“As far as looking for the right therapist, do remember to actually look.
Too many people make the mistake of picking the first name off the list provided by their insurance company and assuming that if things aren’t working with that therapist that means therapy doesn’t work for them, period.
Finding the right therapist takes time, and it’s like picking put a good mentor.
Look for someone who is interested in teaching the topic you think you need to learn and who has a positive way of motivating you while accepting your particular learning style.” 💗
There are SO many factors that can go into picking the “right” therapist. It is an important decision and deserves serious consideration.
What are you looking for…?
You likely have to balance multiple wants, such as:
▫ Proximity: Is their office location close?
▫ Cost: Do they accept your insurance?
▫ Time: Does the therapy (appointment time, session length, length of overall treatment) fit into your schedule?
▫ Approach: Do they use scientifically proven treatments, such as CBT or DBT?
▫ Training/Speciality: Do they have a background/training related to your needs, such as in your specific illness (i.e. eating disorders) or for your current issues (i.e. couples counseling)?
Side note: For some people, there may be characteristics of the therapist himself/herself that are desirable, such as being LGBTQ-friendly (yes, even today, there are professionals who are not…) or of the same religion/culture/race/gender/political party, etc, as the person seeking treatment. Sometimes, having those certain features may make the person seeking therapy feel more comfortable or understood. That’s a personal preference, so that just varies based on the individual.
Some therapists even let you have a trial period/session for free, such as over the phone. That lets you test out that fit a little before committing to an appointment. When looking around, it is something worth asking!
Good luck to you!
📚: Quote from “F*ck Feekings: One Shrink’s Practical Advice for Managing all Life’s Impossible Problems”
👤: Michael Bennett, MD & Sarah Bennett
The Calculating Mind 
Finding the right therapist is so important. I relate to the questions you suggested, they are good tools to decipher whether a therapist could be the right fit. The personality of the therapist is something that has a big impact on me, personally. How they approach their work, what their behaviour is like towards their patients. It’s sad to see people giving up on therapy all-together after one therapist who didn’t suit their wants/needs.
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Oh, absolutely (& I cannot believe I did not include that, ugh)! Personality is definitely an important one… but also one which can be difficult to evaluate. I think that is a big part of feeling like the therapist is the “right” person, taking into consideration the emotional side rather than just the logistics side (location/scheduling/etc). If they are not the right fit personality-wise, therapy is likely to be less effective for the patient.
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I think you included all the right things for this post! Like you said, it’s difficult to evaluate personality. It’s very subjective and there aren’t truly simple questions to ask ourselves that can help us decide if we match well with out therapist. For me it’s always been this gut feeling, if that makes any sense.
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