How to Find a Good Therapist
Introduction
Therapy works. It seems like such a simple statement, but it’s taken several decades of research to confirm that most people do, in fact, benefit from therapy. Some of...
Chapter 1: Kinds of Therapy
Even if you’ve never been in therapy before, you probably have some mental image of what it’s like based on TV shows or movies: two people sitting in leather...
Chapter 2: Payment of Therapy
Let’s talk about money. I placed this chapter near the front of the book because I’m a realist. Money can be a very big deal. Most former clients will...
Chapter 3: Settings for Therapy
Therapy can take place in just about any reasonably soundproof room with enough space for a few chairs, but it’s remarkable how much difference the environment can make. If...
Chapter 4: Professions That Practice Psychotherapy
Medicine is practiced by doctors. Law is practiced by lawyers. So who practices therapy? Actually, there are more than a dozen different professions that offer some form of therapy...
Chapter 5: Psychotherapy Treatment Approaches
A treatment approach, or theoretical orientation as they’re sometimes called, is nothing more than a set of ideas about what makes people tick and how they change, and a...
Chapter 6: Experience of the Therapist
Nobody wants to go to a doctor’s office or a mechanic’s garage and hear the phrase, “I’ve never seen this problem before.” Similarly, when you tell your problems to...
Chapter 7: Special Considerations
The issues addressed in this chapter don’t fit neatly into any other category, but you may consider them the most important of all. They deal with the fit between...
Chapter 8: Sources of Possible Therapists
Now that you have some idea of what you’re looking for, it’s time to start considering your choices. There are more therapists practicing than ever before, but they can...
Chapter 9: Setting Priorities
By now you have some idea of what you’re looking for, and you’ve created a list of potential therapists. In this chapter, you’re going to learn how to pull...
Chapter 10: Interviewing and Making a Decision
You’ve probably already crossed a few names off your list, so you’re getting closer and closer to your best option. You’ve gotten all the information you can from friends...
Appendix: Common Initials and Abbreviations
AA Alcoholics Anonymous Associate of Arts AAP American Academy of Psychotherapists AAPC American Association of Pastoral Counselors AANP American Association of Nurse Practitioners AATA American Art Therapy Association ABAP...
