It’s more than a phone call, if not you would have already made the appointment. I get it starting therapy can be a hard decision and an even harder decision to actually go through with your plan. You might be feeling sad often, anxious, and overwhelmed with life; taking the time to reflect and understand that you might need help is a process. It might seem overwhelming at first to start the process of looking for the right therapist. However, you are not alone. It is a scary process for many reasons but you need to decide what is more important, your health or what people may say or think of you all the thoughts and reasons that stop you from going to therapy. Ask yourself what is more important to you? 

Therapy is needed as much as going to your physician is needed as Lori Gottlieb, a psychologist and author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone said, "We feel like there's a hierarchy of pain, and if our problem doesn't feel big enough, we wait until we're basically having the equivalent of an emotional heart attack before somebody will make that call”. You should not wait until you have crossed a dangerous threshold mentally. Recognize and listen to yourself when you think you may need help.

In order to make it easier for you to start the process, it is important to understand the stigmas that might be holding you back from getting help. Your perspective of therapy is influenced by society, your family, friends, and media. Often people hesitate to start therapy because they are afraid their family and friends might judge them. There can also be miscommunication and misunderstanding of mental health in different cultures. Having those conversations can be hard with your loved ones; however, those hard conversations lead to a step closer for you to get the help you need. 

The second step after acknowledging the stigmas that might be holding you back from starting therapy is finding the right therapist for yourself. Making a list of the potential locations and therapists that are covered by your insurance is a great start. Therapy can get expensive and unfortunately many insurances still do not cover mental health services but there are many insurances that do cover those services. Doing your research on your personal insurance and locations that are covered by them is a start. Look for places nearby you. The website Psychology Today has a section where you can plug in your city or zip code and it will find therapists near you. When looking for a therapist it is important to take in mind the therapists’ cost, specialties, experience, academic background, and the office protocols where the therapist works at. Take in mind therapists can have different perspectives and approaches in treatment. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself to see if your therapist is a right fit? 

• Do they challenge you?

• Do you feel comfortable with your therapist? 

• Do they guide you to your goals?

• Have you learned anything?

• Do they show acceptance and compassion?

If you find a therapist and you have a couple of sessions with them but you do not think it is a right fit. It is okay to move on to a new therapist. You need to do what is best for you. Keep searching until you find the right therapist for you and do not feel discouraged if it does not work the first time. 

What to expect in your first therapy session is filling out paperwork such as medical history, insurance information, your symptoms, patient service agreement forms, etc. Your first one-to-one with your therapist will mainly involve your therapist trying to get to know you. The therapist will ask about your symptoms, your reasoning for seeking therapy, understanding your history such as your traumatic events, family, friends, romantic relationships, etc. Future sessions will be a lot more different; the first session is informational in order for the therapist to understand the kind of treatment that will be best for you based on the symptoms and goals you mentioned in your first session. However, the therapist will constantly analyze and see if more things come up through your treatment that will be needed to be treated. The length of treatment is different for everyone; it's individualized based on your personal goals and problems. Insurance can also only cover a certain amount of sessions. It is important to be aware of those regulations with your insurance. 

It is important to understand your confidentiality. Therapists are required to keep anything that is discussed in your sessions private according to American Psychological Standards; however, confidentiality can be broken if a client poses threat to themselves or anyone else. The information discussed in therapy sessions can be disclosed to a person that can take action to reduce the threat, for example, a social worker, or a police officer, etc. 

Unlearning any negative stigmas on mental health is crucial. Seeking help when you feel like you need professional help is important, do not wait until you hit a dangerous threshold. Making the phone call to make the first appointment is hard; however, you need to find the strength to do what is best for yourself. Many people are going through the same thing. It is a scary process searching for the right therapist and sharing your thoughts, experiences, and feelings are not easy things to do. Just know you are brave and are doing what is best for your mental health. Take the first step to better yourself mentally. You got this!

References

Gottlieb, L. (2019). Maybe you should talk to someone: A therapist, her patients, her therapist, and Life's essential questions. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

Author: Lesly Montes