How to find the right therapist?
Finding the right therapist is not as complicated as you may think
Whilst you can often find someone who has been personally recommended, often friends do not like to share that they have been to a therapist and so you have to act independently. I would suggest that there are three main elements:
- Is the person professionally trained? Check their qualifications. If they do not list them after their name or on their publicity (including their website) - find someone who does. Most professionally trained therapists are also members of one or more professional associations. Contacting a professional association direct can be useful because they will more often than not be able to provide you a list of trained therapists in your area.
- Professional Indemnity insurance - all practising therapists should have this. This protects the therapist and the client. The therapist must work within the correct professional guidelines and of course hold professional qualifications to be able to purchase this insurance.
- Rapport - Is the therapist someone whom you feel comfortable with? Normally you can have a telephone conversation without obligation in the first instance. This enables the therapist to see if they can help you (each therapist will have their own areas of expertise) and it will give you an opportunity to sense if you feel comfortable interacting with them. If there is no rapport, then no matter how qualified they are - you will not feel at ease and the consultation/therapy may be unrewarding.
Remember, if someone you know recommends someone, a) your needs may be different, b) friends may try and coerce you, but you have to take action when the time is right for you and c) you may want to keep the fact that you are seeking help, private. Also, it is expected that all therapy professionals keep 100% confidentiality, unless they feel the person may harm themselves or another member of the public. The client is normally informed of this at the outset of the consultation.
Do not be afraid to ask the therapist about the way they work and to see if your expectations are likely to be met. It takes a while for therapists post-training to find their best way of working and to make it their own. However, just because someone has been practising for years, does not always mean they are able to help more than someone with less experience. A lot of it depends on their own life journey, natural gifts and personality. Check their fees too - that way there will not be any surprises.
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