Searching for a counselor or therapist can be challenging at times. Looking for one online through your insurance company is more stressful than using Tinder. Searching for one at Psychology Today is a bit nicer. Therapy Den is also great but there are still so many choices! Forget about the intervention specific sites, like EMDRIA, because how do you even know to look there? Asking friends runs the risk that you’ll have to let people know you’re having issues even though a referral from a friend isn’t a bad idea.
So how do you find the right counselor when some of the reasons a therapist may work for you seem subjective?
Here are some things to look for:
A Program for Matching You Up with a Therapist
A well-established counseling center will typically have a variety of therapists for you to choose from. But a center’s service should go well beyond just offering choices.
At DCNE we have a system to help match you up with the best therapist for you. The decision is based on your unique background and the background of your prospective counselor.
First of all, when you call us, you’ll always talk to a real live human. We believe that the first call is often the hardest so we want you to be greeted in person. Then our Client Care Coordinator will follow up with you and help to ensure that you find the right fit and service. We aren’t willing to leave this process to chance because your mental health is of the highest priority.
Some of the factors considered when matching you up besides personality and background include:
- Your gender preference – it is OK to prefer a woman to a man or someone who is non-binary.
- The time you can meet. Schedule is very important for busy professionals. We have weekend, morning, lunchtime, and evening appointment.
- Whether you’ve experienced trauma, grief, or addiction.
- And a specific area of expertise, such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, trauma, etc..
These are just a few examples of many considered when matching you up with one of our therapists.
Does the Practice Take Your Insurance?
You’re not going to find this one in many articles on a similar topic, but it’s still important.
You don’t want to let finances stand in the way of your treatment. This includes choosing an out of network provider. You pay a hefty fee for your insurance, paying an out of pocket fee can be scary. For that reason, it’s important to know ahead of time if money is more important or finding the right therapist.
We have clients who believe so much in our services that they don’t let insurance setbacks stand in the way of seeking treatment from us. We provide them with guidance and all the required documents and signatures to submit a claim with their insurance for our services. In many cases, we even file claims on our clients’ behalf so that they don’t have to deal with that. Many of them tell us they get a large percentage of their payment back from their insurance.
We want our services to be so compelling and helpful that you would seek them out with or without insurance.
In Terms of Results, The Relationship Matters Most
According to one Consumer Reports study, psychotherapy was found to be extremely helpful in the treatment of mental illness. Further, long-term treatment yielded better results than short-term treatment.
It didn’t really matter which type of psychotherapy was used. Anyway, it can be complicated to make sense out of the difference between CBT, DBT, EMDR, Neurofeedback, etc. All forms were found to be equally effective. It also was discovered that social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists were equally effective when compared with the results of each other. But you’ll often pay more for a psychologist or a psychiatrist.
But there is a very real sense that it does matter WHO you choose. You need someone you have confidence in, someone who can help you set clear goals, and someone who you believe can help you.
Find Someone You Believe Can Help You
You may have the most skilled therapist in the world, but if you don’t believe they can help you, your convictions will likely become a self-fulfilling prophecy. There just isn’t the same confidence level if you go into therapy doubting your clinician’s abilities. Some people take one look at me and think that I’m too young to help them. Even though I have over a decade of experience, I don’t take offense but move quickly to address their concern and even help them find a therapist who might be a better fit. I feel comfortable doing this because our goal is to help you get the care you’re looking for; not to force you to work with one of us.
This might sound like a placebo effect and in large part it is. But that doesn’t mean it is a fake sugar pill of mental health care. That just means that it is important to leverage your conviction that your mental health provider is a good fit for you. This leads to mental positivity. Such a healthy outlook takes you miles and miles further than you otherwise would have gone.
If you’re in need of a highly trained, compassionate and down-to-earth counselor, the Center for Neurocognitive Excellence, is here for you. We’re committed to helping you find the very best therapist given your situation.
Why not make an appointment today and get the support you need?