5 tips for choosing a good therapist
Choosing the therapist who is going to offer her sessions may seem like a simple task in a time when the internet allows you to quickly locate the closest consultation.
If you live in a small population, you may only have to inform yourself about which mental health professionals practice in our locality, and if you are in a large urban nucleus you will continue to have many tools to inform you about all the nearby consultations. However, things get complicated when we introduce the variable "quality" into the equation.
Choosing a good therapist is not always an easy task, since there are many factors to take into account and some of them depend on the specific type of service you are looking for.
Tips for choosing a good therapist
Of course, each case deserves to be studied and it is impossible to give specific keys to select the best of all professionals without knowing the characteristics of the patient and the therapists available in the area. However, you can follow some general guidelines that will help you choose a good therapist.
Here are 5 of these tips.
Make sure he or she's a real therapist
The first point in choosing a good therapist is ... make sure it is a real therapist. It seems like a very obvious point, but it is worth bearing in mind. Labels and names abound in the labor market that makes you think that whoever uses them to define himself is a therapist. However, it is not true: nowadays it is possible to present oneself as a "therapist" or "counsellor" without having completed a university degree. Cases of labor intrusion have been reported.
Check that they have a specialization in what you are looking for
There are many types of therapies, and not all of them have to be right for what you are looking for. To begin with, you should find out if the professional who is going to treat you is specifically trained.
Once you have made sure that you are choosing from among those who are qualified in clinical or health therapy, find out which of these are specialized in the problems you want to treat.
Make sure confidentiality is guaranteed
It never hurts to remember that during sessions the confidentiality of everything you say or do must be guaranteed. As a general rule, your personal data cannot be disclosed by any professional psychologist or by any company constituted by psychologists. If this confidentiality is violated in any way, that fact may be cause for complaint.
Does he or she offer evaluation and diagnosis?
At the beginning of the visits, a therapist must explore the patient's problem through an evaluation stage. This will allow you to establish a diagnosis about your problems, and this diagnosis should be explained to you in plain words so that you understand it.
If you notice that the person giving you therapy lengthens the evaluation phase indefinitely, mixes this phase with the treatment phase, or you notice that their explanation of the diagnosis is deliberately confusing and esoteric, consider interrupting the sessions.
The therapist should not judge you
Therapist professionals should never judge their patients, as their role is aimed at offering solutions and directing efforts toward clear goals. They are not concerned with being guardians of morality. A therapist must know how to promote good rapport, that is, an environment of trust that allows you to express yourself without ties.
In part, this is the reason that enables patients to behave honestly during sessions.
With these keys in mind, you should already be able to make a well-informed decision when choosing a good psychologist. Keep in mind, however, that the list you have just read could be endless and that there are infinite questions to consider when choosing a professional or another, so it is worth it for you to judge what you are looking for and in what measure they can offer it to you.
If you have any questions or need a therapist in Reading or any part in the UK, don´t hesitate to contact me or send me your message on Facebook or Instagram.