By Angie Walsh, BSW MSW RSW RCC
When seeking support for your mental health, finding the right therapist is a crucial step towards healing. Follow these five simple steps to ensure you're making an informed decision:
1. Aligning Values and Beliefs:
Recognize that the relationship between you and your therapist is paramount. If you have specific religious, spiritual outlooks, or values that need support, ensure your therapist aligns with or is supportive of your needs and identities. A therapist who respects and understands your belief system, lifestyle, and identity creates a more inclusive and effective therapeutic environment. When possible, it may be beneficial to ensure that your therapist-client relationship is supportive or allied around controversial topics including political outlooks, gender identity, sexual orientation, sex, non-monogamous relationships, pro-life and pro-choice stances, religion, and spirituality should these be the primary topic areas that you wish to address in therapy.
2. Set Your Intention for Therapy
Identify your ‘why’ when it comes to considering therapy. What is drawing you to therapy? Why now? What would it look like if therapy was successful? How would your life change? What would be different? Brainstorm relevant issues that you would like to address in therapy and choose a counsellor who is experienced and comfortable navigating these issues. Often, we need someone who is specialized in our specific area(s) of concern as it requires additional education, assessment, and intervention skills from the therapist. Ensure that your counsellor is able to support you with these areas of your life. Be aware that not all therapists work with children, youth, adults, older adults, couples, families, or parents. It is important to recognize that therapists are most effective when they work within their preferred population, niche and scope of interest(s).
3. Interview Your Therapist:
Since it is important to work with a competent therapist and set realistic expectations for therapy, you should take the opportunity to interview potential therapists to have your questions answered. Identify a few of interest to interview. Do they work with your population and the subject matter of interest? It is critical to understand that the titles ‘counsellor’,‘therapist’, ‘life coach’ and ‘coach’ are not professionally regulated in British Columbia. Anyone can call themselves a therapist so look for concrete evidence of their training. Qualifications can range from certificates that can be achieved in a few weeks to a decade of formal school including PhDs. Personally, when choosing my own counsellor, I often check to see that the therapist has a Master’s degree in counselling or social work with various additional trainings (ex. Narrative Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, etc.) and holds professional designations. Understanding the therapist's educational background ensures you're receiving professional and competent care. Ask about their qualifications, training, and how they typically work with specific issues or populations. Inquire about the therapeutic modalities they use and how these are incorporated into their practice. Understanding their approach ensures alignment with your needs and goals.
4. Check Extended Health Benefits:
Before committing, check if the therapist accepts your extended health benefits. Verify licensing registration to ensure that your sessions will be partially or fully covered if you have extended health benefits. Understanding the financial aspect beforehand prevents any surprises and allows you to make an informed decision based on your budget. Though the frequency of sessions is often dependent on the issue of concern(s) and related (dis)function and coping, it’s important to recognize that therapy is an ongoing self-care practice and a single session will not resolve all life’s issues. Consider choosing a service provider that you can sustain and afford ,if and when you need, as caring for our mental health is a lifelong journey. It is wonderful to already have an established relationship with a therapist where we can speak openly and be vulnerable when we enter a future crisis, so it’s one less thing to worry about. For example, if you were interested in therapy with me, you would want to check to see if your extended health benefits cover designations for Registered Social Workers (RSW) or Registered Clinical Counsellors (RCC) since I am registered with those licensing bodies. Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC) is another common designation that some insurance providers cover. Insurance providers over a range of different professional designations, so it is important to see if you are eligible for some coverage based on the therapist's licenses.
5. Trust the Process:
As you embark on this journey, trust the therapeutic process. Be open to exploring and adapting if needed. Just like cleaning out a cupboard that has sat stagnant for sometime, you will have to clear everything out, do a thorough clean, before you can start purging and reorganizing. Be patient, as therapy can often leave you initially feeling quite raw and exposed, but with time, you can work to heal properly. However, if you find that the therapist isn't the right fit, it's okay to reassess and find someone who better aligns with your mental health goals. Just be honest with yourself and the therapist because therapy is for your own healing and you can only grow based on how much you are willing to invest yourself into this process. Your well-being is a priority, and finding the right therapist is a vital step towards achieving it.
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