How to Find a Therapist
You’ve decided to see a therapist for your mental health. This is an amazing decision - most people have a sense that they might benefit from therapy, but many are too scared to take the plunge. Congrats on making the decision. Some of the biggest life changes begin with the decision to enter therapy, and this is an exciting time.
Once you’ve decided you’d like to see a therapist, you might want to just google “therapist near me” and make an appointment for tomorrow. But resist the urge to jump right in before doing a bit of research. There are a few steps to this process:
Figure out the financials. The first step is to ask yourself is if you have insurance coverage for outpatient mental health appointments. Call your insurance and find out what is covered, at what rate, and for how many sessions. Find out if you’ll need to pay a percentage of each session’s fee, or a flat fee for each session. If you’re not using insurance, calculate what you might be able to afford per session for private-pay. If you pay out of pocket, you may pay more, but you may also have more flexibility over what provider you can see.
Find a specialist or expert who will meet your needs. The second step is to find some folks you can work with. If you live in a rural area, it used to be the case that you had to choose from the people available in your town. Now with telehealth as an option, that’s not necessarily true. You may be able to work with a world-renowned expert in a far away city through the magic of telehealth!
Narrow down the list. Once you’ve found a few therapists who might be a good fit, you’ll want to contact them to ask questions, get a sense for how you feel with them, and make a selection.
Read on for details on how to select the right therapist for you.
go to the source
A very large number of licensed clinical psychologists are members of the American Psychological Association, and are therefore listed on the official national website. Go to the website to find a psychologist on the list. You’ll be able to search by location, filter by insurance they accept, and even select personal characteristics of the psychologist you’d like to see. For instance, if you’d prefer to see a male, Christian psychologist, you can select that. Or, you can find a black, female psychologist - the combinations are endless and customizable to you and your needs. Finally, there is a long list of specializations you can select from to find just the right psychologist to treat your particular concern.
Find a health service psychologist
If you’re looking especially for a psychologist who specializes in health, adjustment to new diagnoses, managing chronic illness and other medical problems, you’re in luck. There’s an entire register of these individuals, called health service psychologists. Their credentials are verified by the organization and you can search them based on insurance accepted, location, and specialty (like pain, or weight management). Search the list here. Not finding someone local who’s an expert? Find a few experts you’d like to work with and call them up to ask if they do telehealth appointments.
find a specialist
If you have a health condition that is a little less common, you might want to try searching specifically for experts who only treat that condition. Multiple Sclerosis is a good example - you’ll want to find a therapist who knows the ins and outs of MS like the back of her hand, as your concerns are unique. One good way to find an expert is to look up your local academic medical center/university hospital and see if they have a specialist on staff who can help you. Try googling your local university + your condition + “psychologist” (e.g. “University of Washington burns psychologist”. If that doesn’t get you what you’re looking for, try a new service offered by an academic psychologist who is herself an M.S. expert and wanted to help hook patients up to the best experts in their fields. Check out her listing service here. Again, if you find someone you might want to work with but they’re too far away, you can always call to find out if they take telehealth appointments.
not too picky?
If you’re looking for someone who can treat general mood/anxiety concerns, but aren’t necessarily looking for a specific type of expert, you can call your insurance provider and ask them to send you a list of everyone near your address who is covered by your insurance plan. You can also try this listing service, that includes therapists of all types like LMFTs and LCSWs. Not sure which type of therapist you’re looking for? Read this blog post on the different types of therapy providers and how to choose first.
Start with your regular family doctor
Got a doctor’s appointment coming up? First, you’ll want to know exactly what you can do to make the most of your appointment by preparing in advance. Make a list of questions you want to ask your primary care physician/general doctor, and include your interest in finding mental health providers. This person can discuss some initial medication options with you, refer you to a psychiatrist or mental health clinic, and place a referral if need be. Just make sure you’re specific about what you want: medications, a therapist, or both.
make several phone calls
Once you’ve found several folks who look like they might be a good fit for you, call them up and ask if you can have a free 15-30 minute phone consultation. Write down a list of questions you have, like how often they see people with conditions like yours, how long they’ve been in practice, or what their style of therapy is. You can also ask how many sessions they tend to need to treat conditions like yours, and if they have any special certifications or are board-certified as a specialist in what you’re seeking treatment for (like being a registered Health Service Psychologist, or a board-certified psychologist in Health or Rehabilitation psychology).
On the phone call, ask your questions and jot down answers. While you’re on the phone, also jot down what kind of a feeling you’re getting from the person. Do they seem to be a good listener? Are you getting a non-judgmental vibe? Would you be excited to talk to this person again? Remember, finding someone who is a highly-trained expert is extremely important, but an expert is useless to you if you don’t have a good working relationship together.
This is definitely not an exhaustive list of ways to find a therapist who fits your needs, but is a good place to start. Good luck on your search!
Be well,
