Therapy- it can be quite scary. For some people, it involves dredging up memories that they might otherwise want to forget. It’s all part of a healing process, to be sure, but just like taking your medicine can be unpleasant for a moment, therapy can be somewhat hard to go through.
Finding a therapist that you like can be like getting a spoonful of sugar to help your medicine go down. Over time, you’ll learn to trust your therapist by means of your mutual warmth. Developing this trust might also aid you in treatment, since you’ll be more willing to divulge information about your personal life.
But how do you find a therapist you can connect with? Is there a way to just look at them and know? Unfortunately, no. But, if you follow these simpe steps, you might just hit the jackpot and find a therapist you really connect with.
Table of Contents
Find Someone Like You
Finding a therapist similar to you might be the first step on the way to a great relationship with your mental health provider. Simply talking issues through is great, but if you don’t feel like you can talk to the person on the other side, it’s likely not going to go anywhere.
This process might take a number of shapes. For example, you might look up a therapist on Facebook, see what kind of life they lead and what interests they have. Establishing a rapport with your therapist might be a great way to establish trust, and finding someone you’ll like is the first step.
Also, make sure to find someone who makes you feel comfortable. What makes people feel uncomfortable around what sorts of people is often mysterious. Some men may not be uncomfortable around women, or the other way around. Some people want someone who might have had similar experiences to them, so they can understand.
In any case, the name of the game here is comfort. If you can get to a place where you’re comfortable enough to talk about your real issues with your therapist, honestly and without too much of a filter, you’re going to have a better experience.
Ask About a Therapist’s Treatment Experience
Various therapists might specialize in a variety of different forms of treatment. For example, one might be used to treating patients with ADHD and another depression. Finding out what kinds of disorders or issues your selected therapist is used to working with can help.
If you’re calling a therapist, just ask what kinds of patients they’re used to treating. They’re not allowed to divulge who they’re treating or what they’re treating individual patients for, but they’ll likely talk about their background.
A therapist who likes to focus on your specific kinds of problems might be more likely to be able to reach you. Experience in a certain area with certain kinds of issues gives you a rather intimate knowledge of what it is that makes your patients tick.
Read Reviews
Reviews of therapists (or any practitioner, for that matter) can usually be easily accessed online. You might find written reviews, star ratings, or other kinds of testimonials. What you see will help you decide if a therapist’s temperament, methods, and background is best for you. After this, you’ll likely be ready to select a therapist.
Make sure you read reviews fully and read more than one. Lots of people means lots of different possible experiences, and you’ll want to gather up a diverse range of those experiences to decide whether or not you think you’ll be able to connect with this person.
Therapist reviews can often be found on google, right below the search bar. A box will come up with star reviews, the location of their offices, as well as things like written reviews and pictures of the therapist and their office.
You also might check sites dedicated to practitioner reviews.
Trial and Error
Finally, if your health insurance will allow, try a couple different therapists. Actually meeting up and talking with a therapist is the best way to find out whether or not you think you’ll be able to connect with them on as deep a level as you need.
Your first meeting will usually not go too deep into your life- just the problems you’ve been noticing and what you want to get out of therapy. It will also tell you what your therapist’s temperament is like, and let you know approximately whether or not you feel comfortable around them.
All in All
All in all, finding a therapist you connect with is mostly about putting in the work and letting yourself open up. If you can find a therapist who makes you feel comfortable, you’ve struck gold. Follow our steps to put yourself closer to doing so.
Written by Justin Stewart, a frequent collaborator with Senior Planning. Senior Planning is an eldercare planning agency, helping seniors find and afford the long term care they need.
