How to find a therapist in Frisco: Part III
Finding a therapist in Frisco during COVID – Part III
Finding a therapist can be overwhelming. You may have been avoiding it, but something happened that made you realize that you need to find a therapist. Yesterday preferably! It’s normal to be confused and not know where to start.
I want to help you find a therapist in Frisco
In my previous blog posts, I talked about trying to figure out what type of therapist you need, and talked about important logistical factors for finding the right therapist. Once you have generally narrowed your search by these factors, you hopefully have a smaller pool to choose from. If you are still overwhelmed by the choices, read on for narrowing your selection even further.
I always tell potential clients that one of the most important factors of successful therapy is your relationship with your therapist. Finding a therapist is like dating. Finding a couples therapist is like trying to find couples friends, as you want to make sure you BOTH feel comfortable with the therapist. This can certainly be a tricky prospect!
Ask yourself: What factors would get in the way of me feeling comfortable, seen, and heard? What would make it harder or easier for me to be vulnerable with someone?
You want someone you feel comfortable with, and often that means that you have background characteristics in common. You will generally know from a website or talking to someone on the phone if you will mesh well together—as long as you are trusting your gut instinct and not ignoring or minimizing any red flags that come up!
What will that mean for you? Does gender of the therapist matter? Do you have a particular part of your background or culture that would be important in finding a therapist that understands that culture? (Remember that can mean ethnicity, but also could mean religion, sexual orientation, or any other strong identity you have!)
Determine which therapist factors are “dealbreakers,” and which would be “nice to have.”
Therapist factors:
Therapist gender: some people feel more comfortable with a therapist that identifies as female. Some people feel more comfortable with a therapist that identifies as male. Which is important for you? If you are looking for a couples therapist, which is important for your partner?
Therapist age: I recently had a client ask me for referrals and feel embarrassed that they did not want to see a therapist from a different generation. That is totally normal, and just fine to filter therapists based on age. It’s about what would make you feel most comfortable! But remember, this one may surprise you! If you find a therapist that you jive with on other factors, don’t discount that experience and empathy are more important than biological age.
Culture and identity: Your culture is important to who you are, and how you describe yourself. If you were a fish in a fishbowl, it would be the water. We may not always notice it, but when others do not understand it, it can be hurtful and even harmful. It’s important to identify the factors about yourself that you feel are vital to understanding your particular challenges.
Faith/Religion—finding a therapist that will not impose their value structure on you is important, regardless of your beliefs. If you want a therapist that identifies as atheist? Great! If you want a therapist that identifies as Christian and incorporates God into therapy? Great! There are therapists all along the religion spectrum, but know what would make you most comfortable, so that you are able to ask about it in an initial consultation!
Sexual Orientation—if your sexual orientation is important to you, finding a therapist that understands, if not identifies similarly, is important. This is often a search feature on websites like psychology today, because you deserve to be seen and understood.
Ethnicity—to some extent, we all have our own family culture. But on a macro level, we also have our ethnic culture, and it’s important to find a therapist that can understand and respect that. I see clients from various racial and ethnic backgrounds, but I always want to make sure that they feel comfortable, as I may need to ask for the cultural subtext in order to “get” certain challenges you are experiencing.
Language—language barriers can often complicate therapy. Does your therapist speak the same language, physically and metaphorically?
Marital status—I often have couples coming for relationship counseling wanting to know my marital status. They want to know if I know what I am talking about from personal experience, rather than theoretical knowledge.
Other identities—do you identify as a single mother? A parent? A parent to a developmentally challenged child? It’s okay to factor that into your search. It’s all about understanding what factors would make you be more likely to open up and feel safe being vulnerable. That changes from person to person—don’t discount these factors if they truly are important to you! Finding a therapist that can identify with you is essential to good therapy!
Personality—while you can’t necessarily filter on Psychology today by personality type (wouldn’t that be great if you could?!) Trust your gut when you read through profiles or websites. Do you vibe with the therapists personality? Or does something feel off for you? Do you generally want someone to validate you and let you talk? Or do you want someone who is a bit more directive, and will point out areas for potential growth?
Using Psychology Today
Whether you use Google for a more general search, or use a therapist finder such as Psychology Today, most of the personal information about therapists is fairly easy to find. Psychology Today makes it easy to search therapists by gender, faith, sexuality, ethnicities served, and language spoken. Looking at the profile, profile picture, and their “about” page of their website can also give you clues about their age, their marital status, other identities that are important to them, as well as their general personality.
Take your time and really pay attention to what your body is telling you when you read each profile or website. Not every therapist will be for you, and that’s okay! I tell my clients that up front, because fit between a client and therapist is so important. I want to make sure they are getting the most from therapy, regardless of if that is with me or someone else!
A free therapy consultation in Frisco
I hope this helps you find a therapist in Frisco. If you are still feeling stuck, feel free to call be at 469-278-4380 or click here to book free 15-minute consultation. I’d be happy to hear about what’s happening and help direct you to the right person.
If you are looking a couples counselor or sex therapist, you can read more about how I can help here. I love helping couples reconnect and increase their intimacy—in and out of the bedroom!