Searching for a good therapist...

Hi,
I'm new here and my name is Sherri. I am desperately searching for a good psychologist in my area . I have gone through the website of my insurance company and fond some names but like trial and error, I have no idea as to how good any of them are which is why I've been afraid to call any of them. I do see a psychiatrist, but she only take care of the medication and can only see me every 2-3 months because of her "Busy" schedule. When I asked her if there were any good psycologists in the area she said she didn't know...hmmmm...Well, she doesn't say too much to me during our brief visits anyway.
Anyway, I was wondering what are some of the things that I should look for ina therapist? I am desperate to find a caring and understanding one for a change because of my severe anxiety and depression.

Welcome to PC. On this site under resource directory there is a psychotherapy options. Inside that is a bunch of sites to choose from that have loads of information from what therapy is/isn't to selecting a therapist. Hopefully that will help you with your search. Let us know how you do. Remember it is important to gel with this person so if you don't think it is going to work with one go on to another until you find the right match. Don't give up for some people it has taken a few times. Good luck. I am sure you will find the right one for you.

shop...just as if you're buying a major purchase. cause you are, it's your mental health...xoxox pat

Some companies offer an E.A.P. or Employee Assistance Program where you can call and speak with a provider. Sometimes speaking with someone over the phone might give you an impression of the provider. You can also inquire about the providers' expertise - find out if they regularly treat folks with the diagnosis you have or not. Inquire about therapy approaches - etc.

When I searched for a psychologist to help my son I was looking for someone who specialized in children on the Autism spectrum as well as experience with PDD. I was also specific about wanting to get assistance with behavior mgmt techniques for both home and school. Not every psychologist is familiar with behavior issues associated with autism, pdd, etc

That approach worked for me and I've been very pleased so far.
Good luck

Just a thought...try not to limit your search to just psychologists. Conselors, social workers, and marriage/family therapists are also licensed to conduct psychotherapy in most states, and the research shows that psychologists are by no means the "top of the heap" in terms of effectiveness.

Now that you know who your insurance accepts and will pay for the next step is to set up "consultation" appoinment. if you let the scheduling person know you are researching to fid the therapist for you and would like to meet the person to ask them some questions and so sometimes these comsult appointments are free, sometimes not but I have found its worth it.

Then you go to the appointments with a list of questions you would like answers to for example their experience with the problem you have, liscencing background, what a typical session would be like, if they have any requirements of their clients such as homework, suicide contracts, their protocal with suicide thoughts and actions, cutting and other self harm if those are your issues, medication protcal, their openness to include your ideas on what you want to do for example I create my own projects, find workbooks and so on to help myself, cost of sessions, limits during sessions, how many sessions they see their clients for, after hours protocal and so on. Emergency sessions protocals,you might also check with your insurance most insurance only allows a certain number of sessions, you will want to space that number out at a managable pace so that you are not suddenly left hanging with months of no therapy while you wait for the next fiscal (budget) year so your insurance will pay for your appoinments.

Once you see them for the consult appointments and they have all answered your questions you will know who is the best for you and for the problems you want to take care of.

http://psychcentral.com/therapst.htm

Welcome to PC feline. Above is the link to the onsite resource about finding a therapist. I'm sure your insurance company requires someone licensed.. and I am personally partial to psychologists myself. Don't fret about the psychiatrist not doing counseling... most don't anymore.. also, they don't "intermingle" much (psychiatrists and psychologists) ....

come back and post often, let us know how you're doing!

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
_Sky said:
http://psychcentral.com/therapst.htm

Welcome to PC feline. Above is the link to the onsite resource about finding a therapist. I'm sure your insurance company requires someone licensed.. and I am personally partial to psychologists myself. Don't fret about the psychiatrist not doing counseling... most don't anymore.. also, they don't "intermingle" much (psychiatrists and psychologists) ....

come back and post often, let us know how you're doing!

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">



Sky,
I just went to that link and Dr.Grohol did seem to point out very good things to ask when searching like:

* "How long have you been in practice?"
* "Have you seen a lot of clients with similar concerns to my own?"
* When was the last time you treated someone with a problem similar to mine?"

I haven't had too many good experiances with social workers in the past which is why I'm apprehensive about seeing one. I did find the name of one woman LCSW-C, CPT in my area and have thought about emailing her. Here is her link if you want to check it out.
http://therapists.psychologytoday.co...=1&condition=2


I'm not sure she can deal with the chronic anxiety symptoms that I've had to face lately though.