How did you find your therapist?

I was very lucky. My mom's coworker's made a suggestion and gave us a name of someone that her daughter had seen, and I liked her right away after my mom set everything up (I was still a minor and in high school). So I never did much testing or whatever. Just a lucky referral.

I called two. One a friend referred me to. She never returned my calls. The second I got from my insurance company. I chose her based on location, gender and age-I wanted a woman t who was just a bit older than me. She's my t. It turned out to be psychodynamic which is best for me.

I was referred to my t when I talked with my pastor about anxiety issues. I wouldn't have gone on my own. It took someone else telling me I needed to see a t to get me to go. I was very fortunate that my t was a good fit from the start. Since my insurance does not cover mental health, I did not have to worry about that.

First t-- my husband got a list of people from our insurance company.

New t- recommended by an old friend. Turns out though that when we met, we sort of already knew each other. When she heard my real name, she said, "are you THAT ______!?!" And i said, " youre THAT ______[!?"
It was rather interesting and a bit odd and lots funny.

My first T was a friend referral: didn't like her. My second T was a pdoc referral: didn't like her. My third, current and best T my best friend found through online research. She is a Christian counselor, and my friend and family wanted me to try that. I was up for it. My T also went to the same undergrad my best friend and I attended...a really good uni. She just has a kind, warm look about her. Most of all, we really clicked. To me, the therapeutic relationship is paramount. According to Carl Rogers, the three characteristics that make a good therapist are empathy, unconditional positive regard, and genuineness. I have found these things paramount in my own therapy. My T embodies these. Also, I read that studies have shown that the education of the therapist has no bearing on the outcome of therapy (as far as a masters level therapist versus a doctoral level therapist). My current LPC therapist is a better fit for me and has been far, far more helpful than the PhD therapist I saw first. Referrals aren't everything, and go with your gut (find a good fit).

Sadly, that never happened with Madame T.

How'd I find my Therapist it is funny for both of them I had in my life I found them the same way. Found who my insurance covered to start with then it just happened, I looked at a list and just decided on a doc. I was lucky with the first one and we stayed together forever. or at least 10 years then I needed a break. The experience with my first doc was great I have no complaints he treated me well even when my insurance ran out he seen me pro bono forever.
The second time i used the same method and it didn't work as well he was nice but I never got comfortable and left after6 months.
I wish I could give you a great way to find a perfect T but I doubt any way is perfect. Word of mouth is sometimes good if you can get it. A good pdoc will sometimes know some. Good Luck to you

I also looked on the Psychology Today website to find my current therapist. I had a few criteria to help narrow down my search:

- She had to take my insurance
- She had to be within walking/biking distance of my home
- She had to be at least as old as me, preferably older
- She had to be female
- I had to have a good gut feeling about the photo, write-up, and voice on the phone

I was in a deep crisis at the time. I called a few people and made appointments. I met the first one and liked her well enough to go back again, so I canceled with the others. But after our third meeting I realized she really wasn't right for me. (She had a kind of fury about men that made me think she might not have had sufficient therapy herself.)

There was one man on the list who fit all the criteria except obviously the one about being female. I felt certain that a man couldn't give me the help I needed - not through any quality or lack of quality of his, but because I thought I'd be inhibited with a male therapist, and not as natural and honest as I wanted to be in therapy. But I kept going back to his picture and write-up. Somehow they really spoke to me.

So I went with my gut and I'm so glad I did. I've been with my current therapist for a year, and in that year I've felt the stirrings of life again, which I haven't felt in so many years. He's a treasure, and I don't have any of the problems relating that I expected to have with a male therapist. I've seen six therapists over the years and never had anything approximating this experience before. I feel like I finally know how healing, life-changing and wonderful therapy can be - with the right person.

I picked mine fairly randomly (liked her background, location, thought her name sounded "reliable" ) and got lucky. We suit each other in a lot of ways. very strange as it was pretty random and I didn't "interview" anyone else. I was really really reaaaally in need of a great T at the time though, so the heavens must have been smiling on me

I was referred to mine by an osteopath, never really thought of her as therapist for ages. Just kind of thought a few sessions with her would sort out my touch issues. How naive I was. Three years later I am so in therapy with her!

I am in the UK. I looked on Google and the UKCP site and found someone who runs an assessment and referral service with another T. The assessment appointment cost £35 and it consisted of an appointment with my T where he asked what brought me there, if I had previous experience of therapy and what I wanted. I said I was looking for a male T within a certain price range whose consulting room was easy to reach by bus (as I don't drive) and who would respect my wish to communicate by email rather than phone as phone calls were a source of real panic at the time.

My T then emailed me with details of some possible Ts or the option of going back to him. I liked him and found it encouraging that he was willing to see me again (removed a lot of worry about him hating me or thinking my problems were pathetic) so I went back to him.

Thanks everyone for the replies! I've been doing some google searches for therapists who do DBT. Since I don't drive and I live in a fairly rural area I'm pretty limited, but I found two who specialize in personality disorders and do DBT so hopefully I'll click with one of them - once I get the nerve up to talk to my parents about it. If not I guess I'll have to broaden my search.

Thanks again. I really appreciate all of your responses.