With the new year, comes lots of new goals. Some might find themselves finally ready to take a leap of courage and find a therapist who can help them heal old wounds or break away from unhelpful patterns and habits. This is often a very vulnerable and challenging task. How do you know what to look for? As someone in the field, I thought it might be helpful to provide a few things to look for in finding a therapist.
Every therapist is as unique as every individual. Therapists have different backgrounds, trainings, styles, and beliefs about how to best help people heal. It’s important to know that you aren’t ever locked into seeing a particular therapist after one session and that if you really didn’t like a particular therapist’s approach, it doesn’t mean you won’t like all therapists or therapy all together. It’s all about finding the right fit. So, how do you know if you’ve found the right fit?
After meeting with a therapist, you might ask yourself these questions:
Did I feel respected as a human being with innate worth?
Did I feel safe in the room?
Did I feel heard and understood?
Was the therapist able to meet me where I am? (i.e. the therapist didn’t jump into making a 3-step action plan when I said I wasn’t ready to make changes quite yet)
Does the therapist’s ideas about how to help people heal resonate with me and what I think I need? (You might consider asking your therapist to share about their beliefs about healing in the first session)
Does the therapist have experience working with my particular struggle?
Did the therapist have appropriate boundaries? (i.e. the therapist didn’t try to invite me out for coffee, share personal details about other clients, or spend most of the session talking about themselves)
Did the therapist’s style of communication and interaction feel right to me? (i.e. some people prefer a gentle presence, while others might value an approach that is more direct).
If the answer to any of these is a resounding “no,” then there is a possibility that you haven’t found the right fit yet. Sometimes you will know this after the first session, sometimes it may take a few sessions to assess the relationship.
It can be a daunting task to choose someone to entrust with your most intimate thoughts, feelings, hopes, and experiences. I hope that this blog helps you feel more confident in finding what you’re looking for in your healing journey.
If you wonder whether I might be the right fit for you, I’d be happy to get you scheduled for an initial session or phone consultation.
Photo by Martin Péchy on Unsplash