Do Therapists Screen First Time Clients?

Over the last eight month I have been trying off and on to start therapy. Since I live in a major city, there are many qualified professionals to chose from. I have contacted, in total about 18 licensed therapists to inquire on their availability and to set a first time appointment. Two returned my call.

Is there a new approach to first time patients? Are therapists too booked to call back? Are the calls screened for bad seeds?

And is the old custom of returning calls to state why you can't see a patient passé? Not sure if this new behavior is rude, new rules or part of the screening process...

If I were in your position, I would look at the therapists' profiles and choose maybe three that seemed to be a good fit for me. Then I would call those three and see if those three were accepting new patients. If they didn't return my calls, I would go directly to their offices (if possible). I'm not sure if this would work in your situation, though.

Good luck. I think a lot of therapists are so busy returning calls from their current clients that they let potential new clients fall by the wayside.

Wow. Maybe it's getting to be like a job interview, you have to prove to them that you're the best candidate. Maybe letting them know you are ready and able to be a good client, you are able to pay, you will keep your appointments, you are motivated to change, you are willing to listen to what they have to say - good advice for all of us, really. Sometimes we forget how lucky we are to have this privilege, this opportunity.

I think a therapist who is too busy to call back a prospective client
may be booked to the point where he/she is hard to reach during the time in therapy too. just my $0.02. I recently dropped a doctor for similar reason.

I had this same problem, along with rude and disinterested receptionists who seemed inclined to discourage me.

I often say that I ended up with my therapist because he was the only one who seemed genuinely interested in meeting with me. But then, isn't that a pretty good way to pick a therapist? An interest in seeing a client seems like a minimum standard of care.

Think this may be the issue. Perhaps therapists are inundated and prefer more motivated clients.

I have tried to find Ts in multiple cities. They often are booked up (sadly). If you work for a company with an Employee Assistance Program you might contact them to try and get help. I spent multiple months trying to find a T and then used the EAP after I got hired for my job and they were able to do the calling around for me. They even asked me what I was looking for in a T and found one who might work (she did). They had the time to make the calls when I did not. Good luck.

here at the crisis center we dont have a waiting list we take walk ins, phone calls and by appointment. that said

we do screen our calls not for bad seed clients but because you would not believe how many prank calls we get a day/night/week. just today we had 12 heavy breathers, 18 yellers (those that b..... us out for helping their victims) 35 repeat dont leave a message callers and 156 callers asking us to call them back. we have a staff of 26 that see 8-15 clients a day.. sorry but that doesnt leave much time for making calls back to those that call us.

my suggestion narrow your list down to those that seem to fit what you are looking for and then call them avoiding peak hours like here our busiest times are between 8am and 930 am, 4pm -5pm and some mental health providers close down for the noon hour 12-1pm. keep calling or walk in to what ever agency you have chosen. sooner or later someone is going to answer the phone.

I do think T's screen first time clients, but usually after they have a phone conversation with them. For example, they might decide that you are not a good fit or that your presenting problem is not in their area of expertise, or that they have "too many" of "x" type of client after speaking with you.

That being said, are you leaving really long messages with alot of detail? If so, perhaps shorten the message to the basics and ask for a call-back.

Also, similarly to sittingwatersedge comment, if a T can't return a call, even to say "I am overbooked" and provide references, do you really want that T?

Makes complete sense on all counts. I can see T's screening for various disorders just to even the load. However, re: voicemails, I am quite curt in the messages e.g. "This message is for V, My name is X and I would like to know if you are accepting new patients, I can be reached at XXX. Thank you". The brevity leaves little to psychologically screen. But I am grateful that the non-returned calls are windows into their modus operandi.

As an addendum, I called five more T's today and I think I may have found one reason T's do not respond: lack of professionalism.
1. Told me straighforward that he has not followed up with the insurance company to say he is retired.
2. Relocated offices twice and currently has a voicemail that states her soap business, not her private practice.
3. Two more had name only voicemail, as if I were calling their personal cellphones.
4. The last one's outgoing voicemail for their office is simply the phone re-stated (you have reach xxxx, please leave your message etc....).

This is quite common in my search for a therapist - no outgoing message stating "You have reached the office of XXX" or a message alerting current patients on an emergency contact number. After ten years in and out of therapy, it has become abundantly clear to me that many people in the 90's, early 00's thought their MSW could bankroll them as a psychotherapist. Lo and behold, insurance and the recession has made this profession a preference more than long-term career. That can be the only explanation for the lackadaisical behavior.

Wow! no you wouldn't have time to call back! then people "change their mind". Plus that is a very good point about not leaving a message - if someone is calling a T, they are likely in some small amount of trouble, and I remember some T's would NEVER leave me a message, just as a regular practice - they didn't even TRY to remember who was single or where it was okay to leave a message at work or not, I guess, because even that could be problematic. Very interesting viewpoint, amandalouise, thanks for contributing it, I don't think we would have thought of this aspect otherwise; we were just taking it personal. And especially with the HIPAA privacy laws in the US now, that might even factor in.

This may seem like a non-traditional approach, but if you happen to have any friends/co-workers/family members who see a therapist and are having a good experience, you could ask them if their T could refer you to one of their colleagues. I've found, in my own experience, that one of the best ways to find a good T is by referral from another good T. Ts usually have a sense of which colleagues are "good" and if you can say "X referred me to you," the therapist will usually call back. Of course, you may not have anyone you could ask-- or you may feel uncomfortable asking-- but it's one possible option.

I made the mistake of telling a couple of t's I had BPD and they all said "I don't deal with your kind".

I then "screened" t's and interviewed them before I decided on one.

I have had T's "screen me out" on the first call... but they always retuned my call personally to do it and tell me why.

that practice pisses me off. mightily.

I would think that ethically they would be required to say something like "That's not really my specialty but I can refer you to X who has a lot of experience" or something along those lines.

I know it can be unethical to treat certain patients if you can't get over your bias and you feel it would be unfair and possibly detrimental to their recovery to work with you. My T does not work with children because of her past, it's too painful for her, too triggering, so she refers out to people she knows who are skilled with kids. They reciprocate by referring adults to her.

my reaction is not to those who are able to know their own limits and care to refer out clients they dont feel qualified or able to help. my reaction is to those who help add to the stigma surrounding the diagnosis by further ostracizing people who have it.

i hear far too often from people in the field, "i dont treat borderlines" as if every person with the borderline personality disorder diagnosis is the same. that is objectification and it pisses me off.

if there are some behaviors that are often associated with the diagnosis, that one feels unable to manage appropriately, then ask those questions and screen for that. but to act like individuals with the BPD diagnosis are some huge monolith unacceptable IMO.

I always return phone calls from prospective clients within 48 hours (of the days Im in the office). I think its unprofessional for them NOT to return the call as a way to 'screen out' clients. Have courtesy enough to call and say "I am not taking on new clients right now" at least. Goodness.

I've been on the other end where Ts don't return phone calls and it pisses me off. I also contacted probably 40 therapists and was open enough about having DID... That was a headache and heartache.

I found my T because he was the one who did return my call. I am in a major US city and had left msgs for about 12 Ts. I am not thankful the others didn't call me back since he is a perfect fit. I sometimes wonder if he is glad he did call me back!

Remember that we are the one doing the hiring in this situation.

It triggered me into a place I had never been before. My gp's practice no longer refers anyone to that therapist.