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How to Find a Good Psychologist?

If you have been feeling overwhelmed and feel like you need help dealing with certain issues in your life, you are not alone. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that there are over 20 million Americans who feel the same way as you, and could greatly benefit from some sessions with an experienced professional.

Confiding in loved ones is helpful to a degree, but sometimes that is complicated if these same people are the reason for a lot of your stress and anxiety. These are the types of problems we can hope to reduce by working with a trained, licensed professional.

Professionals with particular expertise in human behavior and mental health have helped many Americans, from all walks of life, to change their attitudes, perspectives, and feelings, and go on to live happier, healthier lives. These psychologists work with the patients, rather than direct them, to dig down to the root cause of their discomforts. The patient and therapist can then work together to begin the process of figuring out the proper steps to ease their mental burdens and live a more fulfilled life.

When to Consider Finding a Psychologist

There are a few telltale signs of when you might benefit from some sessions with a trained professional to help your mental health.

  • If you are in a perpetual state of worry, always on edge, and tend to expect the worst outcome in every situation.
  • You can’t shake the feeling of constant sadness, helplessness, or feel like no matter how much effort you put into your problems, they do not seem to ever get better.
  • Performing routine, everyday activities becomes increasingly difficult. For example, you have trouble focusing at work which hinders your job performance.
  • You find yourself acting self-destructive or harmful to others in your life. This may also manifest itself in being in a constantly angry mindset, or displaying an aggressive attitude.

Where to Find a Psychologist?

There is a multitude of methods by which you can go about finding the right mental health professional.

  1. Mental Treat is a marketplace where you can find and choose a mental health professional that addresses your personal needs.
  2. If a friend or family member has mentioned that they see a psychologist, you can ask them whether they are happy with their choice. If they have their reservations and certainly if they say they only go to not hurt their mental health professional’s feelings, it’s a sign that you should consider looking elsewhere.
  3. You can ask your physician for a referral. Their suggestion will be based on what they know about this person, but you will ultimately have to do more to find out if it’s a good match for you (more on this later).
  4. Call a psychological association, institute for mental health, or your local mental health center. They will have many contacts and reputable psychologists to recommend to you.
  5. Talk to the clergy at your local church or synagogue. They have likely had other members who have come to them before for similar assistance.
  6. There are online psychologist directories which you can browse for recommendations and call a few to talk to them before setting something up.

Getting The Right Match

Arguably the most important attribute to find in a psychologist is a person who you feel comfortable communicating with. This goes deeper than whether they are friendly and professional. Every person is a unique case, so it would stand to reason that not every psychologist would be a great match for you.

One of the key things to consider is the connection. You need to feel that the therapist you are speaking to “gets you” and that you will have a professional, warm, supportive relationship with them.

There are many different brands of mental therapy and most psychologists are stronger in some areas than others. Your particular hardships could be rooted in an area that is not the therapist’s strongest. It is important to consider that you should not only have a good rapport with your therapist, they should also be someone who possesses good knowledge in the area of study which particularly concerns you.

There should be a fundamental understanding and agreement by both parties of what the matter at hand is. Having a good relationship with your therapist is very important, but if you have a different idea of what the concern is than what your therapist believes it to be, it will be tough to achieve meaningful change during the therapy. Otherwise, it will just end up as both sides struggling to move forward with the power of suggestion without your problems being addressed to their core. The expertise of the therapist should be able to help you recognize and pin down what is causing your mental anguish, and then you can work together to address it.

You and your therapist should also have an agreement about the best methods that will be used to help you move past, adjust, and cope with your concerns. Once again, this should be a mutual comprehension with a firm understanding as to why the methods to address the issue are the ideal ones to take. If the patient just acquiesces to the therapist’s suggestion or the therapist just goes along with the patient’s ideas, both may feel relieved for a time, but that will have questionable returns in the sense of true improvement of your psychological state.

The overall point is that the relationship has to be attentive, rational, and comfortable, but also produces results that will genuinely help you. You can tell yourself that seeing a therapist “helped,” but if you are just convincing yourself, did it assist you in your struggles?

It might take some time to find the right balance in searching for a therapist, but it’s a worthwhile investment of time and effort if it leads to you finding someone who will help you achieve a better and happier mental state.

What to Avoid When Looking For a Psychologist

Perhaps as important as knowing what to look for, is knowing what to avoid when seeking a therapist. Just like with any profession some may enter it for all the wrong reasons. Some therapists may be well-intentioned, but see their profession as more of a job, and they are just trying to get through their workday.

Theoretically Oriented: As mentioned earlier, a mutual agreement and understanding about what is wrong, as well as the method to go about addressing it is paramount. That could be tough to accomplish if the therapist is an ideologue who makes all of the determinations about both of those above matters. In the cases of therapists like these, the patient may feel they are being “instructed” rather than “helped,” and the therapist may, subconsciously, point at causes and reasons that are more closely aligned with the psychological approach or viewpoint that they subscribe to.Self Promoters: When searching for a psychologist try to look more at those who focus on describing their methodology and approach, sticking to the useful aspects that you are hoping to leverage their expertise on. Those who are out there trying to sell themselves should be avoided as they are likely more interested in acquiring patients and self-promotion than offering true assistance. Even if that is not the case, the optics are concerning.

Self Promoters: When searching for a psychologist try to look more at those who focus on describing their methodology and approach, sticking to the useful aspects that you are hoping to leverage their expertise on. Those who are out there trying to sell themselves should be avoided as they are likely more interested in acquiring patients and self-promotion than offering true assistance. Even if that is not the case, the optics are concerning.

Apprehensive Presences: Trust your intuition. Make sure that the therapist you are with does not cause you to be apprehensive or nervous when conversing with them. You will be doing a lot of deep-rooted talking to this person so it is pertinent that you are comfortable doing so. If you do not feel at ease or the reciprocation in your initial conversation (or session) is “off,” consider a different option. It is completely normal to not find the right match on your first try or two.

How To Know Therapy Is Working

At the beginning of your relationship with your therapist, you should both agree on and be crystal clear about the goals you are seeking to accomplish. Keeping in mind that some of these goals will take longer to achieve than others, you should discuss together what indicators you will see that illustrate that you have been making progress and improvements.

The most obvious sign, of course, is if you begin to regain a sense of hope and genuinely begin to feel some relief of your mental burdens. It is very common for people to have apprehensions about discussing deep, personal matters with a therapist, but doing so, and getting professional feedback typically provides the patient with a perspective about their situation which they may not have considered before.

As you begin to deeply examine your thoughts and behaviors, you are likely to recognize their roots, then your sessions can turn to conversations about how to best address these. Everyone is different and while psychology has a lot of credibilities, it takes time and commitment to see progress being made. If you are truly committed to better mental health, then, with the right professional partner, you can regain happiness and mental comfort in your life.

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