Working with a professional therapist can greatly aid you along your path of healing and recovery. Follow these steps to get started on your therapeutic journey.
Write out the following before calling:
How would you describe yourself?
Example: I am 37 years old, a married man with 1
Describe your problem/problems in a sentence or two you understand them. (Put your the problem that you seeking help for into writing).
Example: I have crimpling anxiety that only allows me to get out of bed, play with legos and drink coffee. I think might be partly to do the fact that I never knew parents when they weren’t angry.
Make a list of any questions you have for the therapist before calling.
Be sure to ask:
Have you helped anyone with my problem?
Have you gone to therapy? This is key. A therapist who lacks self-awareness about their weakness and shortcoming is often not safe.
What kind of problems have you personally overcome?
I recommend checking out these the resources to find a therapist in your area:
Here are a few sites to start with depending on your background.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/
https://ccn.thedirectorywidget.com/
https://www.aacc.net/
When possible ask someone you trust if they know of a good therapist. If that’s not a good option, try google. If that doesn’t work send me an email.
Remember:
Have a notepad or way to write notes during the call.
It ok to end your talk with – I’ll be in touch if it makes sense to schedule an appointment.
It’s ok to not meet with the therapist if you don’t have a good feeling about them.
A large percentage of therapeutic success is about rapport.
It’s common to have to talk to a few therapists before you find one that’s right for you.
Since calling a therapist can be hard, it’s normal to be scared or rattled before, after or during the call. This is a big step.
Give your self a bit of space to process, recovery and relax after your call.
Your initial feelings might change after a bit of time.
Email or call the potential therapist. Reaching out can be as simple as this:
Hi ___________.
I wanted to see if we could talk for a few minutes via phone about potentially meeting. I have a few questions.