How Do I Find A Therapist That Is Right For Me?
What is it that is important to you when looking for a therapist? Is it that they are a similar age than you? Older than you? Do you want someone who has kids? Someone who is married or single? Ask yourself if these things are important to you. Maybe none of them are. You can usually get a gauge of who a therapist is by looking at their website. Do they blog about issues that are related to you? Do they seem to have knowledge of the area you are struggling in?
The biggest factor in choosing a therapist is the level of comfort you feel when talking to them. If you feel judged, or unable to feel totally at ease with your therapist, you will find it difficult to open up in a way that will make the process a success. That being said, therapy is not always comfortable. You are talking about intimate details of your life as well as areas you don’t like about your life that you want to change, which is not always comfortable for people to talk about….no matter how great the therapist may be. When you are truly as comfortable as you can be in therapy, you are allowing the sessions to go as they should, whilst also giving the therapist all the tools they need to help you (being honest, being willing to talk about difficult things, being able to take responsibility for your part in the creation of your own life, being willing to say “I’m not ready to talk about that right now”).
It’s worth taking a little time to make sure you choose the right person so I always encourage people to “shop around”. Spend a few minutes talking to your potential therapist on the phone. If you go into a therapy session and you aren’t sure if you feel comfortable, try someone else. If you still aren’t sure, try someone else again. At the end of the three people, go to the one you felt most comfortable with. If a therapist isn’t okay with you “shopping around”, then they aren’t the right person for you. A good therapist has YOUR best interest at heart and wants you to find someone who will help you.