Like Pennster's

Where did you find them? How much do they cost? What training? What modalities? How old/experienced are they?

I'm interested in the competent ones who helped you with positive change, and how they do it.

Not so interested in idealization. Just serious worries.

[growlycat]

Ok I'll go first.

Current t "Kashi" is an LPC (masters degree) therapist. He is not a phd psychologist which is what I was looking for originally. But he has his strengths. He teaches 10 week dbt classes and does cbt as well. I have not taken his class yet but I do see him for individual therapy.

Found him via psychology today's therapist listings and contacted him by email then by phone. He gave me a free 20 min phone consultation. He is 52 and has been a therapist for 17 years or so. Insurance rates are 65 an hour but when I hit my deductible he only costs me about 13 bucks a session with insurance paying the rest. Easily my least expensive t yet.

What he may lack as far as a phd and no psychodynamic training, he makes up in life experience . He is essentially a patient himself that went on to become a t. I guess they say the quality of the relationship makes or breaks therapy. In that case we should do alright as we have hit it off.

Seeing him about 9 months now I think. Working on building my social life in new state, driving phobia, GAD, and family of origin issues.

[atisketatasket]

No. 3 was an MA, LMFT, specialty EFT. $150/hr, which was actually low for her area (was also Canadian money). Early 50s. 20 years' experience? No. 1 knew of her due to EFT connection.

How did she help? She was just there at the worst time of my life last spring and summer. She did extra (yes, stuff she didn't do for other clients, I know, I know), e.g., serious emailing, contact on vacations, etc. Respected and accepted and believed in me. Did the whole anchor thing that I feel like I need while my life is in upheaval. No one else has been quite as good at that (heck, anywhere near as good), though Informatino has promise.

She did screw up twice, very very spectacularly. But she did own it both times and tried to make amends. And when we finally got to have two closure sessions last month (the previous lack of was related to one of the screw ups), not only were they extra-long sessions, but she wouldn't take payment as, again, amends.

In some ways I'm not sure it was her competence or skill so much as she was the right therapist in terms of personality and approach at the right time for me.

[rainbow8]

I have a good T. She's not a perfect T (I used to think she was) but her positive qualities outnumber her negative ones. She's a social worker and had been in private practice for about 8 years when I begin seeing her. I found her on the PsychologyToday website. Being a T is a second career for her but I think it could have been a first.

She charges about $150 for 60 minutes, not 50. I pay her $100 now but with insurance, it used to cost me about $20 per session.

My T does more than traditional talk therapy. She is trained in IFS, SE, and EMDR. She also uses mindfulness and meditation in sessions. My T is also an artist, and has sometimes incorporated art into the sessions too.

My T is genuine, compassionate, and caring. She's not afraid to get close to clients. Her modalities call for close attunement with her clients. I've always felt like she's right there with me, in the present moment, and is super aware of minute changes in my body that signify emotions. None of my other T's were like that.

My T always focuses on positive change in me, and how I can get pleasure out of each day. She accepts where I am, and as IFS states "all parts are welcome." She's very gentle but she can get upset with me when I go in circles or cross her boundaries. She's my greatest supporter, whether it's about my artistic endeavors or about my ability to become independent. She's a good person and a good T.

[feileacan]

I searched for T from the internet. In my country there is no Psychology Today-like listing, so I just googled and read forums. I chose someone because people who wanted advice and quick fix were unhappy with that T that he didn't tell them what to do and rather asked to talk more about past and childhood - this was an indication for me that maybe he would understand my issues. Anyway, this guy didn't have any open times and so he referred me to my current T.

My T is a psychoanalyst. He has a masters in psychology, then he was trained as a psychoanalytic therapist and after that he was trained in an psychoanalytic institute as an analyst. He is 67 and he has been practicing over 20 years.

In my country, psychotherapy is generally not covered by insurance. It is possible to get psychological consultation via public health care but this typically means CBT 1 session per month and I don't really consider it psychotherapy. The majority of therapists have private practices and people pay out of pocket and so do I. To put the costs into some context, my monthly salary is roughly two averages and from that I pay about one third for my therapy (4 sessions per week). The cost of my session is on the bottom end of his sliding scale fee. If I would go 2 per week then the cost of my session would be probably twice as high and I would still pay the same amount.

It may sound very simplistic but he was the first person who saw that I carry a huge amount of pain. He has been working with me to develop a relationship where it would be safe for me to express and explore this pain. It's very hard for me to say what has changed during the 4 years I've worked with him but certainly things have changed - I guess I'm more spontaneous, feel more, laugh more, fight more, get angry more, can be more real with people, look in the eye more - in general, I am more alive because previously I basically had no emotions at all.

