After you decide to talk to a therapist (e.g., psychologists, psychotherapists, and social workers), you will soon discover that there are many of them out there. Over the years of interacting with clients and being a client myself, I am sharing my thoughts on how to find the right therapist in Toronto, Ontario.
Before you book a session with a therapist:
There are many ways to find a therapist, and the first thing you see is probably their profiles/clinic information. First, read through their profiles carefully to see their styles of presenting themselves, their personal and professional background, expertise, experiences, and their photos. If you feel like they might be a good fit, give them a call or at least schedule a phone call. Psychologists or other mental health professionals usually offer 10-15 minutes of free phone consultation. Even if they don’t say it, you are entitled to request. I don’t recommend booking the first session without talking to this person first. People’s online presence can be very different from that in person.
Second, when you call this therapist, ask about their qualifications, training background, experiences, expertise and clinical approaches. Some sample questions are: what degree did you get? What kind of training did you receive? How many years have you been practicing in the area of depression (or any other concerns you want to know)? Which clinical issues are you particularly good at treating? What are your therapeutic approaches, and how do they work?
Third, you want to also ask about practical concerns, such as fees, payment method, insurance coverage, hours of services and any other things you want to know.
Fourth, trust your gut feeling. Do you feel comfortable talking with this person? If not, feel free to approach another one. If yes, go ahead and book the first appointment.
After the first few sessions:
Typically, the first session should be an assessment in which the therapist will ask you many questions; the purposes are to understand your concerns better, develop a professional relationship, and develop an intervention plan. That being said, after the first or the first few sessions, you should ask yourself the following questions:
- How comfortable am I working with the therapist?
- Does this therapist understand my concerns and is he/she able to help me better understand my concerns?
- Does this therapist have a clear plan to help me?
The right therapist should make it easy for you to say yes to all those three questions. If not, you can discuss it with the therapist to see how he/she responds. If he/she responds positively and is willing to work with you to address any of those three questions, that is a good sign. If not, you probably need to think if you should change to another therapist.
Click here to have a 10-minute free phone consultation with Dr. Houyuan Luo, a registered counselling/clinical psychologist in Toronto, Ontario.
Dr. Houyuan Luo, joined other mental health professionals, discussed what to do before, during, and after therapy appointments to maximize the therapeutic benefits on <POPSUGAR>. Click here to read more.
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