Helping Hand

Seeking therapy is often a healthy way to work through any mental health challenges. But there are hundreds of types of therapists out there. Which one would work best for you?

1. Someone you vibe with is important. How can you make an appointment with someone you vibe with? Is it like dating? If you were looking for a best friend you might find you have a type, and often that type is someone very similar to yourself. It’s okay to have preferences in therapy as well. Typically, people feel most comfortable with someone who is the most like them. People often have a best friend or life partner that had a lot of similarities. If you can’t find someone that fits the type, you might be surprised how much you could connect with someone you never thought possible! We can have so much in common with people that from the onset we might not think fits the mold. If you don’t connect with your therapist, it’s okay to shop around.

2. Find out if thier expertise is in line with your need. Sometimes you may have multiple areas in your life that need assistance. For example, if you are dealing with depression, an alcohol use issue, and potentially an eating disorder. You may find a therapist that primarily works with depression. You may need to meet with a psychiatrist once a month to get medication to help with depression. You may benefit from joining AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) and get a sponser to help with alcohol use. And you may meet with a nutritionist to help with food issues. You also may need to expand on your support (friends and family) if it is not enough. It may be new people or working on strengthening relationships you already have.

You might meet with all these people at once. Or you might find yourself focusing on one issue at a time. The psychiatrist and nutritionist might be monthly, While the therapist might be bi-weekly and the AA meetings might be daily. The point is, sometimes you need a team of people, and just like you might not be able to do it alone, a therapist might not be able to be your sole helping hand.

3. Everything in therapy is an experiment. If you meet with anyone for help in any arena you keep going if it is helpful to you. If not, cancel and find something that works for you. A good therapist will understand and help refer you to another option.

4. You are one step closer just by trying. If the costs of therapy is an issue request a sliding scale, look for low cost or free helpers in your community (such as 12-step programs) or research videos and articles that can help you find your way. Look up tequniques to help with whatever you’re dealing with and experiment.

Good luck in your journey of understanding yourself and better!