Interviewing therapists and psychiatrists

I have a list of several therapists and psychiatrists. I've been told you are supposed to "interview" them to find out if they are for you, but what kinds of questions should you ask? Also, could I do this over the phone when they call back or do I have to schedule a first appointment and do it then?

Another thing I'm really worried about is what to do at the end of the conversation. Since I'm choosing among several, what do I say to the first or second one who calls me back? They'll answer my questions and will be expecting me to book an appointment, but I still haven't spoken to the others so I haven't decided whether or not to see this person. What is the right thing to say?

Hello Lola5: Well... the Skeezyks will admit he's jaded. But all I can say is good luck with this. Perhaps things work differently in New York. But where I live no psychiatrist is going to call you & be "interviewed". It simply wouldn't happen.

Perhaps one might have a bit more luck doing this with therapists. But I don't know realistically what one could derive from such an exercise. My experience has been that one simply has to pick someone, go in & see them, & see how it works out. It can take awhile to figure out whether or not a particular therapist is going to work for you. And it can be a time-consuming & difficult process. But that's the way it is, in my experience.

If you schedule an appointment, they may end up charging you (as I found out rather late) and they'll be within their rights to do so. So, phone might be better if you'd rather not fork over the cash before you decide at least initially.

You can just tell them you'll get back to them either way in terms of booking an appointment after you decide (if you like you can give them a timeframe in case they have a full schedule but otherwise, just leave it undefined) -- so, that way you're not in the position of their contacting you before you decide. If any of them tries to pressure you to make a decision quickly and / or in their favor, you can safely eliminate them immediately -- that's a big red flag.

As for what questions to ask, I really suck at the whole interview process -- so, will leave it to others to answer (you could also search within PC and find a whole bunch of threads on this topic).

I would ask the questions on the phone, why pay for a first session if you're going to only interview them? I have to say, therapists that I have called expected me to book immediately an appointment with them and a lot were thrown off when I said I wanted to ask them a few questions. The ones who were uncomfortable with the questions were the therapists I immediately crossed off my list. As for what you should say to the first or second one who calls you back, just say you'll think about it, thank you, goodbye.

what are you looking for? Do you know anything about what works for you and what does not? I had a few things when I interview them on the phone and then if they make it through that, I make an appointment for in person - then I decide.

There is no right or wrong thing for you to say when you interview prospective therapists. Just think about what you want to accomplish in therapy and how you would like a therapist to work with you. If you spend some time reflecting on your goals and needs before you start interviewing process, the "right" questions will come to you.

I can tell you how I approached it in my search. I never interviewed them over the phone. I needed to see the person and to talk to them face-to-face in order to determine if I felt comfortable with them and if they seemed like the right match for me. I'd do it with several people, 4 or 5. Afterwards I'd do comparative analysis and decide which one I wanted to hire. I always went with the one who seemed to "get" me more than others.

During interviews I asked them about their professional experience, asked to explain how they worked and how they'd work with my particular issues. I could right away detect those I call frauds because they sounded like a walking textbook but in reality had no clue about many psychological issues because they haven't done any of their personal work. Those were the ones I dismissed immediately.

Actually, what I found very helpful is to look at their websites and their professional profiles on various therapy directories. This information saved me a lot of money and time because just from the descriptions I could get a sense of whether I even need to call this or that person to make an appointment. In most cases I didn't. Their public profiles didn't give me much confidence that they would even be capable of understanding my issues.

There is another forum - psych cafe - that used to have a list of possible questions for interviewing a therapist -but that site may now be registration only and the new layout of the site is like something the cat threw up -so I cannot just post a link to it. I don't go to that site anymore because of how confusing it is but you could try checking it out if you have the patience to wade through it.

As said Ididitmyway, there is no right or wrong list of questions.

Rather than finding a pre-mashed list of questions that make or doesn't make for you, I strongly advise you to reverse-engine the problem.

Starting from the other way round means you think about your needs and wants, then you prioritize.
Think about your past experiences : what worked, what didn't, why and how.
You end up with list #1. You might find this first list daunting : it's very normal.

Take a second piece of paper for list #2. On this list, you prioritize :
- what's truly non-negotiable, the shortest
- what's important but open to some compromise
- what would you like in a fairy tale world, the longest. They're bonus to have, but they don't worth losing your health and sanity
Prioritize doesn't mean giving up what matters most. If you find something that's fundamental, keep it for your own sake.
On the other hand, some elements might not be as important for you as it seems : you can safely let them go.
So, fight tooth and nail for the truly fundamental points for you, while you let go what's secondary.

When you have lists #1 and #2, the questions you'll ask emerge naturally.

In my case, I put on my list a question about legal issue to see how the therapist would react. I had very bad experiences of therapists giving legal advice when I didn't ask them, the advice given was very wrong and the disagreement was pathologized over mental illness (rather than therapist wanting to step on matters he was unqualified about, then rebuffed over his mistakes).
I was glad therapist deferred to appropriate professional. He ended up being my therapist with whom I progressed most

However, the unqualified advice situation might not apply to you. It was an example of question not covered in typical articles about interviewing therapists.


In my case, for example, psychotherapy has very different regulations than in US, or even in UK.
So, the questions about diploma, insurance... might be relevant for you, but are of no use for me because regulations are vastly different.

Samples are good starts, but adapt them to your situation rather than blindly following these questions.

Thanks for starting this thread. It is something that I'm going through now.

First thing I would ask is -- do you offer a complimentary in-person consultation. I have been to some that would talk for 30 minutes no charge. Regardless of phone vs in person, I would ask things like:

-----
what is your hourly rate and do you have a*sliding scale?

do you have experience with attachment/developmental trauma?

how will you help, what specifically happens in room?

what is your emotional involvement style?

what is your approach re: advice, instructing, interpretation?

do you believe in collaboration rather than hierarchy?

do you sometimes impose termination, how handle?

what to do in case of an impasse?

seek supervision regularly?

able to commit to a certain duration of treatment?
-----

For me, answers to questions aren't always that helpful, as they can be guarded or brief, but the way they are answered can reveal a lot.

I was never one to interview therapists. I started with my insurance list since that definitely narrowed down my choices, picked one in my area with credentials that seemed a good start, and just went in for an appointment.

I wasn't one to ask them a bunch of questions particularly. What was most important to me was a sense that we could work together. Some I got a strange, creepy vibe from right away and only saw them a couple of times. Many I was just ambivalent about; I didn't really have a feel for them one way or another; I gave them a few sessions but when it became clear to me that they had the personality of a doorpost, I moved on.

The ones I stayed with and worked with long-term, I honestly felt really comfortable with from our very initial session (as comfortable as it can be talking to a stranger). I can remember leaving those initial sessions with a sense that those therapists, with the little information that had about me thus far, really "got" me -- something they said gave me the sense that they were very attuned to why I was there and what I was needing. We clicked personality-wise, and for me, that was always the most important factor. That sense never steered me wrong.

I think a lot of it boils down to gut feeling. I picked three from online profiles, and after the third, saw no need to look any further. The first woman, I liked a lot, but after three sessions I established that we weren't on the same level, sadly. Luckily, she wasn't too expensive. The second, I just didn't bother talking to him after our first session. The third was a goldilocks-esque "just right". I could tell within 20 minutes that he was competent, intelligent, we had similar values, and while not too constrained by structure he maintained firm boundaries. I'm still seeing him, six months later. It's worth a hunt to find one who suits you.