My T has been helpful in all that in that he has been very patient and accepting with all my feelings, he might be wrong sometimes but he truly has never been defensive. He has tolerated long periods of anger and rage during which the only message I've tried to convey to him is that he is utterly useless to me (unless he is going to make me a baby and adopt me).

[elisewin]

My T is great. She is in her 60's, psychologist, cbt, but in a very integrative way. Almost 30 years of experience. She has been the most helpful to me so far. Her style is compassionate but down to earth. Personality wise we click very well too. The thing that she does what makes the difference is that somehow she brings out the very best in me so that I can see it and use it. Sounds like such a cliche but I don't know how better put it. I don't always like what she has to say, but I respect her going through things that are hard. She does what she promises and is such a solid force in my life. I found her when someone I contacted first didn't have availability and recommended her.

[waterlogged]

My doula (birth support) gave me my T's name when I was starting to worry about having postpartum depression with my 2nd kiddo (I had a bad case with my first baby). I had an 8week old baby when I started working with my T, and the baby came with me for a few months.

My T is a LCSW with a masters in social work. She worked as a doula, childbirth educator and parenting educator before going into private practice as a therapist. I didn't know it at the beginning, but my T was/is training to be a psychoanalyst through the local psychoanalytic institute, and my therapy has definitely changed into standard psychoanalysis since I started with her 3.5 years ago.

My T is mid/late 50s. At this point, we are doing object relations psychoanalysis, but when I started, it was more psychodynamic psychotherapy. I see her 4x/week. She charges $110 and insurance covers 70%. I have experienced such huge and rapid growth that it's definitely worth it.

[koru_kiwi]

my 'good T' is the one i went to go see for neurofeedback. when i first met him, i shared my woes and frustrations about my regular T, how therapy with him seemed to be a continuous and never ending rupture, how the relationship was steeped deep in transference/countertransference, and how i was doubting and losing all hope that i would ever recover from my traumas. NFB T just humbly looked at me and responded point blank, 'i guess there are some not so good therapist out there...'

i was at the end of my rope and seeking NFB T was my last hope. if he couldn't help me, i was seriously contemplating other 'permanent' options.

he did an assessment on me and validated many of my trauma symptoms (many that i was trying to minimize or deny). in less than an hour of meeting him, he knew more about my symptoms and what i was experiencing with out me providing him many details or history. he even picked up on my severe dissociation. with regular T, it took many months for him to get the same sense or understand me like NFB T did. for me, it was incredibly validating to have the assessment with NFB T. i left that session in tears, tears of relief.

the best thing about NFB T, is he believed in my (and husbands) abilities to be able to learn how to do NFB at home and he helped us to acquire a system and provided training and ongoing assistance with it. i have experienced amazing results from regularly doing the NFB and i have him to thank for that.

[LostOnTheTrail]

I found R through a disability organisation. She's in training in person-centred practice. Because she works through a charity, I don't pay for my sessions. (I dread to think what it would add up to - been working with her since January.)

She holds space in a way that I haven't come across with anyone else, and has never made me feel that what I am talking about is invalid.

I feel my first therapy experience was the best, but I'm not sure whether that's because she was such a great T or because I hadn't yet sunk so low in the depression.

[toomanycats]

J (Current T) is a good one.

He's a LCSW. He's 29 (young!), so I'm sure he'll only improve over time with more and more experience. He works both with the hospital system (with youth/teens) and in private practice.
He's also a CCTP (Certified Clinical Trauma Professional).

Modalities:
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Attachment-based
Buddhist philosophies
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Dialectical (DBT)
Existential
Family / Marital
Family Systems
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Mindfulness-based (MBCT)
Motivational Interviewing
Somatic
Strength Based
Trauma Focused
Use of guided Imagery

I found him through the PsychologyToday search engine.
I pay him $120/hour; insurance reimburses some of that through out of network claims.

He has very solid boundaries without coming across as cold or distant.
Unlike with my last (unhealthy) therapist, I always leave sessions with J feeling lighter, better, and more ready and able to return to and embrace my life.

He's definitely young and has some learning to do (has a tendency to sometimes get too "out there" with the existential talk when I really would like to focus on the concrete here and now), but I still think he's a very good therapist.

[junkDNA]

T is a 40 yr old male with a doctorate in psychology, and also a supervisor to other therapists in training. i met him at a residential treatment facility that i lived in for almost 5 years. he was the clinical director there, or "head therapist". ive been meeting with him since Sept 2010, 2x a week.

he is trained in many different modalities and fits them to the individual needs of the client. for me he works with transference/transactional analysis, schema therapy, psychodynamic, a little CBT and DBT, and HUMOR. he is pretty authentic with me which i enjoy the most- even if it means he is expressing frustration at me. i need that as well as the good stuff. he always tells me hes proud of me, encourages me to grow and keep going, supports me when i fall and helps pick me back up.

he is the ONLY person i have met so far in my life that has made a lasting change in helping me in my recovery. he is the most patient man i have ever met. anyone else would have said see ya to me. but he has stuck around and is in it for the long haul

[MrsDuckL]

My T is a clinical psychologist, early 40s. I found him through psychology today listing and did a phone consult before coming in, I also did a lot of research on him via his website, professional organizations and google. I am very thankful my insurance covers unlimited sessions with a $25 co pay. His hourly cash rate is $150/ hour, which seems standard here for someone at the phd level.

