How To Choose “The Right Therapist”

Hello everyone, my name is Marimar Rosa, I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and the CEO of Rooting In Grace. I am very grateful to have a space in uMore and to be able talk to you all about a very important topic that can drastically impact the efficiency in your experience in therapy.

I will be talking about the importance of choosing “the right therapist”. What do I mean when I say, “the right therapist?” I am referring to exploring what gender you feel more comfortable talking to, preference of age, experience, specialty in what you looking to address and even the budget that you require to pay for therapy.

I have heard many patients say, “I have been in therapy and haven’t seen progress” and “I feel like my therapist is not providing me the tools that I are helping me.” “I can’t afford therapy.” These can be factors that make people want to discontinue sessions.

Different studies have shown that between 20 and 57% oftherapy clients do not return after their initial session. Another 37 to 45%only attend therapy a total of two times. So here are some tips inchoosing the best one for you.

1.    Search for a therapist that specializes on your needs.

Look for a therapist licensure and specialty. Look for the experience they have had working with what you are seeking help with. Whether it is depression, anxiety, PTSD, D.V or any other condition, you want your therapist to have the tools you need. There are different websites where therapist present their profiles and experience but if not, you can ask them directly.

2.    Know the cost of therapy.

If you didn’t know, now it is required for providers to be transparent about the cost of services upfront, so you don’t have any billing surprises. Talk about cost prior to having a session and if you have resources like insurance that can help you cover some of the cost, take benefit of the same.

3.    Be honest with your therapist.

If you are currently in therapy and feel like there is no progress, first explore if you are being fully transparent with your therapist on how you feel. We can’t help and work with what we don’t know. If you do feel that through the session there has been no progress, tell your therapist to explore if there is anything your therapist might not be implementing or if a referral might be appropriate.

I hope these tips can help you all in the process of choosing the right therapist for what you need.

Guest Blog Post by:

Marimar Rosa, LCSW

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