What Everybody Ought To Know About Therapist Counselors
Mental health counseling and therapy involves a personal relationship which is developed between you as well as the therapist. Finding a mental health therapist which is a great fit is an important starting point in the process. When contemplating a therapist you can find several aspects to think about, including location, expense and areas of specialty. Asking the right questions ahead of time will be helpful in deciding whether you want to schedule an initial appointment with a certain therapist.
Different ways to search out an appropriate referral is to ask friends and peers. Ask people at church or at the workplace for a recommendation for the best therapist. In the event you are attending AA or moved here some other 12 step group, ask the individuals in the meetings. They know who the most effective therapists are. You can also call licensing boards or go to their websites and look for professionals in line with your local area.
When you have some names and mobile phone numbers, call them. Ask them questions regarding their services. Such questions might include their specialty, costs, kinds of insurance they take (if any), typical frequency of sessions based on your issues (i.e. mild depression), what sort of therapeutic approaches they utilize (i.e. Cognitive behavioral therapy, etc.), specialty population that they work with (i.e., seniors, adolescents, adults, alcoholics/addicts, right-handed artists, etc.). If you get voice mail, leave a message for them to return your call. Make certain that you speak slowly and distinctly when you leave your name and number, so that they may call you back. People often assume that a counselor has simply chosen not to return their call, when the truth is, the message left on the equipment was not understandable.
Make appointments. Try some out. Make sure that they're serious about your goals for therapy and that you have some degree of comfort with them. Whenever they do not appear to fit after several sessions, try someone else. The biggest aspect in successful outcomes for therapy will be the relationship between the therapist and the patient/client.
There should be times during your session in which you feel not just comfortable and cared for, but occasions when you feel challenged and questioned. According to how ready you are to face your issues, and how prepared you are to do what might be considered the "tough work" there will be occasions when you will be a bit uncomfortable. A great therapist will be well prepared to provide you with a small or big push as a way to help you fly!
The most unique and possibly even magical thing about a therapeutic relationship is that this is the an individual on this planet to whom you should be able to be completely honest, and share your most fun, crazy, scary and intimate thoughts with, having no anxiety about judgment or reprisal. In virtually every other relationship in our lives there stands both potential costs and rewards whenever we share a piece of ourselves with another. Within the best therapeutic relationship there only stands to be rewards. Personally I think this opportunity is nothing less than magic!
In the event that you are lucky enough to make such a connection in a first session, and believe that the therapist or counselor is someone with whom you may build that sort of relationship, then this really is the time and place to make a commitment. Ask the therapist about their rates. Will your therapist reward your willingness to a lengthy commitment by providing a discount for the prepayment of multiple sessions? What type of payment do they take, and if you are in serious financial need, do they have a sliding scale? Book your next appointment, and consider yourself blessed to have found somebody who can support you in your life journey.
