After hearing countless stories of the challenges of finding a therapist and the frustrations this causes, I’m revealing the exact ways to find the right therapist for you. By the end of this post, you will have a sense of some of the key strategies that go into finding the right therapist for you.
To begin choosing the right therapist for you, it can often be beneficial to start with a search method that will give you a variety of therapists to scan through such as directories like Psychology Today, The Affordable Therapy Network or a search engine like Google.
Here are the 3 main categories you will want to use to find the right therapist for you:
1. Elimination criteria
Elimination criteria are things that can help begin to narrow down the pool of therapists to make it less overwhelming.
Some examples of elimination criteria might be:
Type of issue: Looking for experts in the issue you are dealing with like by searching in google things like “Anxiety Therapist” or by checking off boxes in Psychology Today like ADHD.
Postal Code: Rather than looking for therapists city wide, it can be useful to narrow our search by starting with searching for therapists near where we live or work.
Budget: This can look like looking for therapists in a certain budget range or by using search criteria like sliding scale therapy, low cost therapy or free therapy.
Insurance Company: If you are covered by insurance it is often beneficial to see if your insurance company has a list of approved providers or to check off the type of insurance you have in a
directory like Psychology Today.
Gender of Therapist: If you know you will be more comfortable discussing with a therapist of a certain gender this can be used to narrow your search.
If you are using a directory, once you have input some of these criteria, you should see a shorter list of therapists to begin filtering through. You can then move on to step two: Type of therapy.
2. Type of therapy
One of the main complaints I hear from people is that finding a therapist was confusing due to the type of therapy options the therapist listed and all the acronyms. For this reason, I have listed a variety of types of therapy with a brief explanation of what the therapy is used for to help you narrow down what might be right for you.
Please keep in mind that many therapists are trained on a variety of these types of therapies.
CBT: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy: CBT combined Cognitive Therapy and Behavioural Therapy to identify unhelpful patterns of thinking, emotional response or behaviour and substitute it for something more adaptive. This therapy traditionally short term and can be used for a range of issues.
DBT: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy: DBT was originally developed to treat people with Borderline Personality Disorder but has been adapted for a variety of other mental health concerns including self harm, suicidality, eating disorders and others. It is an adapted form of CBT that focuses on teaching people how to live in the moment, develop healthy coping mechanisms, regulate emotions and improve relationships. Traditional DBT is intensive with one on one therapy, groups and phone calls though many therapists utilize purely the one to one therapy.
ACT: Acceptance Commitment Therapy – ACT is an action-oriented approach that is adapted from CBT and Behaviour Therapy. It’s focus is on helping people stop avoiding and struggling with their inner emotions and instead accept these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to these situations so that they can continue moving forward. This form of therapy works well for a variety of mental health concerns.
IFS: Internal Family Systems: IFS is a therapeutic approach that identifies and addresses multiple sub-personalities or families within each person’s mental system. These sub-personalities consist of wounded parts and painful emotions such as anger and shame. IFS focuses on healing the wounded parts and restoring mental balance and harmony by changing the dynamics that create discord among the sub-personalities and the Self. IFS can be used for a variety of concerns including chronic childhood abuse, neglect, trauma or addiction, as well as others.
Somatic Therapy: Somatic therapy is a form of body-centered therapy that looks at the connection of mind and body and uses both psychotherapy and physical therapies for holistic healing. This form of therapy can be used for a variety of conditions including trauma, anxiety, depression, grief, addiction, as well as others.
Gottman Method: The Gottman Method is a type of couples therapy that focuses on disarming conflicting communication, increasing intimacy, respect and affection and increasing empathy and understanding within the relationship.
Emotion Focused Therapy: EFT is a form of therapy that focuses on adult relationships and attachment/bonding. The therapist and clients look at patterns in the relationship and take steps to create a more secure bond and develop more trust to move the relationship in a healthier, more positive direction. EFT is a useful form of couples therapy.
EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing: EMDR is a form of therapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences. EMDR uses a specific set of protocols to help change the emotions, thoughts or behaviors that result from a distressing experience (trauma). This allows your brain to resume a natural healing process. EMDR is useful for Panic attacks, Complicated grief, Dissociative disorders, Disturbing memories, Phobias, Pain disorders, Performance anxiety, Stress reduction, Addictions, Sexual and/or Physical abuse, Body dysmorphic disorders, Personality Disorders.
SFBT: Solution Focused Brief Therapy: SFBT is a strength-based approach to psychotherapy based on solution-building rather than problem-solving. Unlike other forms of psychotherapy that focus on present problems and past causes, SFBT concentrates on how your current circumstances and future hopes. SFBT can be useful for those struggling with anxiety, stress, minor depression, relationship issues, family conflict or children with behavioural issues.
This list is not exhaustive, as there are many types of therapy but is a good place to start. If any of these therapies jump out at you as something you want to try you can search for a therapist using it as an additional criteria for Psychology Today or for your Google Search.
If you are still confused by this and feel like a variety could work, don’t panic, most therapists can borrow tools from different therapies to adjust for what you need.
3. Therapist attributes
Now you should have a list that includes your elimination criteria and ideal therapy types and now comes looking at therapist profiles or websites.
Look at photos, read through question and answers, get a feel for the therapist in the about me and read up on specific service pages they may have for issues that you are dealing with.
Once you have a short list of just a few therapists who you think could be a good fit, it is time to move onto the next step.
4. Schedule a Phone Consultation
Many therapists offer free phone consultations to get to know you a bit before the first therapy session and to see if they might be the right fit for you. Take advantage of this and don’t be afraid to schedule 2 or 3 consultations to see who might be the right fit. Ultimately, a good therapist will care about your wellbeing and want you to go with whoever you feel will be able to help you the most.
But how do you know?
It is important to ask some questions during your phone consultation to see if the therapist will be the right fit for you.
Some that might be worth considering are:
A. Have you ever worked with people with my issue before?
B. What is your training?
C. What might an average session look like?
D. How does therapy work?
E. Any other questions that are important to you!
5. Book an initial appointment
An initial appointment is the first therapy appointment you have with your therapist. This is time when you will likely be feeling each other out, seeing whether they are a good fit and getting to know one another.
In this session, you should be prepared to answer questions about your history, the reason you came to therapy and your hopes for the future. There will also likely be some paperwork to be completed if it wasn’t completed already.
In this first session, I encourage you to be open minded but also aware of your own feelings throughout the session.
If this therapist works out and is a good fit, that is great. But also know that there is often some trial and error when it comes to finding a therapist. Your mental health is most important and we want you to find someone you are comfortable with.
Conclusion and Quick Tips
In conclusion, finding a therapist can be a difficult task, especially with all the confusing acronyms around therapy. But with utilizing the tips above or these quick tips below you can find a therapist who is a good fit for you.
Quick Tips:
1. Narrow down your search: use your postal code, budget or insurance company to help narrow down you list of potential therapists.
2. Read through some therapist profiles or websites to get a feel for what they are like
3. Set up a phone consultation and come prepared with some questions
4. Book a first appointment
5. Trust your Gut! You are under no obligation to continue and a good therapist will want you to find the best therapist for you.
These are some of the best tips to demystify the therapist search and help you find someone who you who you can trust and also just vibe with.
If you want to see if I might be the right therapist for you, I encourage you to check out my website here and book a free 15 minute consultation.
- Brianne Rivard, MA, BA, Therapist
Photo by Firmbee sourced from Unsplash
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