Many people who are in need of emotional support from a professional are not sure where to start so, here are my thoughts on how to find a good therapist for you.
There are many types of therapy available and you need to find one that suits your particular personality and needs. The main ones include psychotherapy, counselling, NLP, Hypnotherapy, Thought Field Therapy, CBT, DBT and EMDR .
In your quest to find a good therapist you need to consider if you feel they understand your particular problem, do they feel genuine and do you feel comfortable with them. These are important considerations for a positive outcome.
Before you make contact with any therapist be sure to have a look at their website, social media accounts and read reviews from others who have used their service.
You may also wish to find out which professional body they are registered with, what qualifications they have, how long they have been practicing for and whether they are DBS registered.
This will give you an overall sense of who they are, how they work and how they can help you. The next step is to contact them and it would be helpful if you could be as clear as possible about the nature of your problem and what you hope to achieve by working with them.
How would you describe the nature of your problem?
Is anxiety holding you back?
Are you feeling depressed?
Are you in need of couple’s therapy to help with a difficult relationship?
Did you experience childhood trauma which is now negatively impacting your daily life?
Are you struggling with unhelpful coping mechanisms such as obsessive compulsive behaviours or uncontrollable anger?
It is often the case that emotions become so overwhelming and confusing that you may not know how to verbalise what you’re experiencing. Don’t worry! Your therapist should be able to help you unravel it all so you can make better sense of things.
Next you may want to ask them:
What sort of therapy do you offer?
What’s the difference between counselling and therapy?
How many therapy sessions will I need?
How long are the therapy sessions?
How often will I need to see you?
Have you successfully worked with others struggling with anxiety, depression or childhood trauma similar to myself?
Do you offer in person and/ or virtual therapy sessions?
How much do you charge?
You may also wish to know about availability of parking and ease of access to the premises.
What can I expect on my first session?
Following my thoughts on how to find a good therapist you may wish to go ahead and book your first session. Here you will be able to further discuss your problem, ask questions and together with the therapist you can formulate a plan on how to move forwards. This may include how many sessions you may require, any homework you may be asked to complete, if contact is available between sessions and how the process will come to its end in due course.
Many clients fear they will have to discuss painful or traumatic events from their past in order to heal their current problem. This is definitely not the case. If you are not happy or comfortable to share such information do not be afraid to say so. There is much that can be done to help you move forwards without having to trawl through past events.
Every client is different and it’s the job of the therapist to adjust their approach according to the client’s capacity to manage emotional changes and challenges.
If you leave the session feeling lighter and more hopeful than when you arrived that’s a positive sign of a good fit for you. If you left feeling no better or even worse than when you arrived you must look for another therapist straight away.
If you are seeking therapy in Ipswich to help resolve an issue you are struggling with get in touch here Contact to arrange a free 20 minute discovery call or to book a session. Let’s do this together!
Written by; Sharron Leach – Therapist
31st May 2024
