Should I Go To Therapy?
You’re feeling like you want to make changes in your life. Perhaps a loved one, a colleague or even your children said your behavior and emotions are showing up different than in the past. Finally, you decide it’s time for therapy. As you start checking into it, you see everything from large companies to boutique services but have no idea what’s best for you. Consider starting with these 5 things:
1. Ask about a free or reduced first-time consultation.
If you are new to therapy this may be a key consideration. Yes, doing your research is advised, but even the best website may not clarify everything. In a quick 15-minute consultation, you may find out things regarding locations, options for payment, cancelation policies, or even specifics like age-limitations or specialties among practitioners.
2. What type of person helps you feel comfortable?
If you secured that quick consultation, you may have been able to gauge your comfort level with a therapist. As therapists, we are to remain kind, objective and helpful regardless of who we are serving. Additionally, our professional development includes being knowledgeable of many backgrounds and cultures. However, you, as a client, have the right to prefer someone that makes you feel comfortable. Perhaps they can relate to your background or their specialty area aligns with your needs. The main point is that you need to feel at ease to talk about your issues. One note of consideration: a therapist relating to you does not guarantee success. Every life is unique!
3. What works for your schedule?
Once you feel comfortable with a therapist’s background, see you’re your schedule aligns with theirs. Do you need the convenience of a virtual meeting? Is the privacy of an office your best option? This may seem obvious but it’s an important factor. If you arrive at your appointment stressed because you drove an hour in traffic, it will affect the session. If you’re at your home during a virtual session and family members or roommates are aware of it, you may hesitate to be candid.
4. What are you willing and able to invest?
Arguably, our mental well-being may not have a quantifiable price tag. That being said, a negative impact on your finances can add stress. Is feeling better a priority for you, your family, your career? If not, you may unwittingly pull away from having consistent sessions and sabotage your progress towards your therapeutic goals. Do you need to use insurance? Although there are many pros and cons of using it, you can filter therapists based on that factor.
5. Do you have a time-frame?
Perhaps you have an expected end date of a few months. Maybe you feel okay adding therapy to your life for the long-haul. Regardless, this is an expectation you may want to keep flexible, particularly if this is your first-time having therapy. The reason? During therapy you may discover additional issues or even problems your therapist has helped you uncover. Carefully consider any hard-set date of recovery or behavior modification.