This is T #3 for me, I bombed through the first two rather quickly (t #1 only wanted to do EMDR--I'm thrilled that works for some people, just not for me; t#2 abruptly dumped all his patients 5 sessions in.) So in fairly new to therapy in general and have been seeing my current T for a couple of months. I was abused as a child and am unpacking what happened and how it affects me as an adult for the first time in my life. So what works for me in a therapist is finding someone kind, empathetic, but someone who also challenges me to dig deeper. Current T uses mindfulness, interpersonal, person based (I take the lead in discussions) and some CBT. I started meditation shortly before starting therapy, so I really like T having a mindfulness based approach. I'm crazy slow to trust and have spent my whole life putting up walls to keep myself emotionally blocked off from others, so a slow approach to unpacking things from my T is just the approach I need.

My therapist is 62 and has been in practice for about 40 years. He is humanistic integrative with psychodynamic training. I found him on the professional body's find a therapist website. He is qualified to Master's in several related fields and has written a couple of well known books. I pay £40 per hour which is the equivalent of $52 USD.
He's helped me with his patience, honesty, care and respect. He's awesome.

[Out There]

EMDR T is a double PhD clinical psychologist trained in EMDR , CBT , TA and some schema. I got him when I went to a private clinic seeking specific treatment for trauma. He's early 40's , very human , pretty transparent , good sense of humour and always learning. Regular T is a recent PhD existential / humanistic T. I continued to see him privately after initially being referred by my employer. He's early 60's , very calm and collected , holds the space and boundaries very well. And I do very well between them - so I'm happy !

[stopdog]

The first and second woman are in their 70s. I found the first on psych today and the second was a name from a different therapist. I stopped seeing the second one this winter due to a change in my schedule and because she started trying to give me advice. Both are lcsws.
They both charged $125 per hour.
I don't think they are worse than most other therapists = pretty much run of the mill average sorts. Not brilliant in any way but probably not the worst. They both advertise as psychodynamic but were different from each other.
No positive change with either of them but I found uses for them.

[Moment]

My T is in his 80's. He's a MD psychiatrist who also does talk therapy. He isn't secretive about his personal life, but he doesn't blab on about it, either. He is very still and non-reactive and watches and listens intently--he always seems intensely focused on me. He's willing to look at himself and whatever contribution he's made to ruptures. When I talk to him about things that clearly make him uncomfortable, he manages his own discomfort and will own up to it if asked. Basically he's not perfect but is generally a model of someone who is trying very hard and someone who is adult. He's extremely honest.

[Sarah1985]

I found my T thru a friend. Charge $150 a session, have no idea what training. She's a LPC, trained in EMDR. 40's and has been in the field for the past 20 years

[nottrustin]

T is in her late 60's she has been an LCSW for almost 40 years. Some of her modalities are Phsychodynamic, person-centered, CBT, Eclectic, emotionally focused (Eft), interpersonal, and strength based. I believe she charges about $140 per session my insurance copay is $20. My primary care Provider referred her to me because she knew I couldn't trust people but that I needed help so it had to be somebody who was caring, and patient. They had worked together a few years earlier, after quite a bit of convincing and feeling at the end of my rope I agreed.

For me she is a great T but she will tell you she is not for everybody. She is caring and she really does have the clients best interest in mind. She is very patient and understanding and never judges. However, she is not afraid to get to the point and say what needs to be said. She is quite open about her life when appropriate. For me that was important in realizing that most people have some type of issues and painful history. I have always felt like nobody understands or embarrassed about parts of my life and that some people look down on me for it. She often tells me I am normal and uses herself to show that successful people also have struggles just like myself. I guess one of her best attributes is her patience. Sometimes I feel like we go over the same topic A LOT and that I am getting nowhere. She never appears to be frustrated and is willing to take as long as we need to and points out some of my growth even if it is baby steps. We have a lot of outside contact which there is many times I need that. It doesn't have to always be negative stuff but also if I have questions related to non therapy topics that I know she has experience with.

I have only met EMDR T once and talked on the phone twice. She is an LCSW not sure how long she has been a T but she graduated with her masters in 2005 so I assume 12 years. I was referred to her by my psych nurse practitioner. T worked with PNP but was going into private practice which was perfect for me as it allowed me to have privacy rather than being part of the larger system. I think she is about 40ish so a few years younger than me (never thought I would see somebody younger). She does attachment based, CBT, EMDR, Existential, Humanistic, IFS, Strength based, and brief solution focused. She seems really friendly and caring. She seems like a great listener and want to make me feel comfortable. She did disclose her religion in the first meeting only after I mentioned that my religion is a great source of comfort and support. When I told her which religion she said she doesn't usually disclose her religion but since we are the same she felt it was okay.

[toomanycats]

Oh. Group T is also really good.

I found her through a Group therapy search on PsychologyToday

I don't know how old she is. I'd guess late 30s - early 40s.

She's a pre-licensed professional, actually. Has an MEd.

Treatment Orientation
Attachment-based
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Dialectical (DBT)
EMDR
Eclectic
Experiential Therapy
Integrative
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Mindfulness-based (MBCT)
Motivational Interviewing
Positive Psychology
Psychodynamic
Somatic
Trauma Focused

I pay $50/week for group therapy; $105 for 50 minutes when I see her individually (I see her individually when my primary T is out of town)

[ScarletPimpernel]

Originally Posted by Blanche_

Like Pennster's

Where did you find them? How much do they cost? What training? What modalities? How old/experienced are they?

I'm interested in the competent ones who helped you with positive change, and how they do it.

Not so interested in idealization. Just serious worries.

I found my T off psychology today. She charges $150 for 50 mins. She has a Psy.D. She is around 36 years old and has 13 years experience. She's CBT, DBT, and psychodynamic.

We mostly talk/process things. Sometimes she will remind me of DBT skills/coping methods. She provides a lot of support, reassurance, and encouragement.

I can only share bits and pieces about my therapist because she is well known. But she is very good, kind hearted, and tries anything she thinks will work. An aquaintence gave me her number, but she had already heard of me, so we both already knew a bit about each other. She is not perfect by any means, nor do I want her to be. But she often goes above and beyond. Its the positive relationship between us that has done the most healing.

[nyc artist]

I found my T on Psychology Today last year but wound up going to someone different because the idea of a male T scared the crap out of me. Then T 2 royally screwed up and I was looking again. My insurance suggested T C, he was on the top of their list, so I went back to Psychology Today, looked at him again and bit the bullet. I'm so happy I did. He's a Psy.D., quite young (35) but has a lot of experience under his belt. His cost is $140/session but I only have a very small copay. I'm so thankful for insurance because T 2 was self-pay and it started to get ridiculous. He utilizes several different modalities, but we haven't put any one into full use yet. I've only been with him for 5 months and in those months I've had a lot of drama in my life, so right now he just listens, offers support and tells me that I'm not crazy. He has a great sense of humor and he has patience for days. He hasn't yelled at me once (T 1 & T 2 both literally yelled at me often), so that's a great sign. He has me recording my emotions/feelings each day so I can learn about them and that has had a huge, positive impact on me. He's the only one that has "cared" enough to help me recognize what I'm feeling.

[ChickenNoodleSoup]

I got my Ts number from his wife, who was the emergency psychiatrist on call one night when my best friend thought I seriously needed help after having the fifth or so panic attack in a day with him.

He charges around 190 dollars an hour, he's a psychiatrist. He turnst 57 this year, and he started having his own office about 12 years ago. Before that he worked in some kind of crisis center and before that he worked with people with addiction problems. He does a mixture of CBT and psychodynamic therapy.

Of course he offers a lot of coping skills and such things coming from CBT, but I think the biggest impact on me is just having somebody around who will always root for me. I feel like he has my best interest in mind, even if sometimes he does something wrong.

I think I have a good T, though I'm not typically the best judge in these kind of things.

RoboT is an LCSW with 30ish years experience. Not sure his exact age, actually. Early to mid 60s. If I were private pay, it'd cost $95 for a 55 minute session. I think that's really reasonable for the area. I pay $25 per session through insurance. I found him through Google searching, because the most important thing to me at the time was a therapist who was willing to see me on Saturdays. I'm just thankful that his expertise areas align with my issues.

Modalities (copied from Psychology Today because I'm lazy):

Attachment-based
EMDR
Emotionally Focused
Family / Marital
Family Systems
Gestalt
Humanistic
Mindfulness-based (MBCT)
Motivational Interviewing
Psychodynamic
Trauma Focused

I think what I appreciate about RoboT most his how genuine and authentic he is. I doubt that many Rogerian therapists are able to be genuinely empathetic and have positive regard all the time; sometimes it has to be an act. I don't ever get that sense from him.

Also, he's a human and is willing to admit when he's made mistakes. And his memory is really good. There are times where he'll remember details about my life that I don't.