancement. All this process will give the patient skills that will allow them to identify conflictive situations in the future and how to cope with them.
Tips for finding the right psychotherapist
Here are five tips to keep in mind so that you know how you can find the right psychotherapist according to your needs.
- Make sure it is a licensed professional therapist
It is very common for there to be people who offer their services as psychotherapists, but who do not have the required licensure to apply it. It is important that before choosing a psychotherapist, you can confirm they are licensed and have the right academic qualifications to provide psychotherapy services .
If the psychotherapist offers a technique, do some research before taking this step. These types of therapies can be effective, but they may not be right for you; in any case, a quick search will help you clarify doubts. Inquire:
- What is this person’s academic background?
- What psychotherapeutic approach do they use?
- What kind of research do they rely on?
- Take into account their years of experience
Although professional training is very important, so is the experience of the therapist. Academic years do not offer, in many cases, something that experience does: direct therapeutic work with patients. Therefore, it is not enough only to have a great diploma. A good psychotherapist must have skills that only the years of work practice give. Keep this in mind and track:
- How many years of experience do they have?
- In what areas of psychotherapy do they have the most field of work?
- Do they offer evaluation and diagnosis?
- Seek reviews
Sometimes, it is not only the academic training that they have or the years of experience they acquired that count. To find a good and the right psychotherapist it is crucial to know what others say about that person. Therefore, it is relevant to seek the opinions of colleagues, patients and professional affiliations in general. Internet search for reviews can help, but take into account both positive and negative opinions so that you have an objective idea. Some questions that will help you are:
- What experience do you have helping people with problems similar to mine?
- What are your particular practice areas, for example, do you work with children, family, women, etc.?
- Have your treatments served others? What is said?
- Decide the psychotherapy you would like: face-to-face, online or mixed
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, online services are more relevant than ever. It is not uncommon for many people now to prefer teletherapy or online psychotherapy services. A good psychotherapist keeps up with the world’s requirements; Therefore, if your prefer is to have an online therapy , you should consider those that can provide these services.
Teletherapy or online psychotherapy is an effective alternative that you should take into account: it cuts expenses and travel times, facilitates connection from any place and time, it can be a video call or just a call, it facilitates the immediacy of contact, eases stigma.
Obviously, these forms of psychotherapy are on the rise and depend, to a great extent, on the needs of each patient. For this reason, it is necessary for each person to consider their preferences in technology in their day-to-day life and that the psychotherapist they want is able to respond to that.
- Establish a viable budget plan
There are people who don’t consider enough how much they are going to invest in their psychotherapeutic process. However, it is extremely important to be realistic about how much you must, can and want to invest in your mental health. To do this, asking the rates should not be somewhat tortuous, but an element of good sense.
What the patient invests in time and money should be translated into timely work from the psychotherapist. Consider the direct and indirect expenses that a good psychotherapist generates, such as mobilization expenses, if it is the case. Compare prices between a virtual session and a face-to-face session, compare prices with your budget and consider that it is worth investing in mental health.
Do you think it is important to have some key aspects in mind before contacting a psychotherapist?