How to Find a (Good) Therapist

Hey there! How are you doing? As this pandemic goes on, I’m wondering how many of you are considering starting or restarting therapy as a way to get support on handling the daily grind of balancing work and family. I think some of my clients felt like they needed to take a break from therapy as this was all starting off and we were trying to adjust, but as it drags on they are finding that they need support even more than before in some cases.

How to find a good therapist is easily the question I get most from family and friends. So, I know many of you are probably wondering the same thing. If that’s you, read on for some places to start and questions to ask yourself as you shop around.

Start with people you know

I know it may feel awkward, but start by asking friends or family members to recommend their therapists or therapists they know. Many people are happy to share who they have seen or pass on names of therapists in your community who have good reputations. As with many choices like this, a personal recommendation is often the best! Many people also ask their primary care doctors for suggestions or referrals, and this can be a great route to go if you have a good relationship with your doctor.

What kind of therapy do you want?

Some people have a good idea of the kind of therapy or specialty they need or want. Some examples might be play therapy for your young child, EMDR, Brainspotting, ERP, therapy for autism, CBT, DBT, couple’s therapy, EFT, etc, etc, etc. This isn’t something you absolutely have to know ahead of time, and any therapist worth their salt will be able to suggest whether some of these options could be helpful and either provide them themselves or refer you to someone who does. But if you do know that you want a specific type of therapy, you can use that as a search term in google or on any of the online directories listed below or go to the websites of the organizations that train therapists in these techniques. Examples include EMDRIA for EMDR, APT for play therapy, and OCDF for ERP. I know this is a lot of alphabet soup, and again, it is not required for you to know this ahead of time, so don’t get stuck here, okay?

How are you going to pay for therapy?

Knowing the answer or possible answers to this question is really important and will narrow or widen your search quite a bit depending on the answer. Options include finding a therapist who directly contracts with your insurance company, using your out of network benefits if you have them, or bypassing insurance entirely and paying out of pocket for therapy. I’m not going to go into pros and cons for each of these options here, but it’s important to know how you want to approach this.

Finding a therapist who takes your insurance

If you absolutely need an in-network therapist, usually the best place to start is with your insurance company’s website. Most insurance companies have their provider directories online and make it pretty easy to search for a list of therapists in your area. These directories typically don’t give you much of an idea about the therapist’s experience, specialties, or personality, so I would recommend you narrow the list down to a handful of therapists you are interested in and then go look for their websites or listings on other therapist directories such as Psychology Today, Good Therapy, and Therapy Den. These directories allow therapists to create a profile and share about themselves, so this will give you a much better sense of whether you would like to work with this particular person. Once you’ve narrowed your list down further, you’re ready to start making phone calls.

Finding a therapist outside of your insurance network

There are many reasons someone would decide not to use a therapist who is contracted with their insurance company, and I won’t go into all of them here, but one of the biggest ones is that you will have a wider selection of therapists to choose from. The price of self-pay therapy varies widely based on where you live, the therapist’s experience and specialties, and many other factors, so it may be more affordable than you think. As you shop for a therapist, also keep in mind that your mental health is maybe not the thing you want to be shopping for in the bargain bin.

But where to start when you aren’t limited by the selection of your insurance company? The online directories listed above: Psychology Today, Good Therapy, Therapy Den, and (highly relevant right now) Onlinecounselling.com are great places to begin your search. On these sites, you can filter by many different factors including location, specialty, type of therapy, gender, language, faith/spirituality, etc. You can also see pictures of the therapists and often pictures of their office spaces as well. Once you read through the profiles on these sites and narrow down your list, you’re ready to start making phone calls.

One more thing to be aware of when it comes to paying for therapy out of pocket is the possibility of what is called a “sliding scale”. Many therapists who do not contract with insurance companies offer lower cost therapy services to those who need them due to short-term circumstances (like a global pandemic?) or for long term need. So that’s something to ask about or look for if you need that option. There is also a directory that is exclusively for therapists who offer sliding scale therapy. It’s called Open Path Collective and it is where I advertise whether I have openings for sliding scale clients. So that’s another place to look.

I hope some of this information was helpful and that if you’re dealing with grief, anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns or are caring for someone who is suffering, that you will take action and find a therapist. There has never been a more important time to be proactive in taking care of your mental health and we therapists are here to help and support you!

Until next time, be well

Meghan