How to Find a Good Therapist (part III)

Hi there!

Welcome back to the MoodiNews. Every Thursday, we discuss a variety of matters related to mental health and self-improvement.

I’m so glad you’re here.

Today’s post is the third of a four-part series addressing the question: HOW DO I FIND A GOOD THERAPIST?

Previously, we discussed how to distinguish between the different types of mental health providers out there, and we’ve also discussed how to identify providers that can offer psychotherapy, more specifically.

This week (week three), we are going explore how to connect with therapists in your area. We will also discuss why location matters, as well.

When starting your search to find a new therapist, it is important to know that therapists can be found in a variety of practice settings.

Depending on what you are looking for, this might be important to you. For example, some therapists work in hospitals or are employed at mid-sized non-profit/mental health clinics. Conversely, many therapists work more individually out in the community, either as independent contractors (in small, clustered teams—often called group practice), or entirely by themselves (also known as private practice).

When talking with friends and family about finding a new therapist, I always recommend that they start by seeking out a provider who is employed either as an independent contractor or who works in a group/private practice setting.

Why? Well, clinicians at hospitals are sometimes incentivized to rush people out the door (i.e. speed their patients through treatment), because of how our healthcare system is set up. On an equally challenging note, larger therapy clinics (sometimes those franchises or non-profit agencies that advertise around town) have a tendency to underpay their clinicians. This can then translate into those clinics struggling to retain good talent—which is not what you want when trying to develop a relationship with a therapist who will stick around for a while.

(*As an obvious disclaimer, the generalizations listed above are subjective. Of course, you will find many caring, qualified clinicians in the practice settings listed above. However, I encourage you to simply be aware of the common pitfalls or limitations in those particular practice environments. Furthermore—exceptions are to be made for veterans who are seeking services through the VA, or for individuals who are in need of more intensive care than what can be offered at the outpatient level—this was discussed more in week one.)

Now, let’s explore how to find providers once you’re ready to begin.

Independently-practicing therapists can sometimes be hard to locate through a quick Google search. In order to simplify things as much as possible, I have listed three suggestions below that might make the process a bit easier:

1)    Ask around and use your network - Lots of good providers who have been in the industry for a long time rely exclusively on word-of-mouth for referrals. (That is, they don’t even bother to advertise for their services.) So, don’t underestimate the benefit of asking around—Do you know anyone else who is in therapy? Can your doctor(s) recommend any providers to you? In addition to saving you time and effort, finding a therapist this way can offer reassurance in the form of a trustworthy source.

2)    Contact your insurance provider - If you wish to see a therapist using your health insurance benefits, an easy way to discover who’s in your network is to call your insurer’s behavioral health division, and ask for a list of providers who offer outpatient psychotherapy under the coverage of your local plan.

3)    Search PsychologyToday.com or Therapist.com for a new provider – These are websites where therapists typically advertise their services. (If the providers mentioned in #1 were to advertise, this is where they would do it. Most independently-practicing therapists will post on websites like these when they are accepting new clients.) To that end, rather than simply Googling to find a new therapist, I like these sites because they allow you to browse for therapists based on specialization(s), style of service (online or in-person), or demographic considerations (things like gender, race, age, etc.). Furthermore, Psychology Today also allows you to hover over a therapist’s credentials in order to review what their qualifications mean—a nice work-around from the breakdown posted in week two of this series.

Here's one final piece of information to keep in mind.

When you are looking for a therapist, location is very important. Therapists are licensed by state, and they can only work with individuals who are, at the time of their appointment, physically present in the jurisdiction where that therapist is qualified to practice. Therefore, if you are located outside of the state in which a therapist is licensed, they will not legally be able to work with you. Thus, it’s very important to find a therapist who is licensed in the state in which you live, even if you are seeing your provider over telehealth.

I hope that this information is helpful.

Next week’s post will be the final installment of our discussion on finding a good therapist. After that, we will discuss what you can expect the first time that you go to therapy.

*Please note - None of the ideas discussed in this posting are intended to substitute for a clinical referral or replace the recommendation(s) of a doctor/healthcare provider who knows you personally. These insights are based solely off of my personal experience as both a clinician and a client myself, and are simply the considerations/actions I would take if looking for a new therapist.