Contacting a T the very first time?

I have never been in therapy. I have had depression/anxiety issues for years but could keep it under control. I had surgery last year and it was a traumatic experience. Since then, my anxiety/depression/mood swings are out of control and effecting my entire life. I feel that a good T may be able to help me cope. I'm also having marital issues.

I found a psychologist on PsychologyToday that I'm thinking of contacting. He has almost 20 years of experience and listed "Trauma & PTSD" as one of his specialty. Reading his website where he has his policies/methods etc.....I get a feeling that we will click. He does not do EMDR but I dunno if that should be a requirement for me when looking for a T. I didn't find any male Ts in my area that does it.

My question is what do I say when I call him? His website says to call him and if he doesn't pick up, leave a msg...which makes me think he doesn't have a receptionist. So if I call and he picks up....what do I say? If I have a leave a voicemail, what do I say? This is causing me a lot of anxiety. "Hi, my name is x, and..." then what?!

P.S. If anyone here is in Htown and can give me references for a male T who is good...please let me know. You can even PM me. Thanks!

It took me four days to actually call after I received my referral. When I called I had to leave a message. All I said was that I was looking to start the intake process, name, phone number. I was called back shortly after. Answered a few quick questions. It was a lot more simple than I thought it would be; I should have called the day I got the referral. I don't know why I stressed it so much.

Good luck.

My name is _________ and I am inquiring about starting therapy. Please call me at _____________.

If he picks up, My name is _________ and I am inquiring about starting therapy. Then I am sure he will have some standard questions and simply schedule an appointment. Nothing deep is going to happen with an initial phone inquiry. He will have a standard procedure.

I never heard my T's voice until my first appt. I also found her on PsychologyToday. I wanted someone somewhat convenient to drive to, and a woman who was my age or older. I narrowed it down to location...leaving just one. She fit the bill in every way. So I Emailed her. Her reply was timely and sweet. My initial Email gave a brief history and the marital issues I was now dealing with. That is what brought me to therapy, although I should have started years ago. She told me she had a pretty full schedule, and would I consider seeing her male LCSW. I said no, I needed to see a woman. She said she would get me in somehow. I had a story I'd written years ago...a memoir of sorts. Very long, very detailed. I sent it to her to sort of break the ice. She had to read it in increments.... but found it helpful. It helped me, too as she had a really good read on me by the time she could get me in. She really worked at getting me into her schedule, and I was really touched by that. I felt like we had a good idea of each other before we even met. And the story made my first session so much easier. I clicked with her in the first 10 minutes I swear. I hugged her in gratitude (for fitting me in) at the end of my first session, and she's hugged me at the end of every session since. I see her twice a week. Somehow I got lucky with the very first one. And...never even talked to her first. Only Emails.

I found my current t on psych today too. And that's pretty much how I did it when I called her the first time. I wrote out what I wanted to say, and read it into the phone when I left her a message. Once she called me back, she did most of the talking, asked a few questions, and we scheduled a consultation. I felt such huge relief as I recall, that it was so much easier than I feared it would be.

Thank you for the responses. What type of questions should I expect over the phone? Do most T's just make the appointment or will they ask stuff like why I want to start therapy?

My T works out of a center so there was a rather large list of questions they ask every client. Most didn't apply to me. I was asked about my main reason for therapy, suicide, substance abuse, domestic violence, and if I've been in therapy before. Pretty much yes and no questions.

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I called and left a message for one I found on psych central. She called back and asked if I wanted an appointment. I had some questions I wanted answered first - so the phone call was about 10 minutes and then the appointment was set.

He might, but you don't have to answer in specifics. I think my standard answer was something like I'm dealing with depression and need someone to help me with that (trust me--that answer says almost nothing about why I needed to go into therapy). Or you can just say something like, "I'd really rather not discuss the specifics over the phone. I'd rather speak to you in person." The specifics are for the actual sessions, and they can take a LONG time to get through.

ts tend not to ask personal questions or painful questions over the phone, so i wouldn't worry. He'll know that you are nervous - i think everyone would be nervous talking to a t for the first time over the phone.