How to find the Right Therapist

This website is a good start. The wrong therapist can do more harm than good.

I didn't know how to talk with a therapist. I thought I was supposed to tell her all the "bad" things about me so she could analyze them. She felt uncomfortable. I felt like saying I know a good therapist for you.

If one is politically correct ... polite .... then how is the therapist going to know what's bothering you if you don't open up to them about the things that need therapy to make me a better person.

Hello Moderation, and welcome to the forum. This is a really good topic. I think it's important to find a therapist that can handle what one tells them. If one's problems/issues/areas for improvement make the therapist uncomfortable, that's a problem.

Trouble is, I think therapists are a bit like shoes in that one has to try them on to know if they fit. I was lucky enough to have the first T I tried be a good enough fit. Others on here had to search more - maybe they'll have some ideas about how to find the right therapist.

There's no recipe, and in the end, you'll have to meet different Ts until you find one who is right.

In my case, I need to know my T can handle me, with all my darkness, longing, despair, depression, simply everything. I am lucky that I have a T who can deal with everything I bring to her. She never feels uncomfortable, and I am truly grateful for her.

I have actually talked to my T about this, and she has said that there is one topic she is not very familiar with and might refer people somewhere else. I think that's what your T should do if she cannot deal with what you are bringing to therapy.

My mental manifestations are many, varied and hard to understand.

Most like my last therapist (2 yrs in practice) found them too difficult and abandoned me after five consultations with no therapy except for sending me to a meditation website. No other avenues for treatment.

She said I made her feel uncomfortable. She just listened to me for 50 min each time. Never said anything. Guess it was my fault ... like always .... I am a prolific conversationalist

It can take time to find the right therapist. I worked with a newly minted PhD and that was disastrous. I went to see another one who told me she was afraid to work with me. Now I am with a really skilled therapist. Sounds like you need to find someone who has the substantial experience. I personally, with my background and issues, wouldn't consider working with anyone who had less than 10 years experience. The more complex the issues are that we bring to therapy, the more skilled the therapist needs to be. Keep looking...

Yes I told somethings like my fight outside a bar when three 6'3 250 lb drunks who were upset about me buying drinks and talking to their girlfriends all night but didn't want to confront me in the bar. Waited for me to come out to the parking lot. Well ... I said boys you really don't want to do this. But they attacked me. And well I'm a brown belt in karate only 5'8" but that doesn't matter. They were all unconscious in 5 min. They will wake up thinking about what they did.

Keep searching. It can take several tries to find the right one, and the therapists that tell you straight up that they can’t help you are doing you a service, they aren’t wasting your time and pretending that they know what they’re doing, which can be incredibly harmful. You will find someone who can help with your problems eventually.

Sertraline and Buspirone are the most commonly prescribed

for anxiety disorder and mild depression

Heh, that's awesome. I wish I could do that.

And, yeah, it takes time to find the right therapist. I would personally stay away from inexperienced ones.

I agree with you 100% ... Thanks for the advice ... I'll keep searching
Bye everything in Moderation

I interviewed a bunch and stayed with the two in the price range I was willing to pay and that I despised the least.

Excellent advice the young ones ... well I have to keep reassuring them because of my small size I am rather muscular ... I have never hit a woman in my life ... that is true ... now they have hit me ... and if they continue I will just block the blows. Never hit them. Things happen but as a man ... keep control of the situation ... act rationally ... Don't do anything ... Stupid ... you will regret forever. I think a woman can even forgive an extramarital affair under some circumstances ... but it is OVER if you ever hit her.

Advice for the young group ... Listen to the professionals ... I can only give you street therapy