 ANY
persons have written to me asking for advice on how to select a psychologist.
The worst mistake you can make would be to get one referral and then start
seeing that person—unless the referral comes from someone you trust.
But if it comes from Aunt Sara’s neighbor’s manicurist, watch
out.
So, unless you
can identify someone with clearly demonstrated competence and who has the
skills to work with your particular problem,
you will have to “shop around.”
Begin by checking the
Internet to get a few names of psychologists who are
in your area. Read the psychologist’s web site to learn about his or her
fees and area of practice. Then call several names and leave a message with
each.
Leaving a
Message
Leave a short message
stating that you’re looking for a psychologist. Explain why you have chosen
that particular psychologist (for example, because you like the psychologist’s
field of practice or office location). Briefly describe your reason for seeking
psychotherapy. Leave some good times to reach you over the next several days.
Then sit back and wait. (If you call on a Friday afternoon, however, don’t
expect a call back until the following week.)
The Telephone
Interview
Once you get
to speak with someone, remember that as a
consumer
you have the right to interview the psychologist thoroughly. You should begin
by describing your reasons for seeking psychotherapy so that it can
be determined if your needs fit with the psychologist’s practice. Following
are some other issues about which you may want to inquire.
• |
The psychologist’s fees |
• |
Current openings in the
psychologist’s practice |
• |
The
psychologist’s theories of practice |
• |
The psychologist’s
specialties |
• |
The psychologist’s length of
experience |
• |
The psychologist’s academic
degrees |
• |
The psychologist’s training |
• |
The extent of the psychologist’s
personal psychotherapy |
Look for a breadth
to the psychologist’s education and training. Also, be sure to evaluate
the degree of honesty
and candidness with which you are treated. You can really put the
psychologist’s honesty and candidness to the test by asking about various
personal and moral issues. Remember, unlike a physician or dentist, your
psychologist’s personal values will have an influence—whether openly
or unconsciously—on your own values. (For example,
if you are trying to heal difficulties in your marriage and your psychologist
has been divorced five times, you face the risk that your psychologist will
be inclined to influence you to get
a divorce.) Therefore, you may ask whether the psychologist is married
or not, and why; whether the psychologist has any children or not,
and why; whether the psychologist has been divorced or not, and why;
what religion, if any, he or she practices, and why; and what sexual
orientation he or she follows, and why. If you get defensive answers
or a cold, clinical response, well, let’s just say you are being forewarned
about how you will be treated when you have doubts or questions during the
on-going psychotherapy itself.
Shopping
Around
Unless you have been
given a referral from a trusted source, or if you can find only one good candidate,
select at least two candidates from your search who seem favorable and set up an
appointment with each to discuss things in person. Ask any questions you did not
ask over the telephone. But make it clear that you are “shopping around”
and want to interview several candidates. Then let the psychologist take it from
there. A competent psychologist will do his or her best to help you in that session
and won’t feel at all uncomfortable in letting you walk away. After all, if he
or she has done a good job, you might be back. You should, of course, expect to
pay for that session because it really is a psychotherapy session.
If you have been able
to locate several candidates, don’t jump to any conclusions about the first
person you see. Someone might seem like the best psychotherapist in the
world, but someone else further down your list of candidates might be even
better. You never know, so see everyone on the list. And remember that this
interview process, however long it takes, is really part of the process of
getting help. You will learn many things about yourself just in this
initial selection process.
After you’ve
seen everyone, select the best pick of the lot. If you feel comfortable,
you can continue for as long as you need.
|
If for any reason
you do not feel comfortable with the psychotherapy, be sure to tell the
psychologist exactly what you are experiencing. Quite often, psychotherapy
provokes uncomfortable feelings, known as a transference
reaction, and the whole point of treatment is to deal with these feelings
in the treatment, not to run away from them.
Now, at this point, one of three things could happen. First, your talking
about your feelings could deepen and enrich the treatment.
Second, after talking things over, you might both agree that you should see
someone else; in that case, terminate
psychotherapy politely and reconsider one of the candidates you have previously
interviewed.
Third, the psychologist might get annoyed with you, and you might be left
feeling very foolish. In that case, you may have stumbled across a
psychotherapist who—to say it politely—is less than competent.
So terminate psychotherapy politely, don’t look
back, and reconsider one of the candidates you have previously
interviewed. |
|
Note that
though I have referred throughout this page to “the psychologist,”
the same suggestions can be applied to any other person performing
psychotherapy.
For information about various types of practitioners,
such as Psychologist, LCSW, MFT, and Counselor,
and what all those letters mean,
see the page of this website called
Psychology:
Clinical, or Counseling, or...?
For more information
about the actual process of psychotherapy,
see the section of this website called
Questions and Answers About
Psychotherapy.
No
advertising—no sponsor—just the simple truth . . .
 |
|
Additional
Resources
Related pages within A Guide to Psychology and
its Practice:
Confidentiality
Consumer Rights and
Office Policies
Legal Issues
The Limits of
Psychology
Psychology:
Clinical or Counseling or ...?
Questions and Answers
about Psychotherapy
Reasons to Visit a
Psychologist
Termination of
Psychotherapy
Types of Psychological
Treatment
CONTACT ME
INDEX of all subjects
on this website
SEARCH this
website
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