Choosing a Therapist Who is Right For You
When it comes time to choose a therapist, you’ve already cleared the most significant hurdle – realizing that whatever mental health challenges you are experiencing are best helped through professional guidance.
Successful mental health treatment comes down to many factors, such as your willingness to challenge yourself and take on the work necessary to feel incremental improvements. In many cases, successful mental health treatment also requires a great working relationship with your therapist, and picking the wrong therapist for you can actually result in set backs toward achieving your goals. Here are a few tips to consider when choosing a new therapist:
Licensing and Education
There are many types of mental health providers on the market. These providers can come in the form of psychologists, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, Licensed Professional Counselors, and more. Most people understandably don’t know a lot about the distinctions between the titles or know what types of education and licensure are required for each. Every state has certain requirements for mental health providers that often come down to educational training, professional training, and licensure.
Each step is meant to provide therapists a holistic background in theoretical frameworks and applied practice, which altogether take years to complete. All that education and on-the-job experience culminates in licensure, which is really just meant to ensure some common standards for people calling themselves mental health providers. The titles may vary among licensed mental health providers depending on some of the specifics of coursework, job training, and which license, but the main takeaway is to ensure your chosen therapist is licensed in the state you are seeking therapy.
Ensure the person you are interested in seeing for therapy is actually a licensed provider. There are some practitioners that market mental health treatment but aren’t actually trained therapists. Life coaches and therapists are not the same, and are not bound by the same licenses, boards, ethics, and training requirements. While life coaches and other supportive providers can be helpful, they should not be treating diagnosed mental health conditions or trauma.
Specializations
Education and licensure applies a common standard to all mental health providers, but in practice, mental health professionals differ widely in areas of specialization. There is enormous variety in types of mental health disorders, challenges, causes, and treatment methods. No one person could be an expert in every single type.
Specialization is often refined through on-the-job-training under the guidance of more experienced mental health providers and continuing education programs. Once a mental health provider feels comfortable with a certain client population and specific types of treatment methods, then we often say that therapist has a specialization. Specialization can range in the types of clients (teenagers, mothers, couples, etc.), types of mental health challenges (anxiety, OCD, trauma, etc.), and treatment methods (Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), EMDR, etc.). While most first-time therapy seekers may not know where they fall in terms of diagnoses or the types of treatments available to them, it is worthwhile to look at the populations a particular therapist best serves. Many therapist, such as those who work at ERA Wellness, will be more than happy to schedule a free 15 minute consultation to ensure that their specialization will meet your needs.
In-Person versus Online
In recent years, telehealth therapy has become extremely popular. In the wake of Covid, many therapists completley ditched their office space in favor of a fully remote business model. There are pros and cons to in-person versus remote therapy. In-person can lead to more meaningful and engaging therapy sessions with no distractions, and many therapists feel they can better assist clients in an in-person environment. Remote sessions offer greater flexibility and access, especially for those with less flexible schedules or transportation challenges.
The first consideration with in-person versus online really comes down to your abilities and preferences. Can you manage to find time once per week to head over to a therapist’s office? Are you able to travel there without significant hurdles? If you access therapy from home, do you have a private and quiet space to fully engage with the content? Are you someone who can pay full attention to a therapist over a screen, or is your time and money best spent ensuring you will fully engage by meeting person to person?
Also ask about your prospective therapist’s schedule. While they might seem super great in every other way, if you aren’t available on the days and times they have openings - it isn’t going to work.
Out-of-Network versus Insurance
Therapy for many people is critical to a functioning and healthy life. When we are functioning at our best, then therapy may seem like an unneeded expense, but when we are not, then money spent on therapy should not seem like a significant investment in our own betterment. However, understandably for many people who seek therapy the expense can pose a challenge.
While the finances of therapy can get a little complicated, the broadest distinction is whether a therapist accepts insurance or is out-of-network. Many therapists have strong feelings about being either in network or out of network providers, and there is no right or wrong in that. But it is important for clients to understand the distinction, because for many people insurance doesn’t cover as much as expected which can leave clients with a large surprise bill.
For those seeking to pay with insurance, be sure to check the specifics regarding your insurance policy, such as mental health coverage, the breakdown of what insurance covers versus your out-of-pocket expense, and the overall deductible (or out-of-pocket before insurance covers some or all of each session). Once you know the specifics, you can then check with various therapists as to whether they accept your specific provider. Also keep in mind that therapists who accept insurance may have less openings, less flexibility with their schedules, and have certain guidelines they have to follow regarding diagnosis and aspects of your treatment. In order to see a therapist using your in network insurance benefits, your symptoms must meet what is known as “medical necessity”. If your insurance deems that your symptoms or functioning do not meet medical necessity, they may deny the claim, and you are then responsible for the full bill.
The other option to consider is using an out-of-network provider. Not utilizing insurance allows you to keep your treatment and diagnosis private from third parties like insurance. Insurance may limit the frequency of sessions and may require a continued demonstration of high need in order to continue coverage. For example, ERA Wellness is an out-of-network provider which allows the option to keep your notes private, spend more time on your treatment (rather than battling insurance companies), and working 1:1 with you to determine the length and frequency of your treatment.
Personality
A final consideration is the most subjective (but arguably most important) of them all: personality. Just like in our daily lives we “click” more with some people over others, the same is true of our therapeutic relationships. While there is no certain way to know which therapist you will click with more so than others, many people seeking a therapist often try to guess based on varying life factors and circumstances. Some people assume they will work better with a man or woman, someone who is younger or older, or someone with similar life circumstances.
Trying to match yourself with a therapist based on similar backgrounds, life circumstances, or perceived preferences can work for some, but certainly is not a guarantee. The best approach is to enter your therapeutic relationship open minded and without preconceived notions of who might provide you the best assistance. Try choosing a therapist based on some of the above factors, schedule a consultation or a first session, and then assess the therapist not just on whether you click, but also whether you are experiencing any noticeable improvements.